What is the theme of the poem "The Child"?
Does the poem "The Son" mention war?
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What is the message in poppies?
The poppy is a symbol of Remembrance and hope, including hope for a positive future and peaceful world. They are a show of support for the Armed Forces community, those currently serving, ex-serving personnel and their families; and a symbol of Remembrance for all those who have fallen in conflict.
What is the poem poppies about GCSE?
The poem comes from the collection commissioned by Carol Ann Duffy called “exit wounds”. Poppies grew in battlefields and became a symbol of remembrance in 1921, armistice Sunday also became a way to remember World War Two. Weir uses these symbols to establish from the outset that the poem is an act of remembrance.
How does Weir present the theme of conflict in poppies?
How is the mother's inner conflict shown in the poem Poppies? The mother's inner conflict is shown through her memories of her son. Jane Weir uses references to time to show that she is in limbo between past and present. to demonstrate that she is dwelling on memories of her son who she is grieving over.
Why did the poet write poppies?
Poppies was written after Carol Ann Duffy asked Jane Weir (and other poets) to compose poems to raise awareness of the mistreatment and deaths of British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
What is the poem The Red Poppy about?
The Red Poppy may be read as a “religious” poem, but its force for me is as a fierce short parable about environmental depredation. At the same time, the voice is thoroughly realised, lively and impassioned. It's one of the best “poppy poems” in the literature of this emblematic flower.
What does poppy flower mean?
remembranceRed Poppy Flower Meaning – What Does The Poppy Represent Red poppy flowers represent consolation, remembrance and death. Likewise, the poppy is a common symbol that has been used to represent everything from peace to death and even simply sleep. Since ancient times, poppies placed on tombstones represent eternal sleep.
What poem can poppies be compared to?
Remains, by Simon Armitage and Poppies, by Jane Weir are both poems written to show the impact of memory on different people. Remains focuses on the traumatic memories of a soldier while Poppies is linked to the memories of a bereaved mother. Both poems use first person.
How is loss shown in poppies?
Differences ● In Poppies, the narrator's physical loss is shown by the wistful “I listened, hoping to hear // your playground voice”. Conversely, in Kamikaze, the main character's father is rejected by society rather than killed and she has to “live as though he had never returned”.
Why do we wear poppies BBC Bitesize?
The reason poppies are used to remember those who have given their lives in battle is because they are the flowers which grew on the battlefields after World War One ended. This is described in the famous World War One poem In Flanders Fields.
What poems are studied at GCSE?
TopicsRemains by Simon Armitage.A Poison Tree by William Blake.Walking Away by C Day-Lewis.Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker.Letters from Yorkshire by Maura Dooley.Kamikaze by Beatrice Garland.Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy.Exposure by Wilfred Owen.More items...
Changing the way you learn | Mind Map - GoConqr
Themes in Poppies. Effects of Conflict. The mother feels detached from her son before he leaves to go to war and after his death. Jane Wier implies that when someone you love goes to war it makes you feel like you have been separated for life away from the person because your first instinct is that they are going to die or be severely injured
Poppies GCSE POETRY: REVISION NOTES - MISSENGLISHGURU
GCSE POETRY: REVISION NOTES ENT Jane Weir is a British poet, who lived in Manchester and Italy, as well as Belfast. She uses her poem to describe a mother’sfeelings towards her son.
Why was Poppies written?
Jane Weir’s ‘Poppies’ is such a poem, written to convey the grief and suffering of a mother at home, who’s son has left to fight a war, and it does a great job of conveying those emotions and telling a story that is seldom told but all too often lived.
What does the narrator mean by "Poppies"?
For much of these stanzas of ‘Poppies’, the narrator is simply speaking to the memory of who we learn is their son (or is probably their son, since they make reference to when “you” were little, as well as the indications of physical affection that might be less common from an older sibling).
What is the meaning of the poem "The Dove Flying Away"?
She tries to remember him as a young child, freely playing in playgrounds and all of the innocence and peace of that time, but is rewarded with only silence. It is not expressly stated that her son is dead, but the theme of the poem, and the noticeable extension of the saddened atmosphere, make it a reasonable suggestion. This is a poem about grief, then, about loss; and about a mother’s love and longing for that time gone by.
What is deep and moving poetry?
Without attempting to boldly declare any kind of rules for writing poetry, deep and moving poetry is generally written through a process of raw emotion. The need to create perfect rhymes and symmetry in verses is all less important than meaning and feeling and the power that is conveyed by using just the right words, the ones that come from the heart. Jane Weir’s ‘Poppies’ is such a poem, written to convey the grief and suffering of a mother at home, who’s son has left to fight a war, and it does a great job of conveying those emotions and telling a story that is seldom told but all too often lived.
Why does the narrator follow the dove?
After an undisclosed amount of time goes by, the narrator notices that there is a dove flying through the town, and, with no explanation, she follows it, even though it is cold outside (as Remembrance Day would put the timing of this poem as early November), and finds her self outside the walls of a local church. This is a moment of character development for the narrator — she follows the bird on a whim, perhaps because doves often symbolize peace, but also because there is nothing else for her to do with her son gone.
What does a dove symbolize?
A ‘dove’ is a symbol of peace and often for new life. The fact that it is a single dove could foreshadow something bad happening to the man as this sense of isolation creates a sense of broken hope.
What is the meaning of the song bird?
The release of ‘a song bird’ is a metaphor that relates to the newfound freedom of the man – note how ‘cage’ (signifying his former domestic life) seems very constrictive and oppressive. Another interpretation of this metaphor is that the mother is releasing her emotions which she has bottled up as though they were caged.
What is the meaning of the image of the streaks of paper red?
The ‘spasms’ provoke an image of unnatural, painful, distressing death or injury, the ‘red’ is a metaphor of the bloodshed of war and ‘paper’ implies a disposability and weakness which Weir relates to the loss of life on the battlefield.
What does the dove lead to?
The dove leads her to a ‘church’ . Naturally, this is a significant symbol as, although churches have religious significance of hope, unity and devotion, they also house the dead – hinting that the ‘dove’ has led her to the grave of her son.
What does the front door mean in the book?
Metaphorically, it acts as a threshold between the world of domestic living the boy has experienced and the battlefields of the future. All of the memories the narrator has of her son become separated from his present-day being by the door as well.
What does the simile "like a treasure chest" mean?
The simile ‘like a treasure chest’ relates to the emotions of both the man and his mother. As he leaves the adventure and glory that ‘treasure’ connotes his naïve perception of newfound freedom and his childlike excitement. For the mother, ‘overflowing’ signifies her inability to control her emotions anymore as he leaves.
What does "melting" mean in a story?
This is an idiom that describes one’s emotions overflowing and becoming overwhelming.
Why was Poppies written?
Weir moved to Ireland through the 80s and experienced firsthand conflict. Poppies was written to portray a mother’s perspective on conflict. Weir said she was thinking of Wilfred Owen’s mother when writing.
Who wrote the poem "Poppies"?
Poppies is a 21 st century poem by the Anglo-Italian poet Jane Weir. Weir was born in Italy in 1963 and grew up in Italy and Manchester. She moved to Northern Ireland during ‘the Troubles’ in the 1980s and so has experienced conflict in a close and personal way.
Why do poppies represent war?
The title of the poem, ‘Poppies’, is simple. It reflects both the feminine voice of the poem (being named for flowers) and the fact that Armistice Day is specifically referenced in it. Armistice Day began in 1918 to commemorate the end of World War I. An ‘Armistice’ is the agreement to cease fighting. The day is now better known as Remembrance Sunday and is used to commemorate all those lost in conflicts throughout the world. Poppies have been a symbol of the loss of human life in battle since 1921. It became a symbol of the losses of World War I after the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ was published which mentioned the poppies growing around the graves of young soldiers. Weir uses the poppy in the first stanza to represent what going into the army can mean. After the son’s departure, the mother walks to the war memorial, another reminder of remembrance and the dead.
What is the relationship between mother and son in the poem Poppies?
Weir explores the poppy in relation to injury. The relationship between mother and son is plagued by the language of war – shown through words like “blockade” and “reinforcement”. Poppies is a tactile poem: the mother constantly wants to “smooth down his collar” or touch her son.
What does the blackthorns in the poem mean?
Weir has said herself that she was considering women who had lost their sons when writing this poem and her mention of the gelled ‘blackthorns’ of the son’s hair seem to be a reference to Jesus and his crown of thorns, an indication that the son has made the ultimate sacrifice.
Why are poppies important?
Poppies have been a symbol of the loss of human life in battle since 1921. It became a symbol of the losses of World War I after the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ was published which mentioned the poppies growing around the graves of young soldiers.
What is feminine imagery in poppies?
Feminine imagery is used in Poppies as Weir draws on the semantics of textiles to describe her speaker’s feelings
What is the meaning of the poem "Poppies in October"?
Sylvia Plath's "Poppies in October" is a melancholy poem that focuses on beauty in the natural world. The speaker notices vibrant red poppies in October, when the flowers don't typically bloom. Instead of simply welcoming this lovely sight, however, the speaker juxtaposes the flowers against the ugliness of the surrounding world, comparing them with images of pollution, blood, and human indifference. The poem is ambiguous and its symbolism open to interpretation, but one thing that seems clear is that the speaker sees the poppies not as a sign of happiness, but rather as a reminder that the rest of the world is bleak and sad in comparison. "Poppies in October" was included in Plath's second collection of poetry, Ariel. The collection was published posthumously in 1965, two years after the poet took her own life.
What does the speaker see in the poem "Poppies"?
The poem is ambiguous and its symbolism open to interpretation, but one thing that seems clear is that the speaker sees the poppies not as a sign of happiness , but rather as a reminder that the rest of the world is bleak and sad in comparison.
What does the poppies in October mean?
“Poppies in October” is an ambiguous, abstract poem that resists a tidy explanation, given that the “poppies” of the poem—and, in fact, all the poem’s vivid images—may represent different things to different readers. What’s clear is that the speaker sees these poppies (which don’t bloom in October, suggesting that the speaker is either in a sort of fantasy world, remembering seeing a field of flowers in the past, or looking at a display of cut flowers somewhere) and feels that nothing can match the flowers’ brilliance. As bright red flowers, perhaps the simplest interpretation is that the poppies in the poem represent beauty and passion—things that seem out of place in the melancholy, mundane modern world.
Why is Sylvia Plath considered a confessional poet?
Sylvia Plath is often considered a confessional poet, since she integrated autobiographical details into her work. Because she seemed to draw so heavily on her own emotions in her writing, many people read her poems with the understanding that she herself is the speaker.
Why do people put paper poppies on the wall?
All the same, the speaker's fixation on the poppies might also be an allusion to Remembrance Day in England, when people display paper or cloth poppies to commemorate British soldiers who have died in battle. According to this interpretation, this detail is an indicator that the poem is most likely set in England.
What is personification in poetry?
Personification creates the feeling that everything in the poem is alive and that the speaker is particularly attuned to the rhythms of the natural world. The speaker says that "even the sun-clouds" can't compete with the poppies and their deep, striking color.
When did Sylvia Plath write Poppies in October?
An Interview With Sylvia Plath — This recording documents an interview with Sylvia Plath that took place in 1962, around the time she most likely wrote "Poppies in October."
What is the theme of the poem "The Child"?
In this poem, the child is full of excitement and anticipation, fueled by his patriotism and the possibilities of the good he can do. The mother is anxious, and already preparing herself for grief by going to visit the war memorial to see the names of the boys who never came come, and whose families grieved before her.
Does the poem "The Son" mention war?
Although the poem never explicitly mentions war, the identity of the son as a soldier is implicitly mentioned from the start. It is three days before the anniversary of Armistice Day, the mother pins a commemorative poppy to her son's lapel, and afterwards she is drawn to the war memorial, feeling some kind of bond with the families she never knew whose sons did not come home.
