Conflict Poetry

1. Conflict Poetry Year 9

2. World war poetry Futility Objective: to learn about the context behind emotive poetry Outcome: Annotated poetry • Starter: In pairs list words associated with war. • List different techniques that can be used to make emotive poetry effective. • Main: Read poem Futility. Owen background. • Tasks: 1. Annotate poem. • 2. Answer questions using P.E.A.E.L format. • Plenary: Go through own answers, have you mentioned the techniques from the starter, have you covered all elements of p.e.a.e.l? Give yourself one target to improve.

3. Owen info Objective: to learn about the context behind emotive poetry Outcome: Annotated poetry • Wilfred Owen – along with his friend and mentor, Siegfried Sassoon – is now thought of as the poet who exposed the brutalities of trench warfare and the senseless waste of life caused by World War One. Owen spent only four months fighting and only five weeks in the front line, but the shock of the horrors of war was so great that he decided it was his task to expose the ‘Pity of War’, to represent in poetry the experiences of the men in his care. • He was drafted to France in 1917, in what was the worst winter of the war. After spending January to April in the trenches, he was sent to Edinburgh’s Craiglockhart War Hospital for the shell-shocked where he met Siegfried Sassoon, a poet he admired, who encouraged and influenced him. Both poets were persuaded to return to the Front. In a letter to his mother Owen wrote: ‘I came out again in order to help these boys; directly, by leading them as well as an officer can; indirectly, by watching their suffering that I may speak of them as well as a pleader can.’ Owen was killed on 4 November 1918 trying to get his men across the Sambre Canal. The news reached his parents seven days later, on Armistice Day. • Despite his views on the senseless waste of war, Wilfred Owen was awarded the Military Cross in recognition of his courage and leadership during the breaking of the Hindenburg Line in October 1918.

4. Futility Objective: to learn about the context behind emotive poetry Outcome: Annotated poetry Move him into the sun – Gently its touch awoke him once, At home, whispering of fields half-sown. Always it woke him, even in France, Until this morning and this snow. If anything might rouse him now The kind old sun will know. Think how it wakes the seeds – Woke once the clays of a cold star. Are limbs, so dear achieved, are sides Full-nerved, still warm, too hard to stir? Was it for this the clay grew tall? – O what made fatuous sunbeams toil To break earth’s sleep at all?

5. Sad tone- body of soldier lies in the snow. Futility Normally provides warmth, life but nothing can bring the man back to life. Move him into the sun – Gently its touch awoke him once, At home, whispering of fields half-sown. Always it woke him, even in France, Until this morning and this snow. If anything might rouse him now The kind old sun will know. Ambiguous clause- barren fields of England missing the men tend the fields. Also shows lack of future for young men. Persona of shocked comrade- questions why nature creates such miracles for life to be then wiped out. ‘Move’ and ‘think’ used to question the situation.

6. Sun personified- affectionate powerful turns to bitterness and grief. Sun brings life to planet but cannot revive soldier Unanswered questions Owen has no answers as to why war destroys humans and creations Think how it wakes the seeds – Woke once the clays of a cold star. Are limbs, so dear achieved, are sides Full-nerved, still warm, too hard to stir? Was it for this the clay grew tall? – O what made fatuous sunbeams toil To break earth’s sleep at all? Para rhyme- things not quite right God made Adam from clay Lacking substance, pointless- stubborn and stupid. Short lament. 14 lines – some features of sonnet- lacking tight controlled rhyme/ irregular to show despair, shock and lack of control over situation.

7. Questions on ‘Futility’ Objective: to learn about the context behind emotive poetry Outcome: Annotated poetry • Why does Owen use questions in his poem? • How are life and the sun linked in the poem? • What is Owen’s message?

8. World war poetry Poppies Objective: to learn about imagery within war poetry Outcome: Annotated poetry, pe.a.e.l’s • Starter: Discuss why the image of the poppy is so memorable today. What does it represent, why was it chosen as a symbol? • Main: Read poem Poppies. Weir background. • Tasks: 1. Annotate poem. • 2. Answer questions using P.E.A.E.L format. Include information about poet in your analysis. • Plenary: Go through your partner’s answers, have they mentioned the techniques used, have they covered all elements of p.e.a.e.l, have they considered imagery? Give your partner one target to improve.

9. Weir info Objective: to learn about imagery within war poetry Outcome: Annotated poetry, pe.a.e.l’s • ‘Jane Weir's poems are made and measured dreamcoats. They are exquisite garments which clothes and enfold us in her imagination.’ • Simon Armitage • Jane Weir describes herself as Anglo-Italian, and grew up in on the outskirts of Manchester on a council estate. She is a textile designer, writer and poet who has recently drawn high praise from her peers, including the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.   • As an adult, she has lived ‘all over the place’, including in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the Troubles (in the 1980s). She has won several poetry prizes and her first collection, The Way I Dressed During the Revolution (2005) was shortlisted for the Glen Dimplex New Writers Award in 2006. • Her publications have been diverse and include a pamphlet called Alice (2006) which was based on the life of an early 20th century political activist, Alice Wheeldon. She has also written about the poet Charlotte Mew and the writer Katherine Mansfield and, more recently, a poetic biography of two highly respected women textile designers. Weir currently lives in Derbyshire and Manchester, where she writes and runs her own textile and design business. She is also the fiction editor of the literary magazine IOTA.

10. Poppies Objective: to learn about imagery within war poetry Outcome: Annotated poetry, pe.a.e.l’s Three days before Armistice Sunday and poppies had already been placed 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. Sellotape bandaged around my hand, I rounded up as many white cat hairs as I could, smoothed down your shirt’s upturned collar, 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. 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 with you, to the front door, threw it open, the world overflowing like a treasure chest. A split second and you were away, intoxicated. 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, skirting the church yard walls, my stomach busy making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, without a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves. On reaching the top of the hill I traced the inscriptions on the war memorial, leaned against it like a wishbone. The dove pulled freely against the sky, an ornamental stitch. I listened, hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind.

11. Symbol of remembrance Dramatic monologue- lament/elegy- memory journey Poppies Three days before Armistice Sunday and poppies had already been placed 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. Sunday closest to armistice day- anniversary of end of war 11/11/1918 Mother grieves for loss of son – longs to hear his voice. She remembers his enthusiasm for conflict. Splatters of blood- sharp painful agonies Strip of edging material- decoration on uniform Crimped – military term – to coerce or recruit under false pretences 1914 recruitment. Contrast of colour red/yellow- binding- military metaphor young child grows up but then enters conflict.

12. Symbol of remembrance Dramatic monologue- lament/elegy- memory journey Sellotape bandaged around my hand, I rounded up as many white cat hairs as I could, smoothed down your shirt’s upturned collar, 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. I resisted the impulse to run my fingers through the gelled blackthorns of your hair. All my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt, Like a school uniform Sign of affection Word ‘graze’ sense of danger Spiky shrub- metaphor- hair- youth- doesn’t want affection from mum Grief/bereavement- created by pressure Enjambment- pauses -breaking up as enters the bedroom

13. Free verse- captures continuing thoughts crowding her mind as she grieves. Internalising thoughts while still addresses her son. slowly melting. I was brave, as I walked with you, to the front door, threw it open, the world overflowing like a treasure chest. A split second and you were away, intoxicated. 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, skirting the church yard walls, my stomach busy making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, without a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves. Simile- excitement/adventure Restless anxiety Mother leaves ‘kit’ starts personal battle. She had packed necessary warm items to help him in the real battle.

14. Snapped, severed relationship Simile- longing and wishing for son back On reaching the top of the hill I traced the inscriptions on the war memorial, leaned against it like a wishbone. The dove pulled freely against the sky, an ornamental stitch. I listened, hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind. Visual metaphor- threads on uniform braiding Maternal language intermingles with language of the battlefield. Stops and starts like a story- poignant ending. (Links – Wilfred Owen’s mother received news of his death on Armistice day)

15. Questions on ‘Poppies’ Objective: to learn about imagery within war poetry Outcome: Annotated poetry, pe.a.e.l’s • How does Weir use techniques to make the poem effective? • What is Weir’s message?

16. World war poetry Mametz Wood Objective: to learn about how setting can be explored and analysed Outcome: Annotated poetry and fully answered questions • Starter: Look at the image ...how does it make you feel? What does it tell you about setting? • Main: Read poem Mametz Wood. Sheers background. • Tasks: 1. Annotate poem. • 2. Answer questions using P.E.A.E.L format. • Plenary: Go through own answers, have you mentioned the techniques used, have you covered all elements of p.e.a.e.l, have you fully explored setting? Give yourself one target to improve.

17. Objective: to learn about how setting can be explored and analysed Outcome: Annotated poetry and fully answered questions

18. Sheers info Objective: to learn about how setting can be explored and analysed Outcome: Annotated poetry and fully answered questions • Owen Sheers was born in Fiji in 1974 but was brought up in south Wales. He now divides his time between Wales and New York. As well as poetry, he has written an award-winning non-fiction book, Dust Diaries, essays, novels and plays and has worked as a television presenter. • The poem ‘Mametz Wood’ was inspired by a trip to the Somme. Sheers was involved in a documentary film project about two Welsh writers, David Jones and Wyn Griffiths. They served with the 38th Welsh Division and both fought at Mametz Wood (described by Jones in In Parenthesis). While Sheers was in France, a previously unknown grave was uncovered. It contained the bodies of 20 Allied soldiers, hastily buried but with arms interlinked as described in the poem. Sheers has said that when he saw the photograph of the grave, he knew it was an image that would stay with him and that it was a subject he would want to write about. This poem is the result, surfacing some time later, just as, he says, ‘elements of the battle are still surfacing… years later.’

19. Mametz Wood Objective: to learn about how setting can be explored and analysed Outcome: Annotated poetry and fully answered questions For years afterwards the farmers found them – the wasted young, turning up under their plough blades as they tended the land back into itself. A chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade, the relic of a finger, the blown and broken bird’s egg of a skull, all mimicked now in flint, breaking blue in white across this field where they were told to walk, not run, towards the wood and its nesting machine guns. And even now the earth stands sentinel, reaching back into itself for reminders of what happened like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin. This morning, twenty men buried in one long grave, a broken mosaic of bone linked arm in arm, their skeletons paused mid dance-macabre in boots that outlasted them, their socketed heads tilted back at an angle and their jaws, those that have them, dropped open. As if the notes they had sung have only now, with this unearthing, slipped from their absent tongues.

20. Mametz Wood Battle to capture Mametz wood in Frnace during battle of Somme 5-12 July 1916. Welsh suffered casulties 4000men dead/wounded. For years afterwards the farmers found them – the wasted young, turning up under their plough blades as they tended the land back into itself. A chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade, the relic of a finger, the blown and broken bird’s egg of a skull, all mimicked now in flint, breaking blue in white across this field where they were told to walk, not run, towards the wood and its nesting machine guns. Emotive language- futility of war Farmers unearthing bones Delicate, precious, image of man’s head. Belongs to saint- holy Collective noun for guns and birds

21. Stanza could stand alone French soil personified- keeping watch over the dead. Poet reflecting on past and present And even now the earth stands sentinel, reaching back into itself for reminders of what happened like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin. This morning, twenty men buried in one long grave, a broken mosaic of bone linked arm in arm, their skeletons paused mid dance-macabre Splinter- simile- Wales-fighting on foreign soil Like a jigsaw- whole picture different to individual parts. alive

22. Shocking image in boots that outlasted them, their socketed heads tilted back at an angle and their jaws, those that have them, dropped open. As if the notes they had sung have only now, with this unearthing, slipped from their absent tongues. OWEN SHEERS Half rhyme- finality to poem Can’t speak for themselves Grew up in South Wales. Saw Mametz Wood and photo of grave- burned into his mind. 20 soldiers buried together- arms linked like they are dancing. Sheers ahs great respect for the earth.

23. Questions on ‘Mametz Wood’ Objective: to learn about how setting can be explored and analysed Outcome: Annotated poetry and fully answered questions • What does the phrase ‘wasted young’ suggest about the soldiers ? • What techniques are used to show the emotions in the poem? • How is setting relevant in this poem?

24. Torn lands ‘At the border’ Objective: to learn about the themes covered in conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry • Starter: Imagine you were told you could no longer live in England. You are forced from your home and moved to a new country. How would you feel? Discuss. • Main: Read poem ‘At the Border’ . Hardibackground. • Tasks: 1. Annotate poem. • 2. Answer questions using P.E.A.E.L format. • Plenary: Go through own answers, have you mentioned the themes within the poems, have you covered all elements of p.e.a.e.l, are you aware of techniques used? Write one question you still have about the poem. Research this for homework.

25. Hardi info Objective: to learn about the themes covered in conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry • ChomanHardi was born in 1974. She spent the first part of her life in Southern Kurdistan before her family moved to Iran in 1975. Four years later they returned to Iraq. However, they had to flee again in 1988 when Saddam Hussein started attacking the Kurdish people with chemical weapons. • In 1993 she entered the United Kingdom as a refugee. She studied philosophy and psychology at Queen’s College, Oxford, completed an MA in philosophy at University College London and did a PhD at the University of Kent. • She is a poet, translator and painter. However, she has not painted for some time because of a lack of time. • She had collections of her poems published in Kurdish before she started writing in English. One of the reasons she began writing in English was because she wanted to share her poetry, something very important to her, with her friends. She had tried translating what she had written from Kurdish into English but found that it didn’t really work. For example, Kurdish poems use many more adjectives than English ones.

26. At the border Objective: to learn about the themes covered in conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry Dozens of families waited in the rain. ‘I can inhale home,’ somebody said. Now our mothers were crying. I was five years old standing by the check-in point comparing both sides of the border. The autumn soil continued on the other side with the same colour, the same texture. It rained on both sides of the chain. We waited while our papers were checked, our faces thoroughly inspected. Then the chain was removed to let us through. A man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland. The same chain of mountains encompassed all of us. ‘It is your last check-in point in this country!’ We grabbed a drink – soon everything would taste different. The land under our feet continued divided by a thick iron chain. My sister put her leg across it. ‘Look over here,’ she said to us, ‘my right leg is in this country and my left leg in the other.’ The border guards told her off. My mother informed me: We are going home. She said that the roads are much cleaner the landscape is more beautiful and people are much kinder.

27. At the border, 1979 Experience something- family’s life will change- Apprehension ‘It is your last check-in point in this country!’ We grabbed a drink – soon everything would taste different. The land under our feet continued divided by a thick iron chain. My sister put her leg across it. ‘Look over here,’ she said to us, ‘my right leg is in this country and my left leg in the other.’ The border guards told her off. Adults notice importance of chain- child doesn’t Playful stern Hardi- Born Iraqi Kurdistan 1974- fled Iran when she was a baby. Returned when 5 years old. When 14yrs old Iraq Kurds attacked by chemical weapons. Moved to England when 20.

28. Mothers are emotional Repetition – highlight it will be better to a confused child who thought it would be the same. My mother informed me: We are going home. She said that the roads are much cleaner the landscape is more beautiful and people are much kinder. Dozens of families waited in the rain. ‘I can inhale home,’ somebody said. Now our mothers were crying. I was five years old standing by the check-in point comparing both sides of the border. Refugee trying to breathe in all the pleasures and memories of a former life Structure- free verse 7 stanzas varying length= conversational. 2nd stanza shorter= key message.

29. Language- autobiographical- direct speech=immediacy- Hardi questions what is the same and what is different. Simple uncomplicated language- 2nd language- nostalgic- distanced from situation and lack of understnading. The autumn soil continued on the other side with the same colour, the same texture. It rained on both sides of the chain. We waited while our papers were checked, our faces thoroughly inspected. Then the chain was removed to let us through. A man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland. The same chain of mountains encompassed all of us. Chain used 4 times- binding/connecting/tying up- collective known for mountain range- reference to setting and country. Kurdistan- mountainous area- Kurds identity repressed.

30. Questions on ‘At the border’ Objective: to learn about the themes covered in conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry • What does the poem show us about family? • Why does Hardi use a child’s perspective? • Why does Hardi use repetition in stanza 4?

31. Torn lands ‘The Yellow Palm’ Objective: to learn to empathise with characters within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • Starter: What do you know about Baghdad? What do you know about operation desert fox? • Main: Read poem ‘The Yellow Palm’ .Minhinnickbackground. • Tasks: 1. Annotate poem. • 2. Answer questions using P.E.A.E.L format. • Plenary: Go through own answers, have you mentioned the themes within the poems, have you covered all elements of p.e.a.e.l, are you aware of techniques used? Write one question you still have about the poem. Research this for homework.

32. Minhinnick info Objective: to learn to empathise with characters within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • Robert Minhinnick is a poet, essayist and more recently, novelist. He was born in South Wales, where he still lives, in 1952. He is also an environmentalist; he co-founded Friends of the Earth Cymru (Wales) and is advisor to Sustainable Wales, an environmental charity. • Much of Minhinnick’s poetry is rooted in Wales – its landscapes and communities, people, places and weather, his family and his childhood. It is not limited to this, however. He has travelled widely and written on other subjects, including contemporary political events and issues. Poems such as ‘The Yellow Palm’ and ‘After the Stealth Bomber’ reference the first Gulf War and draw on his visit to Iraq in 1998. Minhinnick won the prestigious Forward Prize for Best Individual Poem in 1999 for 'Twenty-five Laments for Iraq’. • In a recent interview (see weblinks below), Minhinnick said that he does not intend his poems to have a moral message: ‘I have a moral standpoint on many aspects of life, but I wouldn't wish it to intrude too obviously in my poems, because I simply don't see myself as some kind of moral arbiter.’ The poet explains that he tries in his poems to combine drama, colour and texture. The drama and ‘colour’ is in the narrative and the images. He says, ‘I think in images and I like to write in images. That's what writing is all about – the transforming image that provides even commonplace things with another dimension.’ He goes on to explain that ‘texture’ refers to the unique way a writer uses language – vocabulary, syntax, patterning and emphasis.

33. The Yellow Palm key terms Objective: to learn to empathise with characters within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • Palestine Street – a major street in Baghdad (although not the street that Minhinnick identifies as the inspiration for his poem), also known as Falastin Street. • Poison gas – a term to describe chemical weapons such as mustard gas and chlorine gas. Poison gas was used by Iraq against Iran during the Iran–Iraq War and also (allegedly) against its own Kurdish minority. The UN supervised the destruction of a quantity of chemical weapons in Iraq after the first Gulf War. • Muezzin – the person who calls the faithful to prayer at mosque. • Imperial Guard – the unit of volunteers (largely) who originally served as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s personal bodyguard. The unit’s remit broadened into a wider military one. • Mother of all Wars (or Mother of all Battles) – President Saddam Hussein’s description of the first Gulf War. • Tigris – river flowing through Baghdad. • Cruise missile – a guided missile that can carry conventional, chemical, biological or nuclear warheads. Cruise missiles were used by both ‘sides’ during the first Gulf War. • Yellow palm – a type of date-producing palm tree that is frequently mentioned in the Qu’ran. The tree’s leaves, bark and fruit are used for a variety of purposes including timber, rope, food and fuel. • Salaam – an Arabic greeting (meaning ‘peace’) which is used throughout the world, mainly by Muslims. In the Middle East, it is accompanied by two or three light cheek kisses, usually between people of the same gender. It is a shortening of AsSalaam Alaykum (peace be upon you).

34. The Yellow Palm Objective: to learn to empathise with characters within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s As I made my way down Palestine Street I watched a funeral pass – all the women waving lilac stems around a coffin made of glass and the face of the man who lay within who had breathed a poison gas. As I made my way down Palestine Street I heard the call to prayer and I stopped at the door of the golden mosque to watch the faithful there but there was blood on the walls and the muezzin’s eyes were wild with his despair. As I made my way down Palestine Street I met two blind beggars And into their hands I pressed my hands with a hundred black dinars; and their salutes were those of the Imperial Guard in the Mother of all Wars.

35. Yellow Palm Objective: to learn to empathise with characters within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s As I made my way down Palestine Street I smelled the wide Tigris, the river smell that lifts the air in a city such as this; but down on my head fell the barbarian sun that knows no armistice. As I made my way down Palestine Street I saw a Cruise missile, a slow and silver caravan on its slow and silver mile, and a beggar child turned up his face and blessed it with a smile. As I made my way down Palestine Street under the yellow palms I saw their branches hung with yellow dates all sweeter than salaams, and when that same child reached up to touch, the fruit fell in his arms.

36. The Yellow Palm Beauty conflicts with violence- disturbing result Busy thoroughfare. Line repeated throughout- suggests series of events. As I made my way down Palestine Street I watched a funeral pass – all the women waving lilac stems around a coffin made of glass and the face of the man who lay within who had breathed a poison gas. As I made my way down Palestine Street I heard the call to prayer and I stopped at the door of the golden mosque to watch the faithful there but there was blood on the walls and the muezzin’s eyes were wild with his despair. Contrasts in mood- mourning women. Prematurely killed = violent death Chemical weapons used by Iraqi government. Beautiful- meant for worship and tranquillity. Man who calls Muslims to prayer Experience of walking through Baghdad in 1998 4 day bombing called Operation desert Fox

37. Moving images Small amount of currency in Iraq As I made my way down Palestine Street I met two blind beggars And into their hands I pressed my hands with a hundred black dinars; and their salutes were those of the Imperial Guard in the Mother of all Wars. As I made my way down Palestine Street I smelled the wide Tigris, the river smell that lifts the air in a city such as this; but down on my head fell the barbarian sun that knows no armistice. Guards of Iran – old soldiers in exile/defeated/blinded River. Smell- Cannot compete with cruel relentless heat. Sun personified in terms of war No agreement to stop fighting

38. Strong rhythm- song like, created by metre, contrast with serious content. Metaphor- stark contrast to usual procession of cats, mules, camels. Terrifying to watch As I made my way down Palestine Street I saw a Cruise missile, a slow and silver caravan on its slow and silver mile, and a beggar child turned up his face and blessed it with a smile. As I made my way down Palestine Street under the yellow palms I saw their branches hung with yellow dates all sweeter than salaams, and when that same child reached up to touch, the fruit fell in his arms. S alliteration- sinister/sombre mood Child innocent/beautiful transfixed- dispels horror Fear and beauty co-exist. Vibrant colours dulled by black dinars Pleasing harvest ideas Greetings- simile=peace Ambiguous war imagery- sad reminder of futile young deaths. The fallen- wounded or dead

39. Questions on ‘The Yellow Palm’ Objective: to learn to emphasise with characters within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • What effect does the strong rhythm create? • What techniques are used to show war? • How are colours used in the poem?

40. Torn lands Flag Objective: to learn how basic techniques are constructed within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • Starter: What is patriotism? How does a country show its pride? • Recap techniques. • Main: Read poem ‘Flag’ . Agardbackground. • Tasks: 1. Annotate poem. • 2. Answer questions using P.E.A.E.L format. • Plenary: Go through your partner’s answers, have they mentioned the techniques used, have they covered all elements of p.e.a.e.l, have they considered basic techniques? Give your partner one target to improve.

41. Agard info Objective: to learn how basic techniques are constructed within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • ‘[Agard’s work is]… as direct as a voice in the bus queue’ • Helen Dunmore, writer • John Agard is an award-winning poet, performer, playwright, editor and short-story writer who has written prolifically for both children and adults. He was born in Guyana – when it was still British Guiana – in 1949; his mother was Portuguese and his father was black.   • Agard worked as a teacher and journalist before moving to Britain in 1977. In Britain, he initially worked for the Commonwealth Institute as a touring lecturer, giving talks and readings promoting greater understanding of Caribbean culture. Agard now lives in Sussex with his partner, the poet Grace Nichols, and spends much of his time visiting schools to promote poetry. • John Agard started writing poems when he was about sixteen and his first collection of poetry was published in Guyana in 1974. More recently he has been writer in residence at the South Bank and poet in residence at the BBC and now many of his poems are composed while looking out of train windows. He is not only a popular literary poet, but a powerful performance poet who has a strong sense of his audience, as his celebrated performance of his poem ‘Half-Caste’ reveals (available on YouTube). • His poems cover a wide range of subjects. As might be expected from his ethnic and cultural roots, race, ethnicity and culture are very important, but Agard’s work also draws on such diverse subjects as ancient mythology, academia, Caribbean folk tales, environmental issues, politics and patriotism. • He is most closely identified with a free verse form that uses the rhythms and dialect of Caribbean Creole to make a serious point in a witty way. However, many of his poems use the language and grammar of standard English, and are tightly constructed and metrically regular: the sonnets in Clever Backbone, for example.

42. Flag Objective: to learn how basic techniques are constructed within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s What’s that fluttering in a breeze? It’s just a piece of cloth that brings a nation to its knees. What’s that unfurling from a pole? It’s just a piece of cloth that makes the guts of men grow bold. What’s that rising over a tent? It’s just a piece of cloth that dares the coward to relent. What’s that flying across a field? It’s just a piece of cloth that will outlive the blood you bleed. How can I possess such a cloth? Just ask for a flag, my friend. Then blind your conscience to the end.

43. Flag Symbol of allegiance to ones country. Why does it have power over people’s decisions? Alliteration- disgust at flag’s movement. What’s that fluttering in a breeze? It’s just a piece of cloth that brings a nation to its knees. What’s that unfurling from a pole? It’s just a piece of cloth that makes the guts of men grow bold. What’s that rising over a tent? It’s just a piece of cloth that dares the coward to relent. Force/ submission G sound pushes argumentative tone 5 3 line equal stanzas, shorter middle line- Looks like flags in the breeze. Each stanza begins with a question the poet then answers- opinions come across in a strong way.

44. Alliteration- b sound reinforces message that patriotism is blind What’s that flying across a field? It’s just a piece of cloth that will outlive the blood you bleed. How can I possess such a cloth? Just ask for a flag, my friend. Then blind your conscience to the end. John Agard Serious effects of a violent war. Metaphor- refusal to see what is right. 1949 Guyana Gained independence from UK in 1966 Dislikes patriotism and so questions it. Rhyme- last 2 lines rhyming couplet- sum up poet’s feelings about patriotism.

45. Questions on ‘Flag’ Objective: to learn how basic techniques are constructed within conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • How does the flag show national pride? • Why does Agard use questions in his poem? • What is the message of the poem?

46. Terrorism ‘The right word’ Objective: to learn how world political issues are examined through conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • Starter: What does a terrorist look like? Discuss in pairs and feedback. • Main: Read poem ‘The Right word’ . Dharkerbackground. • Tasks: 1. Annotate poem. • 2. Answer questions using P.E.A.E.L format. • Plenary: Discuss the issue of terrorism. Does the poem make you feel differently about terrorists and their actions? Are there any issues that would force your hand?

47. Dharker info Objective: to learn how world political issues are examined through conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s • ImtiazDharker was born in the Punjab, Pakistan in 1954. She grew up in Glasgow in a Lahori household and now divides her time between India, Wales and London. She describes herself as a Scottish Muslim Calvinist. • As well as being a poet, ImtiazDharker is also a prolific and award-winning documentary film maker. Among their many subjects, her films highlight an interest in child welfare and in women’s health and education. Dharker is also a successful artist: her line drawings illustrate her books and have been exhibited internationally. • Her first collection of poems, Purdah, was published in 1988. Her most recent, The terrorist at my table (2006), included the poem ‘The Right Word’. An article published in Poetry Review seems particularly pertinent to ‘The Right Word’: ‘through all the uncertainties and concealments, her poems unveil the delicate skin of love, trust and sudden recognition’. • Recurring themes in her poetry include cultural identity, freedom, displacement, communal conflict, gender politics and freedom. Critic TishaniDoshi argues that her poems offer ‘hope in the face of violence’, while Bruce King regards Dharker as ‘consciously feminist, consciously political, consciously that of a multiple outsider, someone who knows her own mind, rather than someone full of doubt and liberal ironies’.

48. The Right Word Objective: to learn how world political issues are examined through conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s Outside the door, lurking in the shadows, is a terrorist. Is that the wrong description? Outside that door, taking shelter in the shadows, is a freedom-fighter. I haven’t got this right. Outside, waiting in the shadows, is a hostile militant. Are words no more than waving, wavering flags? Outside your door, watchful in the shadows, is a guerrilla warrior. God help me. Outside, defying every shadow, stands a martyr. I saw his face.

49. The Right Word Objective: to learn how world political issues are examined through conflict poetry. Outcome: Annotated poetry and p.e.a.e.l.s No words can help me now. Just outside the door, lost in shadows, is a child who looks like mine. One word for you. Outside my door, his hand too steady, his eyes too hard is a boy who looks like your son, too. I open the door. Come in, I say. Come in and eat with us. The child steps in and carefully, at my door, takes off his shoes.

50. The Right Word Depends on where your political sympathies lie Access/ metaphorically- barrier Outside the door, lurking in the shadows, is a terrorist. Is that the wrong description? Outside that door, taking shelter in the shadows, is a freedom-fighter. I haven’t got this right. Outside, waiting in the shadows, is a hostile militant. Word replaced later Dharker relies heavily on repetition. The door That door Your door-Gradually brings reader inot the action /dilemma= invites us to question what is the right word? Dark area- fear doubt hides- frightened of terrorists acting in our country Air of immediacy