Three days before Armistice Sunday
and poppies had already been placed
- This is a personal display of grief.
- Symbolism The poppy has symbolic links to violence, death and memory. It is quite foreboding in this poem.
I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals,
Pronouns “I” and “Your” used to emphasises the intimacy and closely of the speaker and subject.
spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade
of yellow bias binding around your blazer.
- Blockade Military reference to blocking, perhaps of emotion or perhaps between her and her son.
- “spasms” lack of control she feels over protecting her son from pain and suffering.
- She performing a domestic action, but using military terms which suggests the thought of conflict is overwhelming her.
- Alliteration also used with bias, binding, blunder emphasise bustle, mothering over her son.
- “bias binding” fits with the sewing semantic field, they are there to stop things fraying so maybe she’s trying to remind herself not to fall apart while he’s there.
- The fact it’s a blazer makes it sound like a school age suggesting she still feels a responsibility to care for him.
Sellotape bandaged around my hand,
Familiar noun/military metaphor The reference to sellotape is quite a familiar homely image, ‘bandaged’ can be used to imply wound or injury/harm.
upturned collar, steeled the softening
- Sibilance, The words ‘steeled, shirt, softening’ etc. gives a calm tone to the scene described in the poem.
- She’s trying not to cry as she doesn’t want him to feel as though he’s hurting her by wanting to be free.
across the tip of your nose, play at
Aside, the personal anecdote creates a sense of intimacy and human realism in the speakers voice. Juxtaposed with the military side of her son.
blackthorns of your hair. All my words
- Metaphor, a reference to the shortened hair stubble required in the military and how aggressive it makes her son appear to her.
- Touch is important because she’s never going to be able to do it again.
flattened, rolled, turned into felt,
- Power of three, reflects the way the mother is tongue tied and doesn’t know what to say, she is proud of her son but also doesn’t want him to go.
- This being at the end of a stanza suggest the mother is breaking emotionally as there is a break in the structure.
with you, to the front door, threw
- Symbolic, idea of throwing the door open and setting her son free. The door represents her own acceptance of his choice.
- She comes with him all the way to the door determined not to have to let go of him until the very last moment.
like a treasure chest. A split second
- The enjambment at the end of the line suggests it happens quickly.
- Simile, suggests how attractive the world appears to her son and also her aspiration for him to have opportunities.
released a song bird from its cage.
- Metaphor, connotes that he is like a beautiful caged creature and needs to be set free. Implies that she understands this includes free to make mistakes and be harmed.
- It could also suggest her letting all her emotions free now he’s not there to see her cry.
and this is where it has led me,
Vague Pronoun, contains double meaning, this as in the location but also the situation, suggests that ‘this’ is her sons death, she cannot bear to speak the words. Implies pain.
making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, without
a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.
- Listing, implies the awkward feeling of the mother, trying to distract herself from grief. However she’s got nothing to show for all of it, could imply that she just can’t escape the grief in any way.
- “reinforcements” suggests she feels alone and is trying to find comfort elsewhere.
On reaching the top of the hill I traced
Physical senses, implies the intimacy between mother and son, connotes the tactile hypersensitivity and jumbled emotions.
an ornamental stitch. I listened, hoping to hear
Caesura, breaking down the verses, implies the choking back tears.
Talk about the poems context…
The poem looks at a mother of a son who has grown up and gone to war. The poem contains many clues that this is a more modern conflict, however the poem ends at the memorial, suggesting the son died at war or has at least not yet returned home and is now missed by the mother who fears the worst.
The poem is based very heavily around the idea of Poppies as memorials and therefore the idea of memory. The poem flashes back to key moments of the life of the mother and son.
The poem also contains a range of emotions. There is genuine sadness but also pride. The poem doesn’t seem to comment heavily on the war itself.
Who wrote the poem?
Jane Weir
How does this poem link to the idea of power and conflict?
The poem looks partially at conflict because of the nature of the son going to war, however it looks at conflict more from the perspective of those it leaves behind and the emotions of families. It is a behind the scenes view of conflict rather than addressing the conflict itself. There is also a level of conflict in the mothers emotions, pride, fear, sadness.
Talk about the poems structure…
Written as a monologue in 4 stanzas and no rhyme scheme. The stanzas are structured along events in the
life of mother and child. 1st the mother looks back at remembrance day and the idea of the poppy which has helped trigger the memory. 2nd the mother talks about helping her son get ready and seeing him off. 3rd the poem explores the emptiness that is left in his absence, finally the mother feels drawn to a war memorial bringing the story back to where it started, yet now with no son around. The suggestion of the dove being that he has died. The poem uses a lot of enjambment and familiar nouns to enhance the idea of natural tone and the mothers voice.
How does war and peace link into this poem?
There is a huge contrast with some of the imagery of the poem, sometimes linking to violence “blackthorns of your hair”/”Blockade” and the more peaceful homely images “released a song bird”/”play at being Eskimos”. This contrast emphasises the conflicting emotions in the mother.
Key points…
- The relationship in the poem provides a deeper level of empathy and the conflict between what was and what now is the relationship.
- The poem uses a range of devices to capture the speakers sad and reflective tone.
- The poems uses contrasting language and ideas to emphasise the conflict and turmoil of the Mother.
Themes…
Effects of Conflict Loss and Absence Memory Fear Identity Individual Experience
Key quotes…
"war graves" "I was brave' "I resisted the impulse" "playground voice" "dove"
Why is there a lot of domestic imagery in this poem?
Domestic imagery used and fused with the rich imagery of war in order to suggest that those left behind are suffering to.
