13.1.1

Summary & Structure

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Summary and key Ideas in Kamikaze

In Beatrice Garland's Kamikaze, the speaker describes her father, a Kamikaze pilot, heading out one day on a suicide mission but then turning back.

Context

Context

  • Kamikaze pilots were Japanese pilots that were expected to fly into their enemy to destroy them, killing themselves in the process.
  • It was part of their duty to their country and to turn back on a mission would have brought shame to your family and community.
Nature

Nature

  • Through the description of the fish, sea, shore and pebbles, the poet explores ideas about the beauty of nature and its effects on humans.
Duty and community

Duty and community

  • The poem explores the pilot’s ostracisation (isolation) from his community because of failing to do what was seen as his duty.
  • His own wife, neighbours and eventually children refuse to acknowledge him and act as though he is not there.
  • The power and influence of community values is a key theme.
  • The speaker seems to have a mix of emotions about her father, for example, pride, shame, regret.
    • At the end of the poem, the speaker questions whether the treatment he received when he returned home was a worse “death” than dying on the mission.
Memory and childhood

Memory and childhood

  • The power of memory and the allure of childhood are key themes in the poem.
  • The poet presents memories of childhood as something that lures the pilot back from his mission and triggers his change of heart.
Duty and life

Duty and life

  • The poet explores the tension or conflict between the expectations of the pilot’s community and family, and his appreciation of the value of life.

Structure and Form - Conflicting Emotions

Garland uses the structure and form of Kamikaze to mirror the mixed emotions of the speaker and the plot. These are the different structural techniques Garland uses to do so:

Narrative shift

Narrative shift

  • The move from third-person narrator to the first person (from the point of view of the daughter) in the last two stanzas of the poem reveals the inner thoughts and feelings of the pilot’s daughter.
  • It reveals her conflicting emotions about the way her father was treated.
  • The shift is also marked using italics as if to emphasise the importance of the speaker’s words and the significance of what she is saying.
Caesura (break in the line) and aside

Caesura (break in the line) and aside

  • The caesura, which signifies the aside (“but half way there, she thought, recounting it later to her children”) marks the daughter’s moment of contemplation.
  • An aside is where words are spoken to the audience but not heard by the characters in the poem.
  • This moment also mirror’s the pilot’s hesitation.
Jump to other topics
1

Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

1.1

Ozymandias Analysis

1.1.1Summary1.1.2Key Ideas1.1.3Themes1.1.4Irony & Rhythm1.1.5Key Quotes & Comparisons1.1.6End of Topic Test - Ozymandias1.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining Caesura1.1.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Identifying Caesura1.1.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - Analysing Caesura
2

London - William Blake (1757-1827)

2.1

London Analysis

2.1.1Summary2.1.2Themes & Structure2.1.3Themes & Structure 22.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons2.1.5Exam-Style Questions - London2.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining Repetition2.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Identifying Repetition2.1.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Analysing Repetition
3

Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

3.1

Storm on the Island Analysis

3.1.1Summary & Structure3.1.2Themes3.1.3Themes 23.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons3.1.5End of Topic Test - Blake & Heaney3.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Fear
4

Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

4.1

Exposure Analysis

4.1.1Summary4.1.2Personification4.1.3Themes4.1.4Structure, Key Quotes & Comparisons4.1.5End of Topic Test - Exposure4.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Define Personification4.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Ident. Personification
5

War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)

5.1

War Photographer Analysis

5.1.1Summary5.1.2Themes5.1.3Imagery5.1.4Comparisons & Key Quotes5.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining Similes5.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Identifying Similes
6

My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

6.1

My Last Duchess Analysis

6.1.1Summary6.1.2Characterisation & Themes6.1.3Structure, Key Quotes & Comparisons6.1.4End of Topic Test - Duffy & Browning6.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Cheating Wife
7

The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

7.1

Extract from The Prelude Analysis

7.1.1Summary7.1.2Personification & Imagery7.1.3Themes7.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons7.1.5End of Topic Test - The Prelude7.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - "Her"
8

Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson

8.1

Charge of the Light Brigade Analysis

8.1.1Summary8.1.2Themes8.1.3Rhetorical Techniques, Key Quotes & Comparisons8.1.4End of Topic Test - Charge of the Light Brigade8.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Charge of the Light Brigade8.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Tennyson a Soldier?
9

Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)

9.1

Bayonet Charge Analysis

9.1.1Summary9.1.2Themes9.1.3Themes 29.1.4Structure & Key Comparisons9.1.5End of Topic Test - Bayonet Charge9.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - NOT COTLB9.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Soldier Running Away
10

Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)

10.1

Poppies Analysis

10.1.1Summary10.1.2Theme of Motherhood10.1.3Imagery10.1.4Form, Structure & Key Comparisons10.1.5End of Topic Test - Poppies10.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining Enjambment
11

Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)

11.1

Tissue Analysis

11.1.1Summary11.1.2Themes & Symbolism11.1.3Religion & Conflict11.1.4Form, Structure & Key Comparisons11.1.5End of Topic Test - Tissue
12

The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)

12.1

The Emigree Analysis

12.1.1Summary & Structure12.1.2Themes12.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons12.1.4End of Topic Test - The Emigree12.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Emigrant vs Immigrant
13

Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)

13.1

Kamikaze Analysis

13.1.1Summary & Structure13.1.2Themes13.1.3Themes 213.1.4Structure, Quotes & Comparisons13.1.5End of Topic Test - Kamikaze13.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining NP13.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Identifying NP
14

Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)

14.1

Checking Out Me History Analysis

14.1.1Summary14.1.2Themes14.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons14.1.4End of Topic Test - Checking Out Me History
15

Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)

15.1

Remains Analysis

15.1.1Summary15.1.2Themes: Desensitisation &Trauma15.1.3Themes: Guilt15.1.4Themes: Nature of War15.1.5Structure15.1.6Key Quotes & Comparisons15.1.7End of Topic Test - Remains15.1.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Casual Tone
16

Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons

16.1

Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons

16.1.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
17

Recap: Main Quotes

17.1

Recap: Main Quotes

17.1.1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)17.1.2London - William Blake (1757-1827)17.1.3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)17.1.4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)17.1.5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)17.1.6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)17.1.7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)17.1.8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson17.1.9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)17.1.10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)17.1.11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)17.1.12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)17.1.13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)17.1.14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)17.1.15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)

Practice questions on Summary & Structure

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Who wrote Kamikaze?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    What are some of the key ideas explored in Kamikaze?True / false
  3. 3
    What techniques does Garland use to emphasise the daughter's moment of contemplation (and the pilot's hesitation)?True / false
  4. 4
    In Kamikaze, the narrative shifts from third to first person. Who is the speaker in the first person?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    What technique does Garland use to emphasise the narrative shift in Kamikaze?Multiple choice
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Diagnostic Misconceptions - Emigrant vs Immigrant

Themes