kamikaze

“embarked at sunrise”

• links to themes: WAR AND CONFLICT

• AO3 - Japan is known as the 'land of the rising sun'

• Idea of "embarking" connotes a sense of new beginnings but also the end of different chapter

  • Links to the confliction of the kamikaze pilot mentioned in the poem over whether to sacrifice his life or honour

“samurai sword”

• links to themes: WAR AND CONFLICT, OPPRESSION AND INEQUALITY

• Concept of using a "sword" instead of more advanced technology such as guns connotes archaic practices - links to the idea of Kamikaze pilots' suicide mission and how they were destined to lose their lives from enrolment

“a shaven head full of powerful incantations”

• links to themes: WAR AND CONFLICT, IDENTITY

• Prolocutor describes how the main is under the all-consuming spell of patriotism and propaganda

• Idea of a "shaven head" links to an inability to go back on the decision of Kamikaze enrolment - the pilots are permanently marked with the weight of their duty and reputation

“one-way journey into history”

• links to themes: WAR AND CONFLICT, MEMORY AND LOSS, IDENTITY

• Eludes to how humanity is condemned to continually repeat history's mistakes

• Idea of a "one-way journey" connotes death and how Kamikaze pilots were not expected to return from war

  • Eludes to the desire of the Kamikaze pilot to be immortalised in glory and remembered in history

“bunting”

• links to themes: MEMORY AND LOSS

• The concept of party decorations connotes celebration which is paradoxical to the death it appears he seeks

  • Connotes how humanity can be blinded to the consequences of the pursuit of honour and glory

“figure of eight”

• links to themes: WAR AND CONFLICT, MEMORY AND LOSS

• The figure of eight symbolises infinity

  • Links to how the pilot wishes to be memorialised in history

  • The idea of infinity links to the prevailing beauty of nature; dichotomous to the transience of humanity

    • War, violence and honour will be forgotten, nature will remain to chronicle these past events

“cairns … pearls”

• links to themes: WAR AND CONFLICT, IDENTITY

• Stacks of pebbles are used to mark soldiers' graves

  • This signals to the pilot the lasting consequences of his actions, juxtaposed with transience of his honour

  • This acts as a volta to connote the shift in perspective of the Kamikaze pilot towards the suicide mission

“nor did she meet his eyes”

• links to themes: WAR AND CONFLICT, MEMORY AND LOSS, IDENTITY

• Links to the concept of the eyes being windows to the soul - the lack of eye contact connotes how the wife has become ashamed of and emotionally-detached from her husband

  • AO3 - this is caused by a Japanese social belief that the husband lost his honour and slandered the reputation of his family by not fulfilling his patriotic duties of dying for his country and emperor

“he must have wondered which had been the better way to die”

• links to themes: WAR AND CONFLICT, MEMORY AND LOSS, IDENTITY

• Both of the options posed to the man ended in death

  • This line implies that the soldiers are carefully controlled through indoctrination and propaganda

• This quotation is the written in a detached, third person perspective to suggest that Garland doesn't fully identify with this sentiment

structure

• written in blank verse

  • rigidity of structure connotes the daughter’s emotional detachment from her father, due to his perceived loss of honour and dignity

  • the controlled structure also mirrors the discipline and obedience of the Kamikaze pilots

• consistent enjambment

  • undermines the regular structure of the poem, connotes how the father undermined the distortions of the propaganda to choose to survive

AO3

• written in 2013

• title: ‘Kamikaze’ links to the Japanese suicide pilots that operated during the war against Korea

  • the concept of the Kamikaze pilots has patriotic connotations

  • this poem demonstrates the role society plays in isolation

• Garland was inspired by John Donne and Seamus Heaney

  • Garland wrote ‘Kamikaze’ to understand the motivations behind people’s suicidal patriotic actions

• during WW2, Japanese Kamikaze pilot flew manned suicide missions into military targets

  • this was seen as the only way to help Japan regain control of the war

  • the importance of honour was intrinsically woven into Japanese culture at the time, influenced by a belief that one person’s dishonour stained their entire family