Skirrid Hill, Owen Sheers

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