Month: April 2015

Firstly, the conflict in At the Border, is a group of people that want to return to the land that is linked to their identify. We know that the poet is being forced to flee from Kurdistan back to her homeland Iraq. We can tell that the effect of the civil war has had a major effect on the individual. She wants to return home after experiencing conflict. However, in Belfast Confetti the conflict is the protagonist finds himself in a situation where a riot squad has enclosed around him. The protagonist tries to escape. The poet uses the protagonist’s mum as a metaphor that she feels going home. The poet uses adverbs to hyperbolise the mother’s view that home is a place that is better than wherever they have come from.

The conflict is a civil war between the protestants and the IRA. The protagonist finds himself trapped in a civil war between protestants and IRA. The Catholics in Northern Ireland wanted independence but some people wanted to stay within the United Kingdom. The protestants and IRA are both fighting for political reasons. The protagonist is surrounded by an riot. The protagonist is a civilian. The poem is written in first perspective, the protagonist seems scared. He wants to escape the situation, he finds himself in but he is restricted as fighting as happening in every corner. A burst of fire blocks the protagonist from escaping and an asterisk on the map shows the enemy were going to attack a specific space within the area.

Both poems are written in first person. The poem ‘Belfast Confetti’ is written in first perspective. The protagonist seems to be an participant in an civil war where he is surrounded by an battle. I think the mood of the situation is angry and an dispute is happening. There is an religious battle with the young Irish man in the middle of it.  However, In At the Border, the protagonist is someone who has been in an civil war and wants to return back to her homeland with her family. The protagonist is in a situation where a civil war has happened. The civil war has had an negative impact on both her and her family and they feel they can’t stay in Kurdistan where the civil war has taken place. Her family feel the need to migrate back to her homeland.

The poet in Belfast Confetti uses Juxta position. She contrast two words, Belfast and Confetti. We know Belfast is the city where an religious war is taking place. We usually associate the word Confetti with moments of happiness, celebrations and special occasions but in this case, the connotation of Confetti is the nuts, bolts, screws, nails and bombs. The poet starts the poem with the adverb ‘Suddenly’ to try and emphasise the fact that the situation the protagonist finds himself in, is dangerous and life-threatening. The poet also uses a metaphor to suggest that the riot squad are coming to put an end to the conflict. Likewise, the poet uses the verb ‘stuttering’ to try and draw attention that the protagonist feels brainwashed as he sees the battle going on around him. We know that the protagonist is struggling to take control over his mental state and his thoughts have been scrambled by seeing blood, dead bodies, sound of gun shots going off and people screaming.

In the first stanza, the poet sets the scene for Vandevue’s death by using the repetition of ‘alone’. The poet also uses, the midnight and the moonlight to try and set the scene for Vandevue’s death. The poet uses the line ‘left by the ebbing tide of the battle’ to try and set the scene for her death. The first line is very important in recognising that the scene is set for the girl soldier’s death. We know that she is left behind in what used to be a battleground.

The feature of M.L.5 suggest that it is set in the future. In our time, M.L.5 doesn’t exist, so this could suggest that it is set in the future. M.L.5 could be a chemical or poison that has been created to take away people’s memory. In the second stanza, it says M.L.5 has left the girl just about alive. We know that M.L.5 has taken her memory away. She has been brainwashed so we could assume she has been drugged or poisoned. We know that M.L.5 has had disastrous effects on people.

The poet uses repetition to create a feeling of sadness in the poem. The poet uses the word ‘alone’ to emphasis the fact that she is alone. The significance of the word ‘alone’ suggest that when she is alone, she is fragile and vulnerable.

How has the poet presented the effects of conflict in ‘The Right Word’ through choices of language and structure?

The poem is about a woman inside her house. Her thoughts manage to get the better of her. The poem comes about on what happened on the 911 bombings. The poet uses an provocative and emotive opening. The woman is in a situation where she feels that she doesn’t have control. The poet uses a range of nouns and verbs to describe activists and their behaviour each with emotional connotation. I think the poet writes this poem to say that on the aftermath of 911, most Asians(innocent people) have been victimised because of their race(appearance) is similar to those of terrorists that took part in the 911 bombings. I think the poet uses the metaphor of a door to talk about many threats that exist in society today. The poet uses a range of verbs and nouns to describe the behaviour of the activists.

The first 4 stanzas show different interpretations of who might be ‘outside the door’ in the ‘shadows’. The poet uses short stanzas which the reader comes to quick judgements. Also, the poet uses a noun ‘shadow’ which represents dark and gloom, sense of things hidden and also uncertainty. The repetition of the noun ‘shadows’ enhances distrust and establishes an mysterious tone. When the poet uses the phase ‘is a child who looks like mine’ suggest emotive imagery (innocence and vulnerability). When the poet uses the phase ‘one word for you’, it is directly addressed to the figure outside the door. The word ‘come in’, it represents an inviting, welcoming tone.  The poet uses the controversial noun terrorist to establish the tone of an emotive opening. The poet utilizes the same theme(idea) of someone being outside the door lurking in the shadows. When the poet uses an adverb ‘carefully’, it suggests gentleness while the symbolic act of the figure removing shoes show respect. The activist seems to be just a harmless child.