kamikaze

• Author's name


  Beatrice Garland
• 1938


  when Beatrice Garland was born in Oxford
• the start of World War 2

  1939
• the end of World War 2

  1945
• publishing context of 'Kamikaze'

  comes from the collection of poems called The Invention of Fireworks, 2013
• common themes in 'The Invention of Fireworks', 2013

  life and death in the natural world
• Garland's interests in her writing


  Garland said she has a particular interest in 'what can motivate young men and women to give up their own lives in the service of a higher cause
• Meaning of the word 'kamikaze'

  translated as 'god wind' or 'divine wind' in Japanese
• origin of the word 'kamikaze'


  It was not the original word used by the Japanese but a pronunciation error by American translators; however, the name became so well known that after the war, the Japanese started using it
• kamikaze' pilots in World War 2


  Kamikaze pilots went on suicide missions during WWII
• kamikaze' pilots' oath


  They took an oath of loyalty and honour until death
• kamikaze technique


  Then they would fly their planes and crash them into enemy warships to kill as many people onboard as possible, but it also meant sacrificing their own lives
• motivation of a kamikaze pilot


  their sacrifice was seen to bring great honour to the people of Japan and especially their families
• propaganda definition


  information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view
• effects of propaganda


  changes how the public views issues such as war
• characteristics of World War 2 Japanese propaganda

  often focused on the honour of protecting those at home, including family and the Emporer - sacrificing their lives for these causes was seen as most honourable
• central concept


  honour
• the consequences of obsession with honour

  Kamikaze', like 'My Last Duchess' explores how an obsession with honour can drive people to extreme actions
• true honour vs material honour

  Kamikaze' is about the conflict between two different impulses: to honour country or to honour nature/family/the human desire to do what is right
• the conflict between heart and head

  The kamikaze pilot is torn between his mission and his desire to return home
• ‘his choice was not futile; I think it was honourable and I think he knew that in spite of how painful it was; Japanese society did not agree’


  a direct quote from Garland about the central idea of the poem
• cultural expectations vs inner conscience


  The conflict lies between an honourable suicide and living with dishonor, ostracized by society
• eloquence does not necessarily reflect a moral persona

  Renaissance humanism emphasised the learning of eloquent speech as a method of developing moral character, however, authors such as Shakespeare demonstrated how eloquence and rhetoric could easily be used to mask malevolence
• the development of the human mind

  Browning often credited with creating the dramatic monologue said, 'My stress lay on the incidents in the development of a soul. Little else is worth study
• glory


  Intertwined with the concept of honour was the concept of glory and the victory that the kamikaze pilots would bring to Japan and it's Emperor
• the corrupting influence of propaganda


  Like 'Bayonet Charge', 'Exposure', 'Poppies' and 'Remains', in the background of this poem is World War II propaganda that drove people to give their lives for their countries
• internal evaluation


  Kamikaze', 'Exposure' and 'Bayonet Charge', all feature active military men who question what they are doing
• questioning propaganda


  the pilot questions what he is doing and, by extension, the official propaganda narrative
• family


  the poem is told from the perspective of the pilot's father
• the ambiguous nature of judgment

  The speaker is careful not to judge her father's decision, nor to offer excuses
• choices


  the poem can also be seen through the dilemma the pilot faces between an honourable suicide and living with dishonor, ostracized by society
• cultural, military and national expectations

  he was expected to go and sacrifice his life as a kamikaze pilot and that would bring great honour to him, his family and his country
• society vs the individual

  Returning to his family was seen as such a dishonourable action that his family disowned him and that leads to emotional death
• the dehumanising effect of conflict


  like 'Bayonet Charge', 'Exposure', 'Poppies', 'Remains', 'My Last Duchess', 'War Photographer' and, perhaps, 'Charge of the Light Brigade', Kamikaze explores how conflict leads to the dehumanisation of people, in this case, the pilot and the community themselves
• form of 'Kamikaze'


  dramatic monologue
• the human condition


  the experiences, emotions, needs etc that all people share, especially considered as a situation from which it is impossible to escape; the general condition of human life including psychology, sociology, politics, etc
• general function of the dramatic monologue


  to dramatise the human condition
• 5 main characteristics of a dramatic monologue

  a dramatic speaker, a defined listener, a developing action in the present, the gradual ironical revelation of the character of the speaker and the implication of another action in the past
• important qualities of the dramatic speaker in a dramatic monologue

  the speaker is not to be confused as the author; the speaker is an imagined persona often teetering on the verge of madness of delusion
• the dramatic monolgue and the development of the human mind

  Robert Browning who is often credited with inventing the dramatic monologue said, 'My stress lay on the incidents in the development of a soul. Little else is worth study