Poppies by Jane Weir To identify the meaning

‘Poppies’ by Jane Weir To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

What do you think of when you see this poppy? Be prepared to explain your reasons as to why you think this. To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

Information about ‘Poppies’ was written in 2009 by Weir in response to a request from Carol Ann Duffy to ten poets to each write a poem in response to present-day wars and conflicts. The poem is set in the present day, but reaches right back to the beginning of the Poppy Day tradition. Armistice Sunday began as a way of marking the end of the First World War in 1918. It was set up so people could remember the hundreds and thousands of ordinary men who had been killed in the First World War. Today, the event is used to remember soldiers of all wars who have died since then. When Poppies was written, British soldiers were still dying in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a poem that is open to interpretation. When asked what the poem is about, Jane Weir replied; ‘I think it’s important to let the reader have space to make up their own mind’. To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

The experience o Read the poem. What experience do you think is being related? o Who is the narrative voice in the poem? – The ‘I’? o Who is the ‘you’ who is referred to many times? ü Select two/three lines or phrases that jump out to you. Explain your selection of these lines to a partner. o ‘Poppies’ is a poem that tells a story; it relates a series of linked events. ü Highlight all of the references to time within the poem. Do you notice anything interesting about the placement of these time references? To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

Form and structure The poem appears to have a strong, regular sense of form. There are four clear stanzas, the first and last with six lines, the second with 11 and the third 12. On closer inspection, however, we can see a great deal of movement within this outwardly regular form. 19 lines out of 35 have breaks in the middle of the lines (caesuras). ü What could these line breaks suggest to a reader? The biggest movement in the poem is the narrative structure. The time sequence keeps changing along with her emotions. It goes from "Three days before" (line 1) to "Before you left" (line 3) to "After you'd gone" (line 23) to "later" (line 25) and the present in "this is where it has led me" on line 26. To be able to respond The poem with her on the hill, the present and the To suspended, be able to comment on between To identify the ends meaning of apast. poem through close structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs language analysis LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

Language and imagery o In one colour, highlight all of the possessive pronouns within the poem. What effect does the repetition of these create? ü Complete your investigating language and imagery task sheet. This line carries the sense of the mother blocking out the memory of her son’s violent death with a sweeter, purer memory. This image carries echoes of battlefield injury as well as cleaning the cat hairs off the blazer. The contrast between the death in battle and the domestic happiness (the boy has been cuddling his cat) is powerful. To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis ‘Sellotape bandaged around my hand, I rounded up as many white cat hairs as I could, smoothed down your shirt’s upturned collar, steeled the softening of my face. ’ To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

Finding images The poem contains a number of images and references to: o Poppies o Needlework and embroidery o Caged birds and doves ü Why do you think the poet included these details ? How do they add to the way the poet explores the idea of warfare and conflict? To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

Attitudes, themes and ideas The poem is about the nature of grief. The mother is speaking directly to her son, but a son who shifts in time. There is: o The son leaving home for school on his own for the first time. o The son who has just been killed. o Beneath the surface , the son dying violently in a field hospital in Afghanistan. It is as if all these different versions of her son fixed exist together inside her. When the poem reaches a moment in the present (line 26) she is vulnerable and without protection. The final lines then go back to the past tense "I traced…". ü Why do you think that the verb ‘traced’ has been chosen by the poet? It is as if the present holds too much pain and her memories can only be expressed if distanced in imagery held safely in the past. To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

Summarise ‘Poppies’ The fact file: To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

Final notes: Armistice Sunday: (or Remembrance Day) – commemorated every year on 11 th November to remember those who have died in line of duty. : Key theme w Personal vie a of war from mother’s. perspective Blockade: Surrounding a place, by armed forces, to prevent anyone leaving. You could compare ‘Poppies’ to: ‘Kamikaze’ To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis Key vocabulary: Intoxicated: Drunk, or exhilarated, highly excited. To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

Extending your learning To extend your knowledge and understanding of ‘Poppies’, write a first person account from either the mother, or the son’s, perspective about how they feel on the morning that the son leaves home. Ensure that you include: ü ü Personal pronouns Details from the poem Descriptive language (use the writer’s toolkit) Structural features (paragraphs and sentences of varying lengths) To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis To be able to respond To be able to comment on structural features and poetic creatively to a poem through devices in a poem analysis paragraphs LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question