Poppies (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

‘Poppies’

Your GCSE poetry anthology contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem – printed in full – and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:

• The meaning of the poem and the story it tells 

• The ideas and messages the poet wanted to convey

• How the poet uses poetic techniques to convey their ideas and messages

• How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas and themes of other poems in the anthology

Below is a guide to Jane Weir’s poem 'Poppies', from the Conflict anthology. It includes:

• Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods

• Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes

• What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam

The poem has been taken from Pearson Edexcel’s poetry anthology, the full version of which can be found here.

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

• The poem in a nutshell

• An explanation of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Weir's intention and message

'Poppies' in a nutshell

'Poppies' was written by the poet Jane Weir in 2005 to raise awareness of the sacrifices made by British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Weir’s poem 'Poppies' presents the sacrifices made by the soldiers and their families to highlight the wide-reaching impact of conflict. Just before Armistice Sunday, a mother remembers her son, who has died in a conflict. She recalls the last time she saw him, visits the local war memorial, and expresses her feelings of loss. 

'Poppies' breakdown

Lines 1–2

“Three days before Armistice Sunday

and poppies had already been placed”

Explanation

• The poem begins by referencing Armistice Sunday, which is used to remember those lost in conflict

• Poppies are used to remember the day peace was declared at the end of World War I

Weir’s intention

• Weir begins the poem by alerting readers to the theme of conflict and remembrance as the poem focuses on remembering those who fell in battle 

Lines 3–6

“on individual war graves. Before you left,

I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals,

spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade

of yellow bias binding around your blazer.” 

Explanation

• Weir refers to an event of commemoration; here she highlights the image of each soldier’s grave 

• The theme of remembrance is continued as the speaker reflects on the day her loved one left for war, describing in vivid detail her memory of pinning a poppy on his collar

Weir’s intention

• Weir’s speaker addresses her son directly:

  • The change in tone moves from the generic to the personal to highlight how war affects individuals

• Weir’s first-person voice conveys the feelings of the loved ones of fallen soldiers:

  • This raises awareness of the consequences of war for those left behind 

• Weir makes these lines personal to highlight the intimacy of a parent-child relationship

Lines 7–9

“Sellotape bandaged around my hand,

I rounded up as many white cat hairs

as I could, smoothed down your shirt's

upturned collar,-”

Explanation

• The speaker remembers little details that reflect typical behaviour between a parent and child

• She makes reference to everyday, familiar activities, such as using sticky tape to stick stray cat hairs from a jacket, to represent the small, everyday acts of love performed by a parent

Weir’s intention

• Remembering moments before the child went off to war evokes feelings of sentimentality and nostalgia 

• The poem narrates familiar memories in order to show the effects of personal loss after a soldier’s death:

  • This illustrates the impact that war has on individuals who have not been combatants

Lines 9–14

“-steeled the softening

of my face. I wanted to graze my nose

across the tip of your nose, play at

being Eskimos like we did when

you were little.”

Explanation

• Here, the speaker hides her powerful emotions: “steeled the softening”:

  • To “steel” yourself is to make yourself strong and determined against a challenge

  • “Softening” refers to tender emotion 

• The speaker refers to a personal moment shared when her son was young:

  • An Eskimo kiss is a term used to describe touching noses, an affectionate gesture
    

Weir’s intention

• These lines convey a tone of nostalgia in an emotional, free-flowing memory 

• The speaker indicates the tension of the parent containing her emotion with the words “steeled” and “softening”:

  • Here, Weir alludes to the powerlessness of parents after a son’s death in conflict

  • This suggests the parent’s desire to protect her child from the parent’s pain, alluding to self-sacrifice made by parents during war

• The speaker remembers physical moments of love and intimacy: 

  • This once again uses images of childhood to evoke empathy

Lines 14–18

“I resisted the impulse

to run my fingers through the gelled

blackthorns of your hair. All my words

flattened, rolled, turned into felt,

slowly melting. I was brave, as I walked”

Explanation

• The speaker contains her urge – “resisted the impulse” – to run her fingers through her son’s hair, like she did when he was little, because her son is now grown up

• She refers to missing physical moments between parent and child

• She refers, symbolically, to their past words as folded up and compressed

• She describes the son’s childhood as “melting” and disappearing as he leaves

Weir’s intention

• These lines present a sense of the parent’s powerlessness when the son is gone:

  • Her past words are compared with material being flattened and rolled up, suggesting they are now pointless 

• Weir uses the adjective “brave” to show the challenge of letting a son go:

  • This subverts the stereotypical image of a brave soldier by describing a brave parent, thus showing a different perspective  

Lines 19–22

“with you, to the front door, threw

it open, the world overflowing

like a treasure chest. A split second

and you were away, intoxicated.”

Explanation

• The speaker describes the emotional and dramatic moment when the son leaves 

• The speaker uses the image of a treasure chest to indicate the son’s hope for adventure

• The word “intoxicated” has a double meaning:

  • It could refer to the son’s excitement to leave

  • This links with “split second”, showing the son’s desperation to go

  • However, “intoxicated” by war could also suggest that patriotism is poisonous
    

Weir’s intention

• These lines depict the excitement and pace of the moment the son leaves

• Weir shows the innocent excitement of the soldier:

  • Here, Weir may be implying that patriotism is a naive concept

• Weir compares the way the son sees his future with a treasure chest:

  • This reflects the son’s attitude, not the parent’s, highlighting the opposing experiences of the parent and the child

  • Weir could be criticising the effect of war propaganda on young people

Lines 23–26

“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,”

Explanation

• The speaker uses a metaphor of a song bird released to symbolise letting go of the son, despite the joy (represented by the song) he brings her

• A dove appears after a period of time, which she follows because there is nothing else for her to do now her son is gone

Weir’s intention

• The poem separates the lines with a full-stop to divide the “before” and the “after” of life with their son:

  • This suggests the parent’s life changed completely after the son’s death

• The metaphor of a dove alludes to peace, perhaps signifying the parent’s hope for peace, and that the son would return:

  • Weir gives an implicit message about war, showing a parent hoping for peace 

Lines 27–29

“skirting the church yard walls, my stomach busy

making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, without

a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.”

Explanation

• The poet uses the semantic field of clothes-making to compare it with parenthood, perhaps related to the creation of something new

• The speaker describes the unsettling, physical feelings in her stomach, metaphorically comparing it to folding material

• The lack of warm clothing is described using a military term, “reinforcements”:

  • This term refers to back-up personnel sent to increase the strength of an army

Weir’s intention

• The broken rhythm of these lines creates an unsettled tone, signifying the parent’s emotions: 

  • This conveys Weir’s message about the impact of grief on soldiers’ parents

• The list relating to clothing suggests a sense of being overwhelmed by the physical discomfort of grief:

  • The words “tucks, darts, pleats” suggest a restriction of material 

  • This reflects the way that the speaker has to restrict her feelings to make them bearable

• The speaker’s use of military terminology ironically implies the parent’s lack of strength and support without the son:

  • It applies ideas of military strength to a parent’s feelings

Lines 30–32

“On reaching the top of the hill I traced

the inscriptions on the war memorial,

leaned against it like a wishbone.” 

Explanation

• The speaker relates a sensory experience at the graveyard, going over writing on the war memorial with her finger

• She compares the way she leans against the memorial to a wishbone, which is known for its connections with good luck

 Weir’s intention

• The speaker uses evocative imagery to highlight the commemoration of soldiers:

  • This evokes empathy, raising awareness of the parental grief caused by conflict

• The speaker compares her bent body to a curved bone symbolising good luck:

  • Weir shows the parent’s physical pain and frustrated wishes

  • The ironic use of a symbol connected with luck suggests a cynical tone

Lines 33–35

“The dove pulled freely against the sky, 

an ornamental stitch. I listened, hoping to hear

your playground voice catching on the wind.”

Explanation

• The speaker uses the image of a stitch coming loose to symbolise how the image of their son is coming apart in their mind

• The speaker listens for his voice, remembering him as a child

Weir’s intention

• Weir’s metaphorical description of a stitch coming loose continues the semantic field of clothes-making used in the poem to symbolise parenthood:

  • This conveys the parent’s feelings of loss and frustration, perhaps that her son died without reaching his potential

• Weir leaves the parent stuck in the past, unable to resolve her grief:

  • This ends the poem with a lack of resolution, and suggests the parent will always mourn her son

  • Weir alludes to the inevitability of war, and of the resulting grief

Writer’s methods

This section is split into three separate areas: form, structure and language. It is crucial to link these technical areas of Weir's writing together, in order to understand how she is presenting her ideas and why she has made the choices she has. Think about how Weir's language, structure and form contribute to her theme and message in 'Poppies’.

Focusing on the poet’s main ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the section below, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Weir’s intentions behind her choices in terms of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

The poem is a first-person dramatic monologue written in blank verse. The speaker, the parent, uses the second person to directly address her son, in order to depict her personal experience of grief and highlight a different perspective on conflict.

Structure

The poem follows a time sequence that depicts the experience of the parent at the graveside of her son. As time progresses, the rhythm changes, along with the narrator’s emotions, which reflect the complex nature of her grief.

Language

Weir weaves imagery connoting the comfort of home and family through the poem to describe the emotional suffering of a parent’s grief due to conflict. She contrasts this with brutal imagery related to injury and war to highlight the connections. 

Context

Context is important, but examiners don’t want to see random chunks of information about Weir's life or the war in Afghanistan, because those don’t demonstrate your understanding of the poem itself. Instead, aim to use contextual information in combination with your analysis of Weir's message and ideas. In 'Poppies', her main focus is the loss experienced by parents of soldiers killed in conflicts and the often conflicting effects of the act of remembrance. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Weir explores:

• Loss due to conflict

• Conflict and remembrance

Loss due to conflict 

• Weir grew up in Ireland during the conflicts of the 1980s, exposing her to the consequences of war on home and family:

  • This could be why she chose to show the perspective of a grieving parent in 'Poppies'

• Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2019, asked Weir to contribute a poem to an anthology which raised awareness of the deaths and suffering of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan:

  • This highlights the impact of conflict on individuals left behind, particularly parents

• Armistice Day is mentioned in the poem to connect ideas of conflict and peace:

  • Armistice Day commemorates the peace agreement signed at the end of World War I

  • Weir’s poem begins by referring to an event that traditionally commemorates conflict and the end of conflict

  • However, Weir connects the idea of peace with the painful memory of a dead son

• Weir’s poem goes on to show a parent alone at a graveside:

  • This highlights the individual experience of remembrance and loss due to conflict

Conflict and remembrance 

• Weir uses the symbol of poppies as they represent remembrance of those killed in war:

  • Small artificial poppies are pinned on collars in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in the lead up to Remembrance Sunday/Armistice Day

  • The practice of wearing poppies to commemorate the war dead started in 1921, when the money raised was used to help the families of fallen soldiers

• The poppy as a symbol of remembrance was inspired by the World War I poem ‘In Flanders Fields’, which describes how poppies grew in the fields where soldiers died:

  • The red of the poppies also represents the blood spilled on the battlefields

• On Remembrance Sunday, people are silent for two minutes to remember the soldiers killed in World War I and conflicts since then:

  • Across the UK, people gather at their local war memorial to lay wreaths in remembrance of local people who have died in conflicts

• The events that take place on Remembrance Sunday commemorate the war dead as heroes:

  • This provides a possible reason why the speaker’s son is “intoxicated” about the idea of fighting in a war: he is excited by the idea of being a hero

• Weir titles her poem 'Poppies' to raise awareness of the theme of remembrance: 

  • The experience of remembering, however, is shown to be painful and powerfully emotive, raising awareness of the suffering caused by conflict

What to compare it to

In your exam, you will be asked to compare the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. That means it’s a good idea to revise pairs of poems together, in order to understand how each poet presents their ideas about conflict. This will enable you to write a thorough analysis of their similarities and differences. Given that 'Poppies' explores the ideas of the loss due to conflict and powerlessness due to conflict, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:

• 'Poppies' and ‘What Were They Like?’

• 'Poppies' and ‘Exposure’

For each pair of poems, you will find:

• The comparison in a nutshell

• Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem

• Differences between the ideas presented in each poem

• Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

'Poppies' and ‘What Were They Like?’

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both 'Poppies' and ‘What Were They Like?’ portray loss due to conflict and present the perspectives of the people left behind. Both poems explore ideas related to the deaths of loved ones and show how these losses in particular can lead to a sense of powerlessness. While Weir’s poem focuses on the individual loss of a beloved child, Levertov shows how the loss of many in a conflict can result in a whole nation’s disempowerment. 

Similarities:

Differences:

'Poppies' and ‘Exposure’

Comparison in a nutshell:

These poems give you the opportunity to compare two different presentations of the loss, suffering and disempowerment of conflict. ‘Poppies’ explores the feelings of someone who has lost their son in a war, while ‘Exposure’ illustrates the feelings of soldiers who are trapped in a situation of conflict. Both poems focus on the meaninglessness of war and the trauma it causes. However, while Weir addresses the feelings of an individual in the aftermath of a war, Owen conveys the experience of a group of soldiers on the front line.

Similarities:

 Differences: