‘Moon  on  the  Tides’  Anthology  

Lesson  Objec7ves:  •  To  iden7fy  the  key  aspects  of  structure  and  

form  used  to  convey  meaning  

‘Poppies’  by  Jane  Weir  

Poppies:  a  symbol  of  …?  

1  

 

The  human  cost  of  war  

 

•  A  series  of  numbers  rela0ng  to  recent  conflicts  will  appear  on  the  following  slides.  

•  Your  task,  as  a  group,  is  to  suggest  what  you  think  the  numbers  might  represent.  

2  

Lies,  damn  lies  and  sta7s7cs  

94,279    •  Es0mated  number  of  civilians  who  have  been  killed  in  Iraq  due  to  violence  between  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  2003  and  18  October  2009  Source:  iraqbodycount.org  

3  

£3.2  billion  

•  Cost  of  war  in  Iraq  and  Afghanistan  to  Britain  (up  to  March  2008)  Source: 10  March  2008,  0mesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/ar0cle3522202.ece  

4  

1,500  

•  Es0mated  civilian  casual0es  in  war  in  Afghanistan  (January–August  2009)  Source:  UN/wikipedia  

5  

44  and  79    

•  Life  expectancy  in  Afghanistan  (44)  compared  to  life  expectancy  in  Britain  (79)  Sources:  Unicef  and  Wikipedia  

6  

56  •  Percentage  of  people  in  a  UK  poll  who  said  they  were  against  the  current  war  in  Afghanistan  (in  October  2009)  

Source:  BBC  News  12  October  2009

7  

414    •  Number  of  Bri0sh  servicemen  and  women  killed  in  Iraq  and  Afghanistan  (2002–October  2009)  Source:  guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/17/afghanistan-­‐casual0es-­‐dead-­‐wounded-­‐bri0sh-­‐data  

8  

50–70  million  

•  Total  es0mated  dead  as  a  consequence  of  World  War  Two  Source:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casual0es  

9  

 

The  human  cost  of  conflict  in  ‘Poppies’    

   

•  Now  look  at  the  poem,  and  select  any  quota0ons  that  you  feel  suggest  the  speaker’s  sense  of  loss  or  pain.    

•  Look  at  how  the  son  is  presented.  Which  words  convey  an  impression  of  his  vulnerability  or  naivety,  for  example?    

•  Why  do  you  think  Weir  uses  these  words?      

10  

What  is  this  poem  …?  A  mother’s  internal  monologue  as  she  sends  her  son  (a  

soldier)  off  to  war?  

An  elegy  or  lament  (a  poem  of  mourning,  

grief  or  regret,  usually  associated  with  the  death  of  someone)?  

A  narra7ve  journey  through  a  memory?  

‘The  poem  takes  the  form  of  a  drama7c  monologue.  Yet  it  is  also  an  elegy  or  lament,  and  it  is  also  a  narra7ve,  a  journey  through  memory.’  (Jane  Weir)