What is 'Poppies' about?
Poppies was written by Jane Weir and tells the story of a parent reminiscing about their sonâs life.
The poem is written in the form of a dramatic monologueA speech given by a single character, often alone on the stage. The character speaks to the audience, usually giving his or her private thoughts aloud. from the perspective of a parent.
In 2009, poet laureateA poet selected by royalty or the government who is asked to write poems for the organisation who selected them. Carol Ann Duffy, called for war poetry to be written about British soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Poppies was Weirâs response to this and first appeared in a collection called Exit Wounds.
Comparing poems: 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' and 'Poppies'
In the poetry section of your English Literature exam, you will be asked to compare two poems. Listen to this podcast to hear an example of how you could approach this task.
In this episode, writer and rapper Testament and poet Jane Weir, compare the context, form and themes of the poems The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Poppies by Jane Weir.
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What happens in 'Poppies'?
Context
Poppies begins âThree days before ArmisticeAn agreement or truce made byâŻopposingâŻsides in a war to stop fighting for a period of time. Sundayâ. This is often called Remembrance Sunday and takes place every year on the second Sunday in November. It originally commemorated the end of World War One. It has since become about remembering all those lost in war.
Poppies grew on the fields in Flanders FieldsAn area in Belgium where many soldiers died in World War One., Belgium, even after a lot of fighting there in World War One. In 1915, the poet, soldier and physician John McCrae, wrote a famous poem inspired by them called In Flander's Field. Poppies soon became a well-known symbol for remembering those lost in wars.
The poem
Poppies is about a parent reminiscing about their son â although it is ambiguousNot having one obvious meaning. whether the son is alive or dead.
In the poem, the parent pins a poppy to their sonâs blazer and gets rid of cat hairs on his clothes. They resist the urge to run their fingers through the boyâs hair before walking him to the front door. After the son leaves, the parent goes into his bedroom. The poem ends with the parent visiting a war memorial and tracing the names inscribed on it.
Jane Weir has two sons which may have inspired her to write about a parent and a son relationship in this poem. She also worked in textiles and frequently uses imagery of fabrics and fashion in her writing.
Interactive activity
Themes
Bravery
The parent in Poppies is brave in an unconventional way. Rather than facing physical pain as might be expected in war poetry, they experience emotional pain.
At the start of the poem, the parent holds back from treating the boy as if he is still a child. They want to âplay at / being Eskimos like we did when / you were littleâ but resist the urge, knowing that the child is older now.
Likewise, rather than smother the boy with advice, they find their words âflattened, rolledâ and âslowly meltingâ â the boy is old enough to make his own decisions and they donât want to tell them what to do.
As the parent walks the boy to the door, they say âI was braveâ. A simple sentence that emphasises the strength and love it takes to let their child grow up and make their own choices in life.
Love
The parentâs love for their child is unconditionalNot depending on any conditions or rules.. The first two stanzas list special moments they have shared and build up an image of physical closeness and emotional dependency.
This contrasts with the second half of the poem, in which the parent is alone and more vulnerable: âwithout winter coat or reinforcementsâ. Even then, the parent is longing for their child. They lean against the war memorial which looks âlike a wishboneâ â suggesting the parent is wishing their child would come back.
It is unclear whether the boy is alive or not, the poem is deliberately ambiguous, but the memorial setting suggests he may have died at war. The parent is searching for a way to feel connected to him again and a place to channel their love.
Question
What is a wishbone?
Answer
A wishbone is the bone between the neck and breast of a bird. A popular tradition is for two people to pull either side of the bone until it breaks. The person with the bigger half is entitled to a wish.
Memories
Weir explores the parentâs vividStrong and clear., sensoryRelating to physical senses. The five senses are taste, touch, smell, sound and sight. memories in Poppies. Verbs like âpinnedâ and âsmoothedâ show the physical nature of their relationship.
Likewise, when the parent remembers cuddling their child, the memory is sensory â their noses âgrazeâ.
"I wanted to graze my nose
across the tip of your nose, play at
being Eskimos like we did when
you were littleâ.
The assonanceWhen a vowel sound is repeated in words close together. in the repetition of ânoseâ and âEskimosâ is like an echo and reflects how important memories linger on and can be revisited time after time.
The poem ends with an aural memory â a wish to hear the sonâs âplayground voice catching on the windâ which is an intimate memory that emphasises the parentâs feeling of loss.
Mini quiz
Language
In poetry, language relates to anything in connection with words and the ways they are used.
Simile
A simile compares two things by saying they are alike in some way using âlikeâ or âasâ. For example:
the world overflowing like a treasure chest.
The idea of the world being an overflowing treasure chest suggests the excitement and potential that the future has for the son. It is full of riches and opportunities.
However, the fact that it is overflowing could suggest a sense of feeling overwhelmed for the parent. It suggests their uncontainable sadness at losing their child.
Metaphor
Weir uses a metaphorA metaphor is a word or a phrase used for dramatic effect, to describe something as if it were something else. in the third stanza of Poppies:
"After youâd gone I went into your bedroom,
released a song bird from its cage.â
This metaphor could be interpreted in a few ways.
âAfter youâd goneâ could refer to the son leaving home, or the son dying â Weir leaves this as deliberately ambiguous.
The son could be the songbird. He has been âcagedâ with his mother and has now been set free.
Alternatively, the mother is the song bird and she is releasing her emotions â crying â at the loss of her son.
The full stop at the end of the metaphor suggests a sense of finality. It creates a deliberate pause to reflect the silence now that the parent is alone.
Sensory imagery
Weirâs use of sensory imagery throughout this poem helps to reinforce the parentâs vivid memories.
Touch is used. For example, the parent remembers âpinningâ a badge to the childâs lapel, âsmoothingâ down their collar and tracing the inscriptionsSomething marked on a surface or object. on the war memorial. The textile language of âlapelâ, âblazerâ and âhairâ helps keep the feeling of intimacy between parent and child.
Sound is also used as the parent remembers how they âreleased a songbirdâ and listened for the childâs âplayground voiceâ,
Question
What could you say about the use of touch and texture in this quote?
I resisted the impulse
to run my fingers through the gelled
blackthorns of your hair.
Answers
The parent longs to run their hands through their sonâs hair. This is an intimate gesture and shows the close, physical bond that they share.
The fact that the parent resists doing this could show that they are trying to hide their sadness at the boyâs leaving.
It could also show an acceptance of the fact that he is growing up â his hair is âgelledâ now and he doesnât want it messed up.
âBlackthornsâ, as their name suggests, are plants with dark coloured fruit and sharp thorns. This metaphor of the boyâs hair being âthornsâ suggests that touching the boyâs hair might cause physical pain, as well as emotional pain, to the parent.
Structure
In poetry, structure relates to anything in connection to the layout and organisation.
Free verse
Free verse isâŻa poem with no set rhyme or rhythm. This creates a feeling of freedom that is more similar to natural speech, so it sounds more like the parent is telling an authentic, personal story.
The lack of a set rhythm could also highlight the parentâs overwhelming emotions as their son leaves for war â it is unpredictable and unsteady.
Enjambment
enjambmentA poetic device where a sentence continues beyond the end of the line or verse. is a poetic device in which a sentence continues beyond the end of the line or verse. For example:
âI was brave, as I walked
with you, to the front door, threw
it open, the world overflowing
like a treasure chest.â
Enjambment also makes the poem feel more like natural speech as it flows freely â unrestricted by line length.
In the example above, the parent is feeling particularly strong emotions about their child leaving and the use of enjambment could show the overflow of emotion and pain that they are feeling and struggling to contain.
Form
In poetry, form is the type of poem that the poet has chosen to write.
Dramatic monologue
A dramatic monologue is a speech or poem where one speaker describes their ideas, thoughts and feelings. Poppies uses this form as we learn about the parentâs thoughts and feelings from their own perspective.
Weir may have chosen this form to explore more closely how war affects the families of those who die. We are shown the feelings of a grieving parent, in detail yet in a soft and personal way.
Second person
Second person means that the speaker or writer speaks directly to the person or character they are addressing.
The parent in the poem speaks to their son throughout using the pronoun âyouâ. This creates a sense of closeness and familiarity â intimacy between parent and child.
Despite the parent speaking to their son throughout the poem, the son never replies. This creates a sense of sadness. The parentâs longing to be with their son again is clear, as is the feeling that the parent will, in many ways, never be able to fully let go of their child.
Top Tips (Edexcel)
Remember
Read the question carefully. Highlight the key words and focus of the question.
Make a plan. Annotate the poem or create a short list of points you could make, supported by evidence. This will help you to stay focused and relevant.
Analyse features. When you identify a feature, always consider why it has been used and what effect it creates.
Reread your answer. Keep checking that you are on topic throughout the writing process.
Making comparisons
You will need to write your response using comparative connectives, such as:
Similarly
Likewise
However
In contrast
In the exam
This poem could be assessed in the anthology poetry part of the exam.
You will be asked to compare a named poem with a poem of your choice.
The choice must be from the cluster of poems you have studied. The named poem will be provided.
This question assesses AO2 and AO3:
AO2 | AO2 assesses your ability to explore the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects. |
AO3 | AO3 looks at how you can link the contextual background of the poem(s) into your ideas. |
Quiz
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