CHOSEN POEMS FLASCHARDS

Envy themes

Jealousy

Judgement

Human nature

Envy form and structure

3 Stanzas

Indentation every 3rd line

Rhyming couplet at the beginning of each line

Shows humans can not have all qualities

This rose tree is not made to bear the violet blue nor lily fair

This personification helps to make the link between the flower and human nature

And should it fret you would suppose it had not seen its own red rose

This simile judges jealous people (+ Hendiadys)

Like such a blind and senseless tree

Takes time for a person to bloom just like a flower

With care and culture all may find some pretty flower in their own mind

When was Mary lamb born

1764

Where was she born

London

What did she work as

A seamstress

What did she suffer from

Bi Polar

What did she do during a breakdown

Killed her mother with a knife

What is envy (Religiously)

1/7 deadly sins

What does Yevtushenko say about envy

That it is an insult to oneself

What does Socrates say bout envy

Envy is the ulcer of the soul

Vergissmeinnicht themes

Horror + dehumanisation of war

Humanity vs technology

War, love and suffering

Vergissmeinnicht form and structure

Six quatrains (Effect of constant rhythm like that of tanks)

Rhyming couplet shows the soldiers do good as well as bad

No rhyme shows this is a sombre topic of which the writer does not have fond memories

Half rhymes show that the poem is recited by a shell shocked soldier

Repetition of what word gives a sense of loss?

Gone, gone

Metaphor of fear and chaos

The nightmare ground

What quote personifies the gun as angry too

Frowning barrel of his gun

Personification of mechanised wars triumph over humanity

Mocked at by his own equipment

Lexical set of death

Papar eye and burst stomach

Contrast/paradoxical situation

Lover and killer mingled

What does the poem show

Poem shows how easily we can lose our humanity and compassion during the war

When was Keith Douglas born

1920

How long after battle did Keith return to the battlefield

3 weeks after

What were they like themes

Ethnic cleansing

War and conflict

Geographical conflict

What were they like form and structure

Free verse

No rhyme

Questions in past tense - suggests the culture is not longer present

First speaker is addressed as ‘Sir’ which shows he has authority

Double entendre and juxtaposition of light and stone

Their light hearts turned to stone

Symbolises new life being slaughtered in war

But after their children were killed there were no more buds

Symbolises the innocence of the Vietnamese people

Most were peasants; their life was in rice and bamboo

Harsh plosives due to the pain felt by victims of war (Bad taste between Americans and Vietnamese)

Laughter is bitter to the burned mouth

Moths are very gentle and this simile suggests the people of Vietnam were mild and delicate

It was reported that their singing resembled the flight of moths in moonlight

Simple declarative, many people are dead, a culture has been erased

It is silent now

When was Denise Levratov born

1923

What is the poem

Part of an American protest against the Vietnam war

Flag themes

National conflict'

Patriotism

Moral decay

Flag form and structure

5 terset stanza format

First line of every stanza begins with a question

Last stanza ends with a rhyming couplet

This quote is repeated in second line of each stanza in an attempt to deny the symbolic power of flags which the writer eventually accepts

It’s just a piece of cloth

Alliteration of a country coming down to its knees

Nation to its knees

Alliteration and assonance (shows the effect of flags on men)

Makes the guts of men grow bold

Consonance reiterates the empowering effect flags can enact on men

That dares the coward to relent

Alliteration + consonance along with plosives show how patriotism show how patriotism can lead to war and bloodshed

It’s just a piece of cloth that will outlive the blood you bleed

Rhyming couplet and word friend is a direct address to the reader which reminds us of the relevance that the poem has to us. Friend and end eludes to the fact that people often end up dying for the flag when they ‘Blind their conscience’'

Ask for a flag my friend and then blind your conscience to the end

When was John Agard born

1949

What is the meaning of the poem

The poem suggests that human beings use patriotism to behave in ways that allow them to ignore their conscience and do terrible things in the name of loyalty to their country

The complexity arises from knowing where to align oneself with patriotism and nationalism

Thirteen themes

False promises

Prejudice

Racism

Misinformation

Thirteen form and structure

Free verse

No rhyme scheme

Narrative poem

These two quotes juxtapose each other to show the blatant prejudice

You fit the description of a man

You’re thirteen

Semantic field of potential and promise

Little stars

Supernovas

Biggest and brightest stars

Innocence is fading and he is praying that the policeman remembers him

Praying he remembers the heat of your supernova

1st and 2nd person are interchanged

Don’t you remember me

Extended metaphor of innocence fading

Dying stars

Black holes

When was Caleb Femi born

1990

Where was he born

Nigeria

Where was he brought up

North Peckham, London

Meaning behind the poem

This poem gives a voice to young black boys growing up in north Peckham and how prejudice limits their opportunities

Honour killing themesq

Suppression

Religious conflict

Rejection of national identity

Honour killing form and structure

Six stanzas with occasional rhyme but written in free verse

Pakistan transformed into a metaphor

This black coat of a country

Past tense indicate her views have changed

I swore

I wore

Antithesis to explain how this veil has made her faithless

Black veil of a faith

Her religion has become distorted and damaging to her

Gave my God a devil’s face and muffled my own voice

Paradoxically, these items have made her poor mentally and spiritually despite their monetary value

The Mangal sutra and the rings rattling in a tin cup of needs that beggared me

Creating a new geography for herself, free from religious affiliation

I’m taking of this skin, and then the flesh, the womb

Allows her to explore her talents that were suppressed by her faith

Let’s see what I am in here

When was Imitiaz Dharker born

1954

What does the poem explore

The poem explores the archaic treatment of women in some Islamic countries

What was the poem triggered by

Poem triggered by the ‘Honour Killing’ of woman in Lahore who asked for a divorce