Full mark essay comparing types of conflict in the poems 'Poppies' and 'Remains'. These poems can be found in the AQA GCSE English Literature poetry anthology 'Power and Conflict'.
This essay was written as revision for my GCSE in English Literature, for which I achieved a Grade 9. I have 11 GCS...
Compare the ways the poets explore conflict in ‘Poppies’ and one other poem
In the poems ‘Poppies’ and ‘Remains’, the poets present an inner conflict, conflicting ideas and the
effects of conflict. However in ‘Poppies’, the poet shows how people at home are affected; in ‘Remains’,
it is the soldier who is affected.
The poet presents an inner conflict in the poem ‘Poppies’, describing how her mother visits a war
memorial and wishes for her son to return: “like a wishbone”. This suggests that she views her son as
more important than any other soldier; although she is grateful for their service, she cannot help wishing
that the other men will die instead of him. The noun “wishbone” has connotations of fragility, which
could infer that the mother is losing hope as the conflict continues. However, it could also illustrate her
view that her son is too precious and young to be involved in conflict, but she allows him to leave
anyway, demonstrating the powerful love she has for him. This evokes the emotions of the reader,
especially if they too are mothers; it could even demonstrate how the poet would feel if she was in the
speaker’s position, as she is the mother of two teenage boys.
Armitage also presents an inner conflict in ‘Remains’: “I swear”. This phrase is positioned at the end of
the stanza, which forces the reader to acknowledge what the speaker is telling them. It highlights how the
soldier is trying to justify his actions after the war, even though he doubts them himself. Also, the lexeme
“swear” could have been used to convince the reader that the soldier is being honest; it could also
represent the man trying to recall what happened during the conflict. Here, the poet could be
demonstrating the traumatic effects of PTSD; often it can cause problems with memory, which can
explain the vagueness of the events discussed in the poem. However, this vagueness could be deliberate -
the speaker may want to hide the details as he might be ashamed of how conflict dehumanised him.
Weir presents the effects of conflict on people outside of war in ‘Poppies’: “doce… where it has led me”.
Usually, the lexeme “dove” is seen in a positive light, as it represents peace, however the poet has used it
to highlight how peace only comes after the horrid events associated with conflict. The enjambment used
throughout the poem could emphasise this continuity of sadness and how war isn't limited to the lives of
the soldiers; this could be an insight into the poet’s life when she lived in Ireland during the troubles.
However, by being led to a “church yard”, the poet could be illustrating how the mother has lost hope as
she is aware of the reality of war - all she can do now is pray.
In ‘Remains’, the effects of conflict are also presented, but the poet shows the reader how it affects
soldiers: “tosses his guts”. The flippant verb “tosses” highlights the speaker’s friend’s disrespectful
attitude and demonstrates how conflict can change and even dehumanise people. The man can easily view
the “guts” without feeling a sense of guilt; this is not the case for the speaker. There can be no doubting
that the speaker has been deeply affected by this gruesome sight, as the poet has used the dismissive
lexeme “guts” which blinds the reader from the specifics. This could be because the speaker cannot bear
to think about them, however the death of the looter proceeds to haunt him for the rest of his life.
The poet presents conflicting ideas in ‘Poppies’. She describes how the mother’s stomach is “hat-less,
without a winter coat” which implies that she becomes more nervous and fearful as the seasons change
and the conflict continues; the use of a list prior to this speeds the pace, which could illustrate the
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