Mametz Wood (themes)
respect, anger, dishonour, lack of identity
Mametz Wood (Context)
Welsh regiment, link to Sheers' background French field First part of the battle of the Somme in 1916 lost 4,000 men in 5 days
Mametz Wood (Language)
"earth stands sentinel" Personification °protecting the soldiers
Mametz Wood (Language)
"their skeletons paused mid dance macabre" Metaphor °Life take away midway through °Dance of death= foreshadowing
Mametz Wood (Structure)
"nesting machine guns" Juxtaposition °Implies that the machine guns are natural °Normal situation
Mametz Wood (Structure)
"broken bird's egg of a skull." Alliteration °on going turmoil °lack of respect °value of life
Mametz Wood (Form)
Regular 3 line stanzas °ploughing of the fields °normality
Mametz Wood (Form)
Irregular line lengths °strangeness of the situation
Mametz Wood (Form)
Lack of punctuation
Mametz Wood (Form)
"slipped from their absent tongues." Sibilance °Sinister, evil °impact of the conflict
Night Windows (Themes)
gender, love, lust, desire, female power
Night Windows (Context)
Pressures of society Based on a painting from 1928 of a window with the light on
Night Windows (Language)
"Your back arched like a bow" Simile °anticipation, tension °violent, negative °rise and fall of a relationship
Night Windows (Language)
"walked into the lit hallway trailing the dress of your shadow behind you," Light and dark imagery °power of women °society's negative view of women
Night Windows (Structure)
"but left the hall bulb bright" Volta °Change °special memory, nostalgia °Romantic setting
Night Windows (Structure)
"side swipes of curtains." Sibilance °sexual, soothing, manipulative? °people judging, secretive encounter?
Night Windows (Form)
Regular 4 line stanzas (until last one) °common, familiar °connection broken, loss, disconnect, fading affection
Night Windows (Form)
3 sentences °strong, overwhelming memory °drawing out the memory
Farther (Themes)
family, love, loss, identity
Farther (Context)
Father+son relationship Nature vs. Man
Farther (Language)
"short and sharpe and solitary," Sibilance °old age °bitterness
Farther (Language)
"simplified by snow, along the dry stone wall, its puzzle solved by moss," Personification °nature resolves problems or causes them
Farther (Structure)
"Farther" Play on words °distance °extending their time together
Farther (Structure)
"the sky rubbed raw over the mountains," Alliterations °finality, closing °sunset °hostility °long time
Farther (Form)
Free Verse Poem °speech, story, reflective °not recent, one special memory
Joseph Jones (Themes)
Male power, identity
Joseph Jones (Context)
Male image, changing view of males and females Impact that society has on the male image
Joseph Jones (Language)
"white tights shed to high heels" Metaphor Imagery °innocence, purity °lack of female respect °sexual encounter
Joseph Jones (Language)
"told us all how he got his red wings over the band..." Enjambment °insignificant °crude, laddish
Joseph Jones (Structure)
'the making of a small town myth" Caesura °no truth °no lasting image °'hero worship' °unsure
Joseph Jones (Structure)
"Of course I remember Joseph." Short sentence Frequent punctuation °informal
Joseph Jones (Form)
4 line stanzas °insecurities °decline in reputation °perfection of male image
Joseph Jones (Form)
Last Stanza °decline in reputations, memory disappearing? °steps, spaced out? °distancing himself from society
The Steelworks (Themes)
Identity, loss, male power? Welsh heritage nature
The Steelworks (Context)
Ebbw vale, 2002 Steelworks closure, main source of income for loads of people in Wales Welsh culture
The Steelworks (Language)
"breathless vents" Oxymoron °new purpose
The Steelworks (Language)
"A deserted mothership becalmed on the valley's floor" Metaphor °main place, biggest °taking over °nature °alien in welsh country side
The Steelworks (Structure)
"sometimes all day men pressing and dipping" Caesura °man vs. nature °break in industry
The Steelworks (Structure)
"rolling off the clouds in sheets across a brushed metal sky." Metaphor Enjambment °run of the factory vs the run of nature
The Steelworks (Form)
"The Steelworks," Pun °man vs. nature °increase of the impact of the closure °starts the poem in the title
Drinking with Hitler (Themes)
Power, gender imbalance, identity, conflict
Drinking with Hitler (Context)
Led campaign in take over of white land Connotations of Hitler, ww2?
Drinking with Hitler (Language)
"with one slow blink of her blue painted eyes." Oxymoron °defying him, gaining power °false sense of security
Drinking with Hitler (Language)
"Delicate among her jewellery, long
Drinking with Hitler (Structure)
"the scorched huts like cauterised wounds," Smilie °horrific imagery °reality of his actions °life saving? °Accumulative effects
Drinking with Hitler (Structure)
"in a flourish of cards." °Flamboyant, practiced °foolish, power
Drinking with Hitler (Form)
4 lines a stanza °significance of detail
The Farrier (Themes)
Nature vs. industry, identity, welsh heritage
The Farrier (Context)
"excavating" mining heritage Journey through the process of shoeing a horse Journey through time 'country folk' connection of man and nature
The Farrier (Language)
"like a man putting his shoulder to the knackered car." Smilie °welsh heritage °hardworking, traditional °linked to being a mechanic °technicality of a horse
The Farrier (Language)
"cutting moon sliver clippings" Metaphor °gentle, calming, harsh, contrast
The Farrier (Structure)
"then the close work begins; cutting moon sliver clippings." Ceasura °building up to work °long process, craft man ship
The Farrier (Structure)
"the wind twisting his side burns in its fingers" Personification °Nature vs. Industry °nature taking charge
The Farrier (Form)
8 tercets °slows the pace of the poem down °allows the reader to think about the literal meaning
The Farrier (Form)
Narrative Voice °An outsiders perspective looking in °Mare / Female subject does not have a voice
Marking Time (Themes)
Male dominance, modern relationships, love, nature, loss, identity
Marking Time (Context)
Relationship poem, first in the collection Love vs. Lust male and female power / lessens nostalgia
Marking Time (Language)
"two tattered flags flying from your spine's mast." Metaphor °comparing to ship °movement during sex °ships parting °lost at sea
Marking Time (Language)
"under the bark, the skin" Nature Imagery °welsh heritage °sex is natural °reminder of roots
Marking Time (Structure)
"finally fading" Alliteration °passion has to come to an end °emotional+physical effect °never forgot
Marking Time (Structure)
"the loving scar remains." Oxymoron Irony °Never going away °physical, mental and emotional impact °reminder of their love °loss?
Marking Time (Form)
Free Verse Poem 14 lines
Marking Time (Form)
No regular rhyme scheme No rhyme scheme, no conclusion, no ending
Marking Time (Form)
Male Narrative °dominance °apology °Sheers' POV
Liable to Floods (Themes)
Nature vs. humans Identity
Liable to Floods (Context)
Welsh country side training camp °Welsh Heritage °ww1+2
Liable to Floods (Language)
"back bone of the rock, shallow beneath the soil" Personification °nature has the power
Liable to Floods (Language)
"rain's fusillade and the artillery of thunder," Metaphor °nature has the power over the army °reference to army terminology
Liable to Floods (Structure)
"Say / away" Rhyme couplet °finality, ending °positive, negative? °ending of war? life?
Liable to Floods (Structure)
"Don't worry Jack... we've got this one covered!" Speech °human arrogance (hubris) °ignoring the warning of nature °revenge
Liable to Floods (Form)
10 stanzas °regimented Juxtaposition the chaos caused by nature 4 lines a stanza °link to the war practices
Amazon (Themes)
Bravery, love, identity, illness, courage
Amazon (Context)
Amazonian women used to remove their breasts to have better bow control. Breast cancer
Amazon (Language)
"All of us masked in the flame's hot soul" Personification °burning away at her
Amazon (Structure)
"buses / redding past as if nothing has happened." Enjambment °society is not stopping to sympathise °life goes on
Amazon (Structure)
"soft but hard" Parallel Phrasing °reinforcing the trauma
Amazon (Form)
Irregular stanza length °scared °uncertainty Third Person °distance, numbness
On Going (Themes)
Love, loss, family, death, grief, identity
On Going (Context)
Memory of his grandma Fragility of life Cyclical nature of life
On Going (Language)
"like blustery wind at a blind." Smilie °nature °freedom °limits of nature
On Going (Language)
"lay instead an ancient child," Oxymoron °close to the end of her life °life full circle
On Going (Structure)
"to measure, record and monitor," List of 3 °Medical terminology
On Going (Structure)
"you slipped back into sleep of their slow closing." Full Stop °finality °life ending °death
On Going (Form)
4 stanzas °acceptance of the events °drawing out time together