Disabled

"Disabled" (3 points)

1. Contrasting statement

2. contrasting the typical image of a soldier, the title is disabled

3. This indicates the harrowing effects of war

"He'' (2 points)

1. anonymity

2. this shows that the poem can be a universal story for soldiers

"wheeled" (3 points)

1. Vocab choice

2. Dependance on others

3. By using wheeled chair rather than wheel chair it shows that the soldier is Heavily reliant on others

"waiting for dark," (3 points)

1. Euphemisms

2. In this case dark is a euphemism for death.

3. this shows the poor mental state of the soldier.

"Voices of boys rang out like a hymn," (3 points)

1. Simlie for emphasis

2. Emphasis is placed on the solders loneliness by the positive connotations of boys playing contrasted with the melancholic tone of a hymn.

3. the soldier can no longer see the joy in anything.

"sleep had mothered" (2 points)

1. Metaphor

2. Sleep brings comfort like a mother does to a child.

"Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park" (2 points)

1. caesura

2. the full stop emphasises his disability and how he feels it has cut short his experience and life.

"swing" (2 points)

1. vocabulary choice

2. Connotations of playfulness and youth as children play on swings.

"glow-lamps budded" (3 points)

1. metaphor

2. Light was like buds among the trees

3. the light symbolises hope and the hope at the start of the soldier's life that is plentiful.
   

"girls glanced" (2 points)

1. alliteration

2. The use of alliteration is playful and it is talking about playful looks.

Use of dash (2 points)

1. Transitional

2. moving from before the war as a young man to after the war and how his life has altered.

"In the old times" (6 points)

1. Use of phrase

2. Depicts the veteran as an old man despite his young age.

3. The time before the war seems a lifetime ago

4. his life has changed so drastically that despite the short number of years

5. it feels impossibly far away and much like he would have heard old men and women talking about "old times" is how he feels about his life before the war

6. It also has connotations of life being better-often when older people talk about their youth and years gone by it is with fondness and it is often their perception that this was a better time.

"threw away his knees" (5 points)

1. Verb choice

2. The use of the word threw implies that he regrets what happened.

3. There is a bitter tone.

4. It could be that he believes the sacrifice wasn't worth it

5. or it could refer to his not realising what he was sacrificing and the impact it would have on him.

"Now he will never" (2 points)

1. word choice

2. there is no hope, the use of never is very finite and it reveals he has no hope of the things he had once enjoyed.

“an artist silly for his face" (3 points)

1. language choice

2. Shows the naivety of them

3. This reinforces the picture of a young boy who has been ravaged by war.

"he is old;" (2 points)

1. language

2. Shows the effect of war by making a young man seem old.

"will never" (3 points)

1. modal verb of “will” - harsh language

2. Reinforces the feeling of hopelessness for the soldiers condition.

3. makes the reader feel highly emotive

"lost his colour" (3 points)

1. metaphor

2. the colour is a metaphor for the soldiers youth and vigour

3. by saying it was lost it shows that the soldier feels that it could have been prevented.

"half his lifetime lapsed" (2 points)

1. metaphor

2. he metaphorically lost his life

"hot race," (2 points)

1. vocabulary

2. Describes war in a way that shows excitement and action

"purple spurted" (2 points)

1. signifies vigour

2. Shows the high energy environment of the war and emphasises the energy of the soldier at this time

"One time he liked a blood smear down his leg" (3 points)

1. contrast

2. This shows how immature the soldier was, and contrasts his later experience of sorrow with one of joy.

3. Ironically the experience he remembers fondly is similar to the experience which has left him disabled.

"- He wonders" (3 points)

1. use of a dash

2. The use of a dash shows the reflection that the soldier is doing.

3. this makes him seem lonely and longing for the life he used to have.

"he'd drunk a peg," (3 points)

1. shows impulsiveness

2. By showing that the soldier was intoxicated when he signed up for the military it reenforces his former childishness.

3. also shows the desperation of the military at this time as they are willing to let a drunk man sighing his life away.

"He thought he'd better join." (2 points)

1. shows impulsiveness

2. The short sentence is representative of the short thought process behind the decision.

"had said he'd look a god in kilts," (3 points)

1. Simile

2. The use of a simile indicates that the decision to join the army was influenced by glory and the chance to be idolised

3. shows that the soldier hates his current life

"Smiling they wrote his lie;" (3 points)

1. Dicton

2. The lie is that he is not 19, he is too young to join the army and shows that he is a young boy who is vulnerable and naive.

3. The smile shows that they know he is too young but don't care, they see him as a chess piece.

"fears/ Of Fear" (2 points)

1. Capitalisation in sentence

2. The capitalisation of fear highlights the horrors of war.

"jewelled hilts" "plaid socks" (5 points)

1. Shows the naivety of the soldier

2. When thinking of the army life, all the soldier thinks of jewellery and fancy clothes

3. this shows the naivety of the soldier.

4. He does not think of the fighting or of the enemy.

5. Shows him as a superficial character.

"Goal" (2 points)

1. Chaptalisation for emphasis

2. The capitalisation of goal shows that the soldier feels that his welcome back to home was underwhelming and seemed less important than a goal in football.

3 line stanza
Line Number (s): 36-39 (2 points)

1. Short stanza

2. Shows how the soldier sees that the glory they expected upon returning was short-lived and underwhelming.

"rules consider wise" "pity they may dole" (2 points)

1. It shows his lack of free will and his lack of independence,

2. He is now at the mercy of the government which allowed him to waste his life.

"spend a few sick years" (2 points)

1. This shows the uncertain future for the soldier

2. It could be 2 or 20 years.

"men that were whole" (3 points)

1. metaphor

2. it is a metaphor for the fact that they have all of their limbs but also that they have stable mental states.

3. He doesn't feel he has either, the lack of a 'whole' body is most noticeable.

"How cold and late it is! Why don't they come and put him to bed? Why don't they come?" (4 points)

1. shows how alone the soldier is and shows his longing for death.

2. The punctuation shows his increasing desperation.

3. It also shows that he is utterly dependant on others and symbolises him spending his time waiting.

4. This alludes to the idea of waiting for death.