17/11/2014

Posted by Ethan |
OBJ: To demonstrate our understanding of AO2 through responses to unseen poems.

Example of a 5 mark AO1 question:

1) Poets often deploy auditory devices for effect. Comment on the use and effect of sound devices in the poem (The Send Off)
Firstly, the poet has injected a euphonic sound in the opening which conveys a feeling of excitement and great expectation of those going to war. Also, the poem ends with cacophonous sounds ('silent') which is juxtaposed with the implicit triumph of "great bells". The effect is to convey an anti-climatic feeling. Furthermore, the sibilant sounds "like wrongs hushed up" has been used to inject a moribund and conspiratorial tone in the poem. The poet has also made use of alliterated oxymoron ("grimly gay") which highlights the sense of hope, overthrown by discordance. Finally, the poet deploys elongated assonant vowels "drums and yells" to compound the negative mood at the end of the poem.

Example of a 5 mark AO2 question:

1) Poets often make use of imagery. Using two examples from the poem, explore the use of imagery. (The Send Off)
Owen has illuminated the repercussions of the people going to war. "May creep back, silent, to still village wells Up half-known roads." Firstly, the imagery used creates a very clandestine feeling through the use of sibilance. furthermore, the use of medial caesura compounds the idea of "silence" which creates an eerie mood and implies the desertion throughout the village. The poet has included interesting conspiratorial imagery."Signals nodded, and a lamp Winked to the guard. So secretly, like wrongs hushed up they went. they where not ours." The use of the personification creates a sinister and doleful mood, suggesting the soldiers' oblivion. The lamp may be perceived as a symbol, metaphorically alluding to hope and salvation. Also, the juxtaposition between the 'guard' and the departing soldiers also foreshadows the idea of death in the poem.

Example of a 10 mark AO1 and AO2 question:


1) Poets wish us to consider a number of important themes. using your knowledge of poetry, discuss what you think are the important themes in the poem, and comment on the ways these are developed.
Owen includes themes such as war and it's inevitable lead to the deaths of all the young men that have participated. This theme is developed throughout the poem by starting off as the the soldiers "Sang their way" This could of been deployed in order to distract the men from the terrors of what will come and give them a sense of community and family with each other, while encouraging them to bond and trust each other. It moves on to say that the men had faces that were grimly gay. This suggests that the men were excited by the concept of war and felt like they were doing the right thing for their country. however the word 'grimly' reflects the reluctance of the soldiers and the knowledge that they might die. the poet has included imagery to show the fatal nature of war "Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray as men's are, dead." the state of the men's bodies could refer to the hopelessness of their future efforts as the poet foreshadows their demise.

Owen introduces the idea that war is exploitative in this poem. Perhaps he is showing us that young men are being cajoled into going into war.

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