Poetry analysis- Poppies

Poetry analysis- Poppies

In this poem the poet is comparing the tranquillity of nature with the carnage of war. He was showing how the soldiers sacrificed their life to “ransom” the hills of France. The poet is trying to show how France’s freedom was paid by the blood of these young men.

I like the way that the poet reflects on the war using the poppies as a symbol. He uses his poem to help us remember the people who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

One of the parts that I liked in this poem was “the spiteful rattle where the masked machine guns play!” I like the way that it uses personification to show what the guns are like. I also like the way that the poet uses the word ransomed at the end of the poem showing the way that the soldier sacrificed their lives for the freedom of France.

The poem has a reflective mood; it makes the reader feel proud of what the soldiers did. It also is peaceful, making you think that the soldiers who fought are now in peace. Overall it made the soldiers in it seem like heroes.

One underlying messages in this poem is the meaning of poppies; poppies have different meanings such as death, eternal sleep and remembrance. I think that the poet used all of these meanings for this poem.

The poetic devices used in this poem are

· Metaphors such as in “liquid tune” and “shrapnel’s song”

· Personification in the “spiteful rattle” of the machine guns.

· Rhyme such as “morn” “torn”, and “blench” “trench”.

· A different tone is used in the 3^rd stanza as is starts with different wording all the others start with poppies, but the third one starts with “See the stalwart Yankee lads”

This poem can be seen differently depending on the reader’s background and beliefs. My background is that Australia was on the allies’ side and I therefore believe that the Americans were fighting for a good cause.

For people who are old enough they might remember the time and remember the horror that it really was.