Falling Leaves - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Falling Leaves

Margaret

Postgate

ColeSlide2

Intro…

Is this really a poem about Falling Leaves?Slide3

Margaret

Postgate

Cole

Dame Margaret Cole was born in Cambridge in 1893 and died in 1980

. She wrote about politics and history and became a pacifist. She

campaigned against military conscription when

her brother

(whose claims to be

recognised

as a

conscientious objector

had been rejected) was jailed for refusing

military orders

.

In

the 1930s she gave up her pacifist views however,

in response

to the Third Reich in Germany and

Franco’s dictatorship

in Spain.Slide4

Background Information:

World War One (1914–18) is sometimes called the

Great War

– ‘

great’ here meaning ‘immense’ or ‘huge’, because it was unlike previous wars. Firstly, it involved everyone

, not

just the army and navy

.

Secondly, and

probably most

devastatingly, it involved the first

modern weapons

(machine guns, bombs and gas) at a time

when soldiers

were still involved in hand-to-hand combat.

The horror

of the trenches is hard for us to grasp fully

.

However

, many of the young soldiers who had signed

up believing

they were on an heroic mission to defend

their families

, country and way of life felt betrayed by

those who

had persuaded them to enlist.

The

reality of

war was

shown in their poetry and later – for those

who survived

– in their novels.Slide5

Background Information:

As Margaret

Postgate

Cole and other women poets

of World War One have shown in their work, it was not only the men who suffered as a result of the war.Women’s lives were affected too, not least because of the millions of young men who died, all borne by women

, and

many loved by women.

So

, while male poets of

this generation

can tell us about the agony of

trench warfare

, women poets voice the despair, anguish

and endurance

of women, waiting, wondering and grieving.Slide6

Background Information:

In this poem, a tree dropping its leaves leads

to thoughts

of the thousands of young soldiers dying

in their prime in the trenches. The pastoral imagery at the start of the poem becomes a contemplation of

the death

toll in Flanders, and vividly illustrates how

the horror

of war overshadows every area of life, even

a peaceful

ride in the countryside.Slide7

Today, as I rode by,

I saw the brown leaves

dropping from their treeIn a

still afternoon,When no wind whirled them whistling to the sky

,

Sounds spontaneous and shows how fast and directly they fell

Sounds peaceful but doesn’t fit in with what’s happening

Alliteration emphasises the idea that the leaves are old and it is natural for them to fallSlide8

But thickly, silently,

They fell

, like snowflakes wiping out the noon;And wandered slowly

thenceFor thinking of a gallant multitude

Which now all withering lay,

Simile – emphasises the number of leaves falling – they block out the light from the sun

Shows she’s feeling thoughtful

She praises the soldiers as well as saying how many there are

She compares them to dead leavesSlide9

Slain

by

no wind of age or pestilence,But in their

beauty strewed

Like snowflakes falling on the Flemish clay.

Harsh word contrasts with the gentleness of the first few lines

Thrown around carelessly as though their lives were not important

Snowflakes melt into nothing, just like leaves fall and soldiers’ lives are lost and vanish. This also emphasises the sheer numbers

There were three major battles in the Flemish province of Ypres in WW1. This makes it clear that the poet is referring to the war

This suggests they were still young when they died

Not a natural death, with no clear reason – linked to line 4Slide10

Form and Structure

Form –

The poem is made up of one stanza

which contains only one complex sentence. This represents a moment of

intense thought. The lines are all different lengths – this could be to suggest the random

way that leaves fall. The regular rhyme scheme helps to create a

peaceful

atmosphere with

gentle

sounds.

Structure –

The poem hinges around the

semi-colon

in line 6 – before this the poet is describing the

leaves falling

, and afterwards she switches to describing

soldiers

being killed.

This creates a

comparison

between leaves falling for no apparent reason and soldiers

dying

for

no good cause

.Slide11

Language

Formal Language –

The poet uses quite formal, old-fashioned vocabulary to describe a simple scene. This adds

dignity and gravity to the comparison with the soldiers’

deaths.Natural Imagery – Falling leaves and dying men are both compared to snowflakes. This highlights the sheer

number

of men killed, the

silence

of their deaths and how

quickly

their lives vanished. There is some

alliteration

to describe

natural

details like wind and snow.Slide12

Interpreting the text:

Imagery

What extended metaphor is used

in the poem?

StructureTrack the punctuation of the poem.What do you notice? Is this significant?Sounds

Track the sounds of words in this poem.

What do you notice?Slide13

Reflection...

*

What is the significance of

the words

'slain' and 'strewed'?* What impression do we get of the poet's attitude towards war?* Why is the comparison made

to snowflakes

? Explain your ideasSlide14

Questions

1. How does the poet create an

atmosphere of

sadness in the poem

?2. What details connect the leaves falling and the soldiers dying?3. How does the poet show a sense of regret?

4. How does the poet feel about the soldiers

that have

died?

5. What is the poet's attitude towards war and how does

she portray

this is the poem?