Poppies
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Poppies What was the reason poppies grew on Flanders fields/ no man’s land, after the war had ended?
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Transcript of Poppies
Poppies
What was the reason poppies grew on Flanders fields/ no man’s land, after the war had ended?
poppies
• Today we will:
Practise our independent reading of an unknown poem
Be able to locate and comment on symbolism/imagery in a poem
…out of evil comes beauty?
Because…
The chaotic activity of the war, such as constant bombing of the fields, had disrupted the ground-however, this stimulated the germination of poppy seeds into the sea of poppies that left their mark on the war land.
What type of conflict is present in this poem?
Internal
Character feelings
External conflict
Worry
How does this poem show a mother’s feelings of conflict?
Structure-look at the start and end of the poem
Language- what devices/ symbolism/ vocabulary are used?
Images- what image is created of both mother, and the way she sees her son?
Themes-what are the ideas and messages of this poem?
• What does this mean to you?
PoppiesJane Weir
Jane Weir describes herself as Anglo-Italian, and grew up in on the outskirts of Manchester on a council estate. She is a textile designer, writer and poet who has lived ‘all over the place’, including in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the Troubles (in the 1980s). Weir currently lives in Derbyshire and Manchester, where she writes and runs her own textile and design business.
Weir’s poem ‘Poppies’ was commissioned by Duffy as part of a collection of ten contemporary war poems which were
published in the Guardian in 2009, as part of a response to the escalating conflict in Afghanistan and the Iraq inquiry. Weir
describes being surprised by the ‘overwhelming response’ she had from readers across Europe to ‘Poppies’. Many of the
readers who contacted her were mothers of soldiers killed in action in recent conflicts. She commented in an interview that, ‘I wrote the piece from a woman's perspective, which is quite rare, as most poets who write about war have been men. As the mother of two teenage boys, I tried to put across how I
might feel if they were fighting in a war zone.’
In ‘Poppies’ she tells the ‘story’ of a mother’s experience of pain and loss as her
son leaves home to go to war. She has indicated that: ‘I was subliminally thinking of
Susan Owen [mother of Wilfred]… and families of soldiers killed in any war when I wrote this poem. This poem attempts on
one level to address female experience and is consciously a political act.’
The poem is basically about a mother who describes her son
leaving home to fight in the army and her emotional reaction to her
son leaving. She feels sad, lonely and scared for his safety.
She describes helping him smarten his uniform ready to
leave. After he leaves, she goes to places that remind her of him,
desperately trying to find any trace of him.
You should compare this poem with other poems about the same themes: effects of conflict: 'The Charge of the
Light Brigade'; sadness and loss: 'Futility’, 'The Falling Leaves', 'Come
On, Come Back’.
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.
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,
There is no regular rhyme or rhythm in this poem, which helps to
make it sound like someone's thoughts and memories. Long
sentences and enjambment give an
impression of someone absorbed in their own
thoughts and memories.
The poem starts with her son leaving and then
goes on to describe what she did afterwards, but the time frame in the
poem is ambiguous. A lot of the images could
almost describe a young child going to school for
the first time.
Armistice Day (also known as Remembrance Day) is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World
War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. As this is a poem about remembrance of those who
fought for their country, the poet has used this to explore her own feelings of loss and remembrance.
The ‘bandage’ makes the reader think of an
injured body or a mother tending her
injured son. This has further connotations
suggesting she isemotionally wounded. The mothering tone continues when she
treats him like a child.
Metaphor suggests he's no longer a child because he's styled his hair. His prickly
hair suggests he's unapproachable.
The use of words such as ‘blockade’ suggests that
she feels shut out from her son's life and the
metaphorical ‘blazer’ which could be a school
uniform as well as an army one represents her pride
for her son.
slowly melting. I was brave, as I walked
with you, to the front door, threw
it open, the world overflowing
like a treasure chest. A split second
and 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 busy
making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, without
a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.
On reaching the top of the hill I traced
the 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 hear
your playground voice catching on the wind.
The mother is sad about leaving her son. She has feelings of anxiety and fear for her son's safety. The poem
focuses on the bravery and restraint of the relatives left behind when young people go to war. The poem shows
the contrasting perspectives between the loss the mother feels and the
feelings of freedom and excitement her son experience
There are lots of statements beginning with the first person
which gives us a strong impression of the mother's
emotions. The uses of metaphors create Images of war and bereavement which
are mixed with domestic imagery. Birds are used as
symbols of freedom to describe the son leaving the security of his home for the excitement of
the wider world.
The simile of ‘treasure chest’ shows the world from the son's perspective and makes it sound exciting and full
of precious experiences but to the mother this can seem scary as she is worried he will never return.
The word ‘intoxicated’ could simply suggest the
boy’s excitement or, alternatively could
symbolise his coming of age. He is old enough to
drink and fight for his country signifying he is
no longer a boy and has become a man.
The bird is symbolic of her son leaving and doves are a
symbol of peace but also mourning.
Sewing imagery conveys her nervousness and
physical feelings of anxiety. These can be interpreted to
describe her physical feelings.
Links leaving to join the army with leaving to go to school.
Writer Jane overwhelmed as war poem touches so many hearts
A POET has been overwhelmed by the response she has had from people across Europe to a poem she wrote about war.Jane Weir's piece, entitled Poppies, tells the story of a woman whose son has gone to war and in it she remembers the times they spent together as he was a child growing up.Since the piece was published in a national newspaper, Mrs Weir has been contacted by mothers of young soldiers killed in action.
One woman thanked the 46-year-old for writing the poem, saying it summed up perfectly the way she felt about losing her 18-year-old son.Mrs Weir said: "I wrote the piece from a woman's perspective, which is quite rare, as most poets who write about war have been men."As the mother of two teenage boys, I tried to put across how I might feel if they were fighting in a war zone."From the overwhelming response I have had since it was published, I hope that I have achieved that."
Why may the mother notice the poppies before her son heads for war?
How does the mother’s behaviour towards her son reflect her feelings towards him?
What is her son’s attitude towards war?
How does she use imagery of birds to reflect her feelings towards her son and war?
How might this imagery relate to, or reflect, conflict?
How does the last line of the poem relate to the rest of it?
