Kamikaze

• Beatrice Garland


  Lives in London and works as a clinician and researcher for the NHS alongside writing poetry
• Kamikaze' was published as part of Beatrice Garland's first poetry collection, The Invention of Fireworks


  2013
• Form


  • Mostly narrated in the third person using reported speech of the pilot's daughter, but her voice is heard directly in the later stanzas
  • The absence of the pilot's voice shows that he's been cut off from society
  • The use of the third person emphasises the distance between pilot and daughter
• Structure


  • The first five stanzas form one sentence which covers an account of the pilot's flight as the pilot's daughter imagines it
  • The end of the sentence represents the plane landing, and the final two stanzas deal with the fallout of the pilot's actions
• Irony


  • There are ironic reminders of how the pilot has abandoned his mission
  • The way he's treated when he returns to his family is ironic because they act as if he's dead, even though he chose not to die
• Natural imagery


  • Similes, metaphors and detailed descriptions are used to emphasise the beauty and power of nature
  • The pilot's daughter hints that this beauty was one of the main triggers for his actions
• Direct speech


  • The addition of direct speech makes the poem seem more personal
  • Hearing the daughter's voice emphasises the impact of war on a specific family
• The opening stanza is full of suggestions of patriotic pride and duty--the pilot has the chance to fly "into history"
• The patriotism of the pilot's family and neighbours is shown in their reaction to his return- - they treat him as if he's dead because he has failed in his duty to his nation