Poems

• Kamikaze STRUCTURE

  • narrative shift - the move from third person narrator to the first person in the last two stanzas reveals inner thoughts + feelings of the pilots daughter
  • Caesura - the caesura which signifies the aside marks the daughter’s moment of contemplation. This moment also mirrors the pilots hesitation
• Kamikaze THEMES

  • honour - the poet explores the consequences of not fulfilling one’s duty
  • nature - Garland highlights the beauty of nature to help us empathise with the pilots reasons for turning back
  • family & childhood
• Kamikaze KEY QUOTES

  'her father embarked at sunrise': 'Japan is also know as the land of the rising sun - could be a reference to county's heritage. it is a symbol of hope which conveys patriotism'
• Kamikaze KEY QUOTES

  'they treated him as though he no longer existed': 'ironic, his survival is meaningless, the people he lived for is now dead too'
• Kamikaze KEY QUOTES

  'enough fuel for a one way journey into history': 'metaphor, this is indicative of the significance of the act and honour it could bring him, he doesn't originally plan on coming back, he will be immortalised with respect'
• Kamikaze KEY QUOTES

  'a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous': 'imbalance of power between humanity and nature - even a kamikaze pilot - the epitome of danger isn't the most dangerous thing in this poem - a fish is'
• London STRUCTURE

  • ABAB rhyme scheme - the repetitiveness reflects the relentless and inescapable suffering in the city. Sense of rhythm like steady walking. Juxtaposes the steady flow of the poem and the jarring inequality between the rich and poor
• London STRUCTURE

  • Cyclical structure - stanza four returns to focus on those who are suffering, shows the repetitive cycle of suffering
  • Iambic pentameter (lines with 8 syllables with alternating stressed/unstressed syllables) - an example of the repetitive life except line four and stanza three to reflect the weakness of those who are suffering
• London THEMES

  • abuse of power
  • control
• London KEY QUOTES

  'In every infant's cry of fear' - children have no hope of a future of freedom as cycle of poverty will never end. Repetition of 'every' portrays an overwhelming sense of oppression and unfairness.
• London KEY QUOTES

  • 'Marks in every face I meet, marks of weakness, marks of woe' - repetition of 'mark' stresses how indelible the suffering was. Shows they were weakened by the governments control and were unable to fight back. They are branded with the look of poverty.