POETRY ANALYSIS CONTINUED
 During wars, propaganda is used in order to convince the general public of
something
 This could be anything from enlisting in the army to buying government bonds to
rationing food during shortages
 Women and children were often used in war propaganda in order to evoke specific
emotions. This is not much different in poems about war.
 How are women portrayed in these posters? Children?
 Why do you think they are portrayed like this?
 What sorts of assumptions are made in these posters?
 Do these posters challenge or confirm your perception of wartime women?
I like to think of you as brown and tall,
We walked along the tow-path, you and I,
As strong and living as you used to be,
Beside the sluggish-moving, still canal;
In khaki tunic, Sam Brown belt and all,
It seemed impossible that you should die;
And standing there and laughing down at me.
I think of you the same and always shall.
Because they tell me, dear, that you are dead,
We thought of many things and spoke of few,
Because I can no longer see your face,
And life lay all uncertainly before,
You have not died, it is not true, instead
And now I walk alone and think of you,
You seek adventure in some other place.
And wonder what new kingdoms you explore.
That you are round about me, I believe;
Over the railway line, across the grass,
I hear you laughing as you used to do,
While up above the golden wings are spread,
Yet loving all the things I think of you;
Flying, ever flying overhead,
And knowing you are happy, should I grieve?
Here still I see your khaki figure pass,
You follow and are watchful where I go;
And when I leave the meadow, almost wait
How should you leave me, having loved me so?
That you should open first the wooden gate.
Ten more minutes! – Say yer prayers,
'Nother minute sprinted by
Read yer Bibles, pass the rum!
'Fore I knowed it; only Four
Ten more minutes! Strike me dumb,
'Ow they creeps on unawares,
Those blooming minutes. Nine. It's queer,
I'm sorter stunned. It ain't with fear!
(Break 'em into seconds) more
'Twixt us and Eternity.
Every word I've ever said
Seems a-shouting in my head.
Eight. It's like as if a frog
Two. I ain't ashamed o'
prayers,
They're only wishes sent ter
God
Bits o' plants from bloody sod
Trailing up His golden stairs.
Ninety seconds – Well, who
cares!
Waddled round in your inside,
Three. Larst night a little star
Cold as ice-blocks, straddle wide,
Fairly shook up in the sky,
One –
Tired o' waiting. Where's the grog?
Didn't like the lullaby
No fife, no blare, no drum –
Rattled by the dogs of War.
Over the Top – to Kingdom
Come!
Seven. I'll play yer pitch and toss –
Six. – I wins, and tails yer loss.
Funny thing – that star all white
Saw old Blighty, too, larst night.
 Discuss:
 How are these poems different from each other?
 What is the theme of each of them?
 How does the language differ? How can we tell?
 What effect does the informal language of Bristowe’s poem create? What about the
romantic formalism of Allen’s poem?
 Do these poems reflect the assumptions and portrayals of women that we saw in the war
posters?
What do I remember of the evacuation?
I remember my father telling Tim and
me
About the mountains and the train
And the excitement of going on a trip.
What do I remember of the evacuation?
I remember my mother wrapping
A blanket around me and my
Pretending to fall asleep so she would
be happy
Although I was so excited I couldn't
sleep
(I hear there were people herded
Into the Hastings Park like cattle.
Families were made to move in two
hours
Abandoning everything, leaving pets
And possessions at gun point.
I hear families were broken up
And I remember how careful my parents
Men were forced to work. I heard
were
It whispered late at night
Not to bruise us with bitterness
That there was suffering) and
And I remember the puzzle of Lorraine
I missed my dolls.
Life
What do I remember of the evacuation?
Who said "Don't insult me" when I
I remember Miss Foster and Miss Tucker Proudly wrote my name in Japanese
Who still live in Vancouver
And Tim flew the Union Jack
And who did what they could
When the war was over but Lorraine
And loved the children and who gave me And her friends spat on us anyway
A puzzle to play with on the train.
and I prayed to the God who loves
And I remember the mountains and I
All the children in his sight
was
That I might be white.
Six years old and I swear I saw a giant
Gulliver of Gulliver's Travels scanning
the horizon
And when I told my mother she believed
it too
 Analyse:
 Language
 Imagery and tone
 What are the main images in the poem?
 How are these established?
 Irony
 How is irony used in this poem?
 How does this irony contribute to the poem’s effectiveness?
 Theme
 Identify the theme of the poem
 If you were to draw a visual that represented the theme of the poem, what would
you draw and why?
 How does this poem expose some of the darker truths of society, past and present?
 The experience of women and children is often downplayed in war studies, but
they offer valuable insight and perspectives that shouldn’t be neglected
 Despite valorization of war in poetry, racism and sexism still present
 Block 6: TOC
 Next week you will have a chance to work on your portfolios
 These are due: Dec 17 (block 6) and Dec 18 (block 2)