Kamikaze

• H F E A S W A F O W, A S S

  Her father embarked at sunrise with a flask of water, a samurai sword

  -Sibilance gives a sign of peace, same peace found in death

  -Sunrise symbolising Japan, divinity, meeting God

  -Flask of water alludes to baptism in Christianity

  -Personal pronoun establishes monologue tone
• L A H F W J O W T T O I A F O 8

  Like a huge flag waved first one way then the other in a figure of eight

  -Simile, flag represents patriotism, alternative use of flags to stop or direct something

  -8 symbolises infinity;he is trapped by his identity

  -Figure of 8 also symbolises his journey and return
• T L S O W A O A T, T D P, M, D

  The loose silver of whitebait and once a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous

  -loose silver is an allusion to the Bible; Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins, loose morality and coins

  -tuna metaphor could signify the Japanese royal family, the subversive act her father did by not killing himself

  -Punished by society for muscular and dangerous decision
• O W C S C A L T G W T L T B S

  Only we children still chattered and laughed till gradually we too learned to be silent

  -Volta, gradually show how unnatural it was for children to disown their father

  -Speaker reflecting on childhood, children symbolising innocence, free from

  cultural prejudice

  -Emotive vocabulary juxtaposed with the stoic silence exaggerating the emotional pain of pilot and family
• A S, S S, H M H W W H B T B W T D

  And sometimes, she said, he must have wondered which had been the better way to die

  -Non-Italic couplet reflects the torment of this thought to the pilot and the destructiveness of patriotism.

  -Last line suggest hes been permanently ostracized

  -He died in the eyes of his family and neighbours -he may have wished he had completed his mission - either way his story ends in death with no way out
• Form and Structure

  -Final couplet in italics and with longer lines represent his life will never be the same again

  -Consistent Structure uses quite regular syllable patterns, giving the poem a tone of nostalgia and the rhythm of the waves, representing helplessness
• Context

  the poet's message is relevant to and rooted in modern society in which cultural expectations lead many to extreme actions in the name of honor (for example ISIS)
• Comparisons

  National Identity - Checking Out Me History

  Memory: Poppies

  Nature's Power: Prelude

  Pride and power of man: My Last Duchess, Ozymandias, Tissue

  Bravery and Honor: Poppies, Bayonet Charge, Charge of the Light Brigade
• Themes

  Conflict, Power, Patriotism, Shame, Nature, Childhood
• Poet's purpose

  -This poem explores a kamikaze pilot’s journey towards battle, his

  decision to return, and how he is shunned when he returns home.The catalyst for his decision is when he looks down at the sea, the beauty of nature and memories of childhood (which are closely linked to the sea) make him decide to turn back.