Jane Weir ‘Poppies’ - PowerPoint Presentation

Jane Weir ‘Poppies’  Three days before Armistice Sundayand poppies had already been placedon individual war graves. Before you left,I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals,spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockadeof yellow bias binding around your blazer.Sellotape bandaged around my hand,I rounded up as many white cat hairsas I could, smoothed down your shirt'supturned collar, steeled the softeningof my face. I wanted to graze my noseacross the tip of your nose, play atbeing Eskimos like we did whenyou were little. I resisted the impulseto run my fingers through the gelledblackthorns of your hair. All my wordsflattened, rolled, turned into felt,  slowly melting. I was brave, as I walkedwith you, to the front door, threwit open, the world overflowinglike a treasure chest. A split secondand you were away, intoxicated.After you'd gone I went into your bedroom,released a song bird from its cage.Later a single dove flew from the pear tree,and this is where it has led me,skirting the church yard walls, my stomach busymaking tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, withouta winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.On reaching the top of the hill I tracedthe inscriptions on the war memorial,leaned against it like a wishbone.The dove pulled freely against the sky,an ornamental stitch. I listened, hoping to hearyour playground voice catching on the wind. The title and the first three lines introduce the theme of remembrance, possibly foreshadowing the death of the son in the poem.

Three days before Armistice Sunday and poppies had already been placedon individual war graves. Before you left,I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals,spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockadeof yellow bias binding around your blazer.The poem is a series of memories, written in the first person. Although it is never stated explicitly, the language gives a strong sense that the speaker is a mother who has lost her son. There are frequent caesura in the poem, suggesting the speaker is trying to maintain composure. However, the emotions appear to creep through as the speaker loses control of her language. For example, the adjective and noun ‘paper red’ are inverted.

Sellotape bandaged around my hand,I rounded up as many white cat hairsas I could, smoothed down your shirt'supturned collar, steeled the softeningof my face.  There is a semantic field of injury is created which seeps into the speaker’s memories: ‘spasms’, ‘bandaged’ and ‘graze’. These words seem out of context and suggest she is preoccupied with the suffering her son might have experienced. The verb ‘steeled’ suggests the speaker is trying to remain strong. The caesura implies that she is trying to stay in control of her emotions.

I wanted to graze my noseacross the tip of your nose, play atbeing Eskimos like we did whenyou were little.The reference to the sense of touch emphasises how the mother longs for the closeness she had with her son when he was a child. The verb ‘play’ contrasts the allusions to battle which run throughout the poem.

I resisted the impulse to run my fingers through the gelledblackthorns of your hair. All my wordsflattened, rolled, turned into felt,slowly melting. I was brave,This metaphor shows how her composure falls apart. This suggests it was difficult for the mother to let her son go. It subverts the idea that those who go to war are the brave ones.

as I walkedwith you, to the front door, threwit open, the world overflowinglike a treasure chest. A split secondand you were away, intoxicated.This simile suggests that the son thinks the world seems full of exciting opportunities. The enjambment reinforces the ‘overflowing’ opportunities. This excitement is emphasised by the word ‘intoxicated’. The son’s excitement contrasts the mother’s sadness.

After you'd gone I went into your bedroom, released a song bird from its cage.Later a single dove flew from the pear tree,and this is where it has led me,skirting the church yard walls, This metaphor symbolises the mother letting her son go; he was free to make his own choices.

my stomach busy making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, withouta winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.Weir uses a semantic field of sewing to represent her stomach churning with fear and anxiety.This suggests she is exposed and makes her seem vulnerable. The choice of ‘reinforcements’ evokes images of a battle.

On reaching the top of the hill I tracedthe inscriptions on the war memorial,leaned against it like a wishbone.This simile represents her fragility. Ironically, wishbones are usually associated with luck. However, it seems as if the mother’s wish to have her son’s life spared has not been granted.

The dove pulled freely against the sky,an ornamental stitch. I listened, hoping to hearyour playground voice catching on the wind.This implies she’s hoping to hear the spirit of her dead son. She wants to turn back time to when her son was a child.Doves symbolise love and peace. Weir extends the sewing metaphor; the dove is an ‘ornamental stitch’, representing her love for her son.

S ‘paper red’Weir uses frequent caesura to suggest the speaker is trying to stay in control. However, the emotions creep through. E.g. when the adjective and noun ‘paper red’ are inverted.P‘spasms’, ‘bandaged’ and ‘graze’There is a semantic field of injury which seeps into the speaker’s memories. These words seem out of context, suggesting the speaker is scared for her son’s safety.L‘without a winter coat or reinforcements’The mother’s exposure to the elements makes her seem vulnerable. ‘Reinforcements’ in an interesting lexical choice as it links to battle. I‘released a song bird from its cage’This metaphor represents the mother letting her son go. She gives him his freedom.T ‘steeled the softening of my face’The mother tries to remain strong, but she ends up ‘slowly melting’ as she struggles to control her emotions.Compare how poets use language to present strong feelings in ‘Poppies’ and one other poem from ‘Power and conflict’.

‘War Photographer’ ‘Remains’ ‘Exposure’ KEY THEMES: Effects of conflict Loss Memory Fear Which poem would make a good comparison? Which poem would you choose to compare to ‘Poppies’?