poetry flash cards

• 1.            War between mankind and nature – military imagery
• 2.           Nature cannot be defeated; it will always come back – use of ‘recruits’ and ‘sharp wounds again’
• 3.           Juxtaposition idea of revenge and protection – “slashed in fury” “seeking comfort”

• 1.            Generations continue fighting for the same reason – “their sons appear, stiff with weapons”
• 2.           Nature protects itself from mankind – “splintered weapons” “against…the hoeing hands of men”
• 3.           Thistles personified as warriors – “from the underground stain of a decayed Viking”

• 1.            Love is natural – extended metaphor, use of grass to symbolise this
• 2.           The older we are, the more materialistic we become – “It is not good enough”
• 3.           When we get older, we lose appreciation for natures gifts – “A blade of grass becomes more difficult to accept” (last stanza loses a line to reflect this)

• 1.            Nature is powerful – weapon imagery “gun-barrel” “torpedoed” “darts like a tracer-bullet”
• 2.           Nature is determined and ruthless – “is never burnt out … volley of cold blood”
• 3.           Nature is persistent, unemotional and methodical – “ramrodding the current” (last line on its own for emphasis)

• 1.            Nature is simple like childhood memories “big like big big lizard”
• 2.           Memories flow and are not structured - no punctuation – written like a child, retelling a story
• 3.           To children, nature seems fascinating “with more legs than centipede” (exaggeration)

• 1.            Humans live in a different world to nature – “happened into my dimension”
• 2.           Man does not understand the natural world – “to remember the password and sign”
• 3.           Man needs to remember the beauty and importance of nature – “revising its dawn inspiration back to the ordinary”

•  1.            The flowers symbolise the relationship between the mother and daughter – “carried them back like a baby in a shawl” (simile) “all the broken waters”
• 2.           Relationships are very difficult – “upset orchids…troubled hands”
• 3.           There are often secrets in relationships – “the buds remain closed as secrets” (simile)
• 4.           Sometimes it’s better to sever a relationship – “cutting the stems with a knife” (last line stands alone)

• 1.            The mother doesn’t know how to grieve – “like a little dog, I followed her” “not knowing how to say goodbye…I hesitated”
• 2.           Suggests a rift between the mother and her father – “her grandfather” “the grave of nettles”
• 3.           Ends with a more positive image of the relationship between the mother and daughter – “moving apart and coming together again, in and out of the ruts”

• 1.            Mushrooms used to symbolise those that are oppressed – “diet on…crumbs of shadow” “earless and eyeless, perfectly voiceless”
• 2.           Things can appear innocent on the surface, but be sinister underneath – “nobody sees us”
• 3.           It is inevitable that the patient will be heard and seen – “We are meek” “we shall by morning inherit the earth”

• 1.            Nature is powerful – “crashing…booming…stampeding” – onomatopoeia and personification
• 2.           Man is defenceless against nature – “this house has been far out as sea all night” – metaphor
• 3.           Nature is something to be feared – “window tremble…stones cry” “fields quivering” – personification

• 1.            Nature is used as a source of creativity – “I imagine this midnight moments forest”
• 2.           Poet is describing the process of writing a poem – “sets neat prints into the snow”
• 3.           Suggests that the process of writing a poem is difficult – “a sudden sharp hot stink of fox”

• 1.            Technology has faltered – “the radios failed” “a plane plunged over us into the sea”
• 2.           Nature symbolises strength and hope – “fabulous steeds set on an ancient shield”
• 3.           Man needs to remember how important and useful nature and its roots are – “our life is changed; their coming our beginning”

The Stag

1.            Mankind is selfish and undignified – “the kids inside cried and daubed their chocolate and fought”

2.           Nature is beautiful and should be protected – “The stag ran through his private forest”

3.           Mankind is brutal to nature – “his heart became just a club beating his ribs and his own hooves shouted with hound’s voices, and the crowd on the road got back into their cars”

The Storm

1.            Nature is a powerful phenomenon – “beating the walls…driving the last watchers indoors” “sudden shudder as the jutting sea-cliff collapses”

2.           Nature is unpredictable and cannot be controlled by mankind – “we wait; we listen” “hoping” “the storm lolls off, then redoubles (this is also reflected in the different line lengths, symbolising the unpredictable path a storm can take)

3.           Nature should be feared – “we creep to our bed” “a spider eases himself down…under the iron bedstead” “dead straw into the living pine tree”

• 1.            As life goes by, you lose people – “fallen one more”
• 2.           Man does not take the time to stop and appreciate nature – “we on our urgent way” “forward still we press”
• 3.           Death is inevitable – “earthworms draw it in” “I still stalk the course”

• 1.            Nature does not involve itself in human conflict – “now you have touched this English hand you will do the same to a German” “be your pleasure to cross the sleeping green between”
• 2.           Nature laughs at mankind – “it seems you inwardly grin as you pass” “sardonic rat”
• 3.           Nature springs from death – “poppies whose roots are in man’s veins”