Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)

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Key Quotations From Poppies (1)

Here are the key quotations to remember for your exams:

“All my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt”

This indicates that the mother’s grief and fear has left her speechless.
It is an example of the use of metaphor and rule of three

“On reaching the top of the hill I traced / the inscriptions on the war memorial, / leaned against it like a wishbone”

Climbing to the top of the hill could be a metaphor for her struggle to deal with the grief of sending her son to war.
It is an example of the use of metaphor

"I listened, hoping to hear / your playground voice catching on the wind."

The caesura (breaks in the line) in the last stanza could indicate her faltering voice as she is on the verge of tears.

“to the front door, threw / it open”

You could argue that this is symbolic of the mother accepting her son’s choice.

“Released a song bird from its cage”

This could reflect her acknowledging and trying to come to terms with her son’s desire for freedom and independence.
Freeing a song bird symbol

“Later a single dove flew from the pear tree”

This could reflect her acknowledging and trying to come to terms with her son’s desire for freedom and independence.

Key Quotations From Poppies (2)

Here are more quotations you should know for your exams

“the world overflowing / like a treasure chest”

This simile indicates that the mother recognises her son’s excitement and is understanding about the opportunities that await him.
Treasure chest simile

“I traced / the inscriptions on the war memorial"

Also - “run my fingers through the gelled / blackthorns of your hair”.
Tactile (relating to touch) images emphasise the mother's desire for closeness.

“Sellotape bandaged around my hand,”

Sellotape bandaged around my hand, / I rounded up as many white cat hairs / as I could, smoothed down your shirt's / upturned collar”.
Images of innocence in Poppies emphasise the intense love of the mother for her son.

“I wanted to graze my nose”

“I wanted to graze my nose / across the tip of your nose, play at / being Eskimos like we did when you were little”.
Images of innocence remind the reader of the innocence that is corrupted by war.

"I resisted the impulse"

"I resisted the impulse / to run my fingers through the gelled / blackthorns of your hair."
The tender image of the mother touching her son is juxtaposed to descriptions of uniform or sharp objects, which remind the reader of the son’s unsafe and uncertain future.

“spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade”

“spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade / of yellow bias binding around your blazer.”
The colour imagery of “red” and military image of a “blockade” potentially foreshadows the danger that awaits the son.

Key Comparisons: Poppies

Here are some suggestions for texts you could compare in your exam. Of course, the list of possibilities is endless!

Powerful and/or negative feelings

You may want to compare the theme of powerful and/or negative feelings in Poppies to the following texts:
- Remains.
- War Photographer.
- The Emigree.
- Checking Out Me History.
- London.
- My Last Duchess.

Effects and reality of conflict

You may want to compare the theme of the effects and reality of conflict in Poppies to the following texts:
- Remains.
- Charge of the Light Brigade.
- Exposure.
- Bayonet Charge.
- War Photographer.

Conflicted emotions

You may want to compare the theme of conflicted emotions in Poppies to the following texts:
- Bayonet Charge.
- Exposure.

Powerful memories

You may want to compare the theme of powerful memories in Poppies to the following texts:
- Remains.
- War Photographer.
- The Emigree.

1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

1.1Ozymandias Analysis

1.1.1Summary

1.1.2Key Ideas

1.1.3Themes

1.1.4Irony & Rhythm

1.1.5Key Quotes & Comparisons

1.1.6End of Topic Test - Ozymandias

1.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining Caesura

1.1.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Identifying Caesura

1.1.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - Analysing Caesura

2London - William Blake (1757-1827)

2.1London Analysis

2.1.1Summary

2.1.2Themes & Structure

2.1.3Themes & Structure 2

2.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons

2.1.5Exam-Style Questions - London

2.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining Repetition

2.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Identifying Repetition

2.1.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Analysing Repetition

3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

3.1Storm on the Island Analysis

3.1.1Summary & Structure

3.1.2Themes

3.1.3Themes 2

3.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Blake & Heaney

3.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Fear

4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

4.1Exposure Analysis

4.1.1Summary

4.1.2Personification

4.1.3Themes

4.1.4Structure, Key Quotes & Comparisons

4.1.5End of Topic Test - Exposure

4.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Define Personification

4.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Ident. Personification

5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)

5.1War Photographer Analysis

5.1.1Summary

5.1.2Themes

5.1.3Imagery

5.1.4Comparisons & Key Quotes

5.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining Similes

5.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Identifying Similes

6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

6.1My Last Duchess Analysis

6.1.1Summary

6.1.2Characterisation & Themes

6.1.3Structure, Key Quotes & Comparisons

6.1.4End of Topic Test - Duffy & Browning

6.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Cheating Wife

7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis

7.1.1Summary

7.1.2Personification & Imagery

7.1.3Themes

7.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons

7.1.5End of Topic Test - The Prelude

7.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - "Her"

8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson

8.1Charge of the Light Brigade Analysis

8.1.1Summary

8.1.2Themes

8.1.3Rhetorical Techniques, Key Quotes & Comparisons

8.1.4End of Topic Test - Charge of the Light Brigade

8.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Charge of the Light Brigade

8.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Tennyson a Soldier?

9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)

9.1Bayonet Charge Analysis

9.1.1Summary

9.1.2Themes

9.1.3Themes 2

9.1.4Structure & Key Comparisons

9.1.5End of Topic Test - Bayonet Charge

9.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - NOT COTLB

9.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Soldier Running Away

10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)

10.1Poppies Analysis

10.1.1Summary

10.1.2Theme of Motherhood

10.1.3Imagery

10.1.4Form, Structure & Key Comparisons

10.1.5End of Topic Test - Poppies

10.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining Enjambment

11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)

11.1Tissue Analysis

11.1.1Summary

11.1.2Themes & Symbolism

11.1.3Religion & Conflict

11.1.4Form, Structure & Key Comparisons

11.1.5End of Topic Test - Tissue

12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)

12.1The Emigree Analysis

12.1.1Summary & Structure

12.1.2Themes

12.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

12.1.4End of Topic Test - The Emigree

12.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Emigrant vs Immigrant

13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)

13.1Kamikaze Analysis

13.1.1Summary & Structure

13.1.2Themes

13.1.3Themes 2

13.1.4Structure, Quotes & Comparisons

13.1.5End of Topic Test - Kamikaze

13.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Defining NP

13.1.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Identifying NP

14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)

14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis

14.1.1Summary

14.1.2Themes

14.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

14.1.4End of Topic Test - Checking Out Me History

15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)

15.1Remains Analysis

15.1.1Summary

15.1.2Themes: Desensitisation &Trauma

15.1.3Themes: Guilt

15.1.4Themes: Nature of War

15.1.5Structure

15.1.6Key Quotes & Comparisons

15.1.7End of Topic Test - Remains

15.1.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Casual Tone

16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons

16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons

16.1.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons

17Recap: Main Quotes

17.1Recap: 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 Tennyson

17.1.9Bayonet 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)

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