English Conflict
Poetry Comparison
· Belfast Confetti
o Mametz Wood
o Bayonet Charge
· Charge of the Light Brigade
o Bayonet Charge
· Futility
o Mametz wood
· Bayonet Charge
o Mametz Wood
o Belfast Confetti
o Futility
o Charge of the light brigade
· Mametz Wood
o Bayonet Charge
Question Focusses
· Attitudes to war
· Attitudes to conflict
· Effects of war
· Effects of war on soldiers
· Heroism
Flag: The poet uses Flag to question deep-rooted ideas such as pride and
patriotism, asking: is a piece of cloth really worth that much? The title, 'Flag' is
blunt and unspecific, being purposefully general so that it is inclusive of all
nations and all groups who collect under a banner. Then there is the repetition
of 'What's that', a question that forces the reader to directly question the
significance of a 'piece of cloth'. Further, there is a contrast between the
gentle, peaceful imagery of 'fluttering in the breeze', and the horrifying
implications of death from 'blood you bleed'. Then, of course, comes the direct
attack on patriotism, with the poet stating that the flag will 'blind your
conscience', believing that the blind patriotism will force one to commit bad
acts
, Out of the Blue: Out of the Blue is a rather harrowing recount of a person
trapped at the top of a building during a fire. There is an overwhelming sense
of fear and panic in this poem, with the speaker obviously being afraid of
dying. By the end of the poem, however, this has changed, with the speaker
accepting their death, stating that they are 'failing'. This inherent sense of
stress and panic is hidden beneath the neat, controlled poem, with ordered
stanzas and sentences. Also, there is a sense of the afterlife in this poem,
with 'white' and 'clouds' giving a sense of heaven, whereas the people dying
and the 'heat' of the fire behind him is in reference to hell. Indeed, the speaker
seems to be feeling survivors guilt in the fifth stanza, stating that 'others like
me' are dying, and that is 'appalling'. There is even ancient Greek imagery in
this poem, with the 'sirens' below being a double entendre. The obvious
meaning is police or ambulance sirens, suggesting panic and chaos, but the
second meaning is the ancient Greek sirens, monsters that lured men to their
deaths. There are also many, many verbs within this poem, which is to show
the confusion and chaos going on around the speaker, with hectic, frantic
movements surrounding them. Finally, the speaker is deliberately vague in
gender, age, nationality to push the idea that this could happen to anyone
(although there is an undertone of fate in terms of 'you have picked me out'),
and the end of the poem, 'do you see me my love', is a deeply emotional and
tragic close, as the reader sees that the person's family could be watching
them die at that moment.
Mametz Wood is the story of a mass grave being found in a field, with the
skeletons being those of soldiers. This poem is based on a real event, when
600-700 welsh soldiers were killed in Mametz Wood. The poet uses
alliteration in this poem, such as 'f' in 'For years afterwards the farmers found
them', and 'b' in 'blown and broken bird's eggs'. The imagery surrounding the
bones of the dead is particularly important as well. 'The relic of a finger'
creates a sense of waste, useless artifacts from the past (the finger was used
for pulling triggers in the past). 'The china plate' suggests a sense of delicacy,
fragility and preciousness for the bones. Indeed, 'a broken bird's egg' is
reflective of the constant bird imagery used throughout Mametz Wood,
highlighting the deep-rooted position of nature throughout the poem. The
earth reaching back for reminders' shows the importance of the past, of
memories, and is also reflective of the fact that in real life soldiers are often
never acknowledged for their bravery. The line 'arm in arm' is particularly
harrowing, as it depicts a comradeship as the soldiers were 'brothers in arms'
quite literally. There is then a contrast between the joyful, light-hearted 'mid
dance' and the 'skeletons', shown side by side in the poem, which
exaggerates the feeling of loss and sorrow.
The Yellow Palm is an exploratory poem set in the streets of Baghdad, Iraq.
Since the 80s, Iraqi citizens have been suffering, especially after 2003, when
allied forces invaded with the intention of deposing the dictator, Saddam
Hussein. This poem is a ballad, meaning it uses strong emotions and is a
narrative of events, much like a song. This is a rather Audenesque poem,
meaning it has strong political and social undertones and questions the
relationship between people and nature. Firstly, the dominant colour
throughout, yellow is used to represent death and decay, with yellow being a
Poetry Comparison
· Belfast Confetti
o Mametz Wood
o Bayonet Charge
· Charge of the Light Brigade
o Bayonet Charge
· Futility
o Mametz wood
· Bayonet Charge
o Mametz Wood
o Belfast Confetti
o Futility
o Charge of the light brigade
· Mametz Wood
o Bayonet Charge
Question Focusses
· Attitudes to war
· Attitudes to conflict
· Effects of war
· Effects of war on soldiers
· Heroism
Flag: The poet uses Flag to question deep-rooted ideas such as pride and
patriotism, asking: is a piece of cloth really worth that much? The title, 'Flag' is
blunt and unspecific, being purposefully general so that it is inclusive of all
nations and all groups who collect under a banner. Then there is the repetition
of 'What's that', a question that forces the reader to directly question the
significance of a 'piece of cloth'. Further, there is a contrast between the
gentle, peaceful imagery of 'fluttering in the breeze', and the horrifying
implications of death from 'blood you bleed'. Then, of course, comes the direct
attack on patriotism, with the poet stating that the flag will 'blind your
conscience', believing that the blind patriotism will force one to commit bad
acts
, Out of the Blue: Out of the Blue is a rather harrowing recount of a person
trapped at the top of a building during a fire. There is an overwhelming sense
of fear and panic in this poem, with the speaker obviously being afraid of
dying. By the end of the poem, however, this has changed, with the speaker
accepting their death, stating that they are 'failing'. This inherent sense of
stress and panic is hidden beneath the neat, controlled poem, with ordered
stanzas and sentences. Also, there is a sense of the afterlife in this poem,
with 'white' and 'clouds' giving a sense of heaven, whereas the people dying
and the 'heat' of the fire behind him is in reference to hell. Indeed, the speaker
seems to be feeling survivors guilt in the fifth stanza, stating that 'others like
me' are dying, and that is 'appalling'. There is even ancient Greek imagery in
this poem, with the 'sirens' below being a double entendre. The obvious
meaning is police or ambulance sirens, suggesting panic and chaos, but the
second meaning is the ancient Greek sirens, monsters that lured men to their
deaths. There are also many, many verbs within this poem, which is to show
the confusion and chaos going on around the speaker, with hectic, frantic
movements surrounding them. Finally, the speaker is deliberately vague in
gender, age, nationality to push the idea that this could happen to anyone
(although there is an undertone of fate in terms of 'you have picked me out'),
and the end of the poem, 'do you see me my love', is a deeply emotional and
tragic close, as the reader sees that the person's family could be watching
them die at that moment.
Mametz Wood is the story of a mass grave being found in a field, with the
skeletons being those of soldiers. This poem is based on a real event, when
600-700 welsh soldiers were killed in Mametz Wood. The poet uses
alliteration in this poem, such as 'f' in 'For years afterwards the farmers found
them', and 'b' in 'blown and broken bird's eggs'. The imagery surrounding the
bones of the dead is particularly important as well. 'The relic of a finger'
creates a sense of waste, useless artifacts from the past (the finger was used
for pulling triggers in the past). 'The china plate' suggests a sense of delicacy,
fragility and preciousness for the bones. Indeed, 'a broken bird's egg' is
reflective of the constant bird imagery used throughout Mametz Wood,
highlighting the deep-rooted position of nature throughout the poem. The
earth reaching back for reminders' shows the importance of the past, of
memories, and is also reflective of the fact that in real life soldiers are often
never acknowledged for their bravery. The line 'arm in arm' is particularly
harrowing, as it depicts a comradeship as the soldiers were 'brothers in arms'
quite literally. There is then a contrast between the joyful, light-hearted 'mid
dance' and the 'skeletons', shown side by side in the poem, which
exaggerates the feeling of loss and sorrow.
The Yellow Palm is an exploratory poem set in the streets of Baghdad, Iraq.
Since the 80s, Iraqi citizens have been suffering, especially after 2003, when
allied forces invaded with the intention of deposing the dictator, Saddam
Hussein. This poem is a ballad, meaning it uses strong emotions and is a
narrative of events, much like a song. This is a rather Audenesque poem,
meaning it has strong political and social undertones and questions the
relationship between people and nature. Firstly, the dominant colour
throughout, yellow is used to represent death and decay, with yellow being a
