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How are soldiers lives presented in a selection
of war poems

• English Unit 3a

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Poetic terminology

• Enjambment When a line runs on into the next
  one
• Simile Comparing two things using like or as
• Metaphor Comparing things by saying one IS
  another
• Alliteration Repeating the same letter
• Assonance Repeating the same vowel sound
• Onomatopoeia When words sound like the thing they
  are describing
• Repetition Repeating the same word/phrase/idea
• Allusion Referring to another literary
  work/writer
• Imagery Pictures that certain words create in our
  minds
• Rhythm A regular beat
• Rhyme Words having a similar sound
• Caesura A pause in a line of poetry, often
  indicated by a punctuation mark
• Ellipsis When part of a line is missing
  (sometimes indicated by three dots)
• Personification When something is given human
  characteristics
• Stanza A verse of poetry

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Band 3 7-9 Band 2 4-6
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Band 5 13-15 Band 4 10-12
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Considering the writers purpose(s)
Thinking about structure as well as language
Using PEE. Using phrases like this shows, this
suggests and this implies to explain your
points and evidence
Skills
Using poetic terminology like simile, metaphor,
personification, enjambment, rhyme
Considering context
Evaluating effects on the readers by using
phrases like this is effective because and
this is important because
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The Falling Leaves

• Margaret Postgate Cole

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The Falling Leaves Context

• World War One (191418) is sometimes called the
  Great War great here meaning immense or
  huge, because it was unlike previous wars.
  Firstly, it involved everyone, not just the army
  and navy. Secondly, and probably most
  devastatingly, it involved the first modern
  weapons (machine guns, bombs and gas) at a time
  when soldiers were still involved in hand-to-hand
  combat. The horror of the trenches is hard for us
  to grasp fully. However, many of the young
  soldiers who had signed up believing they were on
  an heroic mission to defend their families,
  country and way of life felt betrayed by those
  who had persuaded them to enlist. The reality of
  war was shown in their poetry and later for
  those who survived in their novels.
• Battle of The Somme
• Battle of the Bulge WW2

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The Falling Leaves November 1915
Today, as I rode by, A I saw the brown leaves
dropping from their tree B In a still afternoon,
C When no wind whirled them whistling to the sky,
A But thickly, silently, B They fell, like
snowflakes wiping out the noon C And wandered
slowly thence D For thinking of a gallant
multitude E Which now all withering lay, F Slain
by no wind of age or pestilence, D But in their
beauty strewed E Like snowflakes falling on the
Flemish clay. F MARGARET POSTGATE COLE
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The Falling Leaves November 1915
Today, as I rode by, spectator speaking I saw
the brown leaves dropping from their tree In a
still afternoon, quiet, still, peaceful,
Autumnal When no wind whirled them whistling to
the sky, alliteration. Not windy But thickly,
silently, They fell, like snowflakes wiping out
the noon simile slow. Loads of leaves And
wandered slowly thence spectator is not walking
slowly. Taking it in For thinking of a gallant
multitude thinks about brave group of
soldiers Which now all withering lay, soldiers
dead and dying on the ground Slain by no wind of
age or pestilence, soldiers NOT dead through
natural causes But in their beauty strewed cut
down in their prime. Bodies scattered Like
snowflakes falling on the Flemish clay. Lots of
soldiers falling. Belgium- loads of battles in
WW1 MARGARET POSTGATE COLE
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Questions

• How does Cole use the extended metaphor of
  falling leaves?
• What do the verbs strewed and withering show
  us about the battlefields?
• Why does Cole use the simile like snowflakes
  falling to describe the fallen soldiers?
• What does her description of the gallant
  multitude show about her feelings towards the
  soldiers?
• What words/phrases show that the soldiers died
  too young?

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The Charge of the Light Brigade
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The Charge of the Light Brigade Context

• First published in 1855, the poem tells the story
  of the failed charge of the British cavalry in
  the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854.
• Britain was fighting with France, Sardinia and
  the Ottoman Empire against Russian forces in the
  Crimean War, which was about control of the
  Dardanelles, a narrow sea straight in Turkey. If
  the Russians had power over the Dardanelles,
  British sea routes (and trade) would have been
  threatened.
• Although it is unclear who was actually
  responsible, a cavalry group, the Light Brigade
  (led disastrously by Lord Cardigan who
  miraculously survived), was ordered to attack a
  very strongly defended Russian position.
• The 670 men were sent to fight 5500 Russians and
  only 195 men and horses managed to return

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• About the charge
• BBC NEWS Magazine Why the Charge of the Light
  Brigade still matters
• THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE- In Color -
  YouTube

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Questions on the Poem

• Choose 3 interesting verbs Tennyson has used. How
  do they help to create atmosphere in the poem
• What is the effect of the alliteration in line
  44? Where else is alliteration used in the poem?
  What effect does it have?
• How does the poet use the personifying metaphors
  mouth of hell and jaws of death?
• What must this experience have been like for the
  soldiers? Use your own ideas and include quotes
  to support your points.

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Bayonet Charge
Tuesday 4th March
The lads neck nominations had got out of hand
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(No Transcript)
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• Over the top
• BBC - History - World Wars The Last Tommy
  Gallery
• world-war-1-beginning.pdf

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(No Transcript)
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Definitions
confusion
Chunk of soil

• Threshing
• Furrows
• Clod
• Bewilderment
• Bayonet
• Statuary
• patriotic

Lines/ mini trenches in the soil
Love for your country
Separate grains from stalks
statues
A sharp blade attached to the end of a rifle
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The soldiers feelings
1) lugged and numb
1) exhaustion
2) bewilderment
2) confusion
3) shock
3) he almost stopped
4) disillusioned/betrayed
4) etcetera
5) helpless
5) to get out of that blue crackling air
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Charge of the light brigade
Bayonet Charge
Falling Leaves
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Possible Points
Falling Leaves Bayonet Charge Charge of the Light Brigade
Wasted lives Traumatic Cannon fodder
Dying too young Lives are wasted Victims of poor decisions
Anonymous, huge numbers died Unprepared for what they had to face Bravery and heroism
Questioning the reasons behind war Outnumbered yet courageous


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Poets Purpose

• You must offer ideas about the poets purpose
  (why they have included words, phrases, ideas
  etc). Try to offer inventive, original
  interpretations and consider alternative points
  of view

Use repetition of cannon to left of them..
cannon..
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Developing Interpretations

• This suggests. This may also suggest
• This showsHowever, it may also imply
• One interpretation is.Alternatively
• This revealsalsofurthermore.additionallymoreov
  er

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For each of these, consider at least two
interpretations of the poets purpose

• C/B grade
• Using powerful metaphors such as valley of
  death and mouth of hell in Charge of the Light
  Brigade
• Using the simile like snowflakes in Falling
  Leaves
• The use of the adverb suddenly as the opening
  of Bayonet Charge
• A grade
• Enjambment in Bayonet Charge
• Caesura in Bayonet Charge
• Repetition in Charge of the Light Brigade
• In Falling Leaves there is a two part structure
  ABCABC DEFDEF

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• 1) Point Caesura in Bayonet Charge
• Caesura pause in a line (often with punctuation)
• statuary in mid-stride. Then the shot-slashed
  furrows
• Poet may be showing that the soldier has come to
  an absolute stop. The flow of the poem is halted,
  just like the soldiers running. Alternatively
  the poet may be trying to convey the soldiers
  fear- he is unable to move until he is snapped
  out of it.

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Answering the question (6-8 PEE points)
Poem 1 PEE 1
Poem 1 PEE 2
Try to make a link between poem 1 and poem 2
Poem 1 PEE 3
Poem 2 PEE 1
Try to make a link between poem 3 and poem 1
and/or 2
Poem 2 PEE 2
Poem 3 PEE 1
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Using PEE

• Point- (make a point) In Charge of the Light
  Brigade the poet presents soldiers lives as
  being wasted by the people in charge of them.
• Evidence- (find a quote or evidence to back it
  up) In stanza 2, we hear that someone has
  blunderd and this is followed by the repetition
  of Theirs not to.
• Explain- (Explain 1) why your evidence proves
  your point, 2) why the writer may have done this,
  3) the effect on us as readers) 4) link to
  context

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D PEE

• In Falling Leaves the soldiers lives are cut
  short. For example it says falling leaves. This
  shows that the soldiers lives are a bit like
  leaves falling down to the ground/battlefield.
• HOW COULD YOU MOVE THIS TO C GRADE PEE?

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D PEE

• In Bayonet Charge the soldiers lives are shown
  to be unprepared. I know this because of the
  quote suddenly. This quote shows that things
  happened very quickly for the soldier and so him
  and other soldiers probably werent prepared for
  fighting.
• HOW COULD YOU MOVE THIS TO C GRADE PEE?

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D PEE

• In Charge of the Light Brigade the soldiers
  lives are presented as being scary. They are
  riding into a valley of death which must have
  pretty bad even if you were really brave.
• HOW COULD YOU MOVE THIS TO C GRADE PEE?

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A PEE

• Blundered suggests an insignificant, silly
  mistake but, in this war, such a blunder cost
  hundreds of lives. You can sense the poets anger
  that so little consideration was put into such an
  important military decision because he contrasts
  this by suggesting there wasnt a man afeard.
  By contrasting the heroism of the soldiers with
  the anonymous he who gave the orders, the poet
  is presenting the soldiers in a far more
  respectful way. This is then followed by the
  repetition of Theirs not.. and Theirs but to
  do and die which shows that soldiers had no
  right to question the ludicrous orders they were
  given. Through the repetition of theirs.. the
  poet effectively reinforces the position soldiers
  were put in during this conflict they had no
  option but to carry out Cardigans orders despite
  the fact it would result in almost certain death.

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Task Produce a plan for your CA. You will need
to include

• Terminology
• Line numbers/key quotes
• Some of the points you will make
• analytical/evaluative phrases
• Notes about context
• Notes about writers purpose(s)

P1 COTLB. Lives wasted. charge for.. PP show
disastrous decisions. Anger P2 COTLB. Lives
brave. hero, boldly was there a man afeard
PP amazing courage P3 COTLB. Lives were
uncertain. Enjambment, alliteration reflects fast
paced battle P3 COTLB. Life of soldier
dangerous. Metaphor mouth of hell ETCETC
Metaphor, stanza, simile, alliteration, rhythm,
enjambment, Narrator, caesura, rhyme ETC This
shows, this suggests, this conveys, the poets
purpose was, this is significant because.. ETC
ETC Crimean war, Lord Cardigan, 660 vs 5500,
ETC ETC
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Include

1. A range of points about soldiers lives
2. Accurate terminology
3. Small, embedded quotations
4. Explanation of your quotations (using analytical)
5. InterpretationS of poets purpose
6. Language (similes, emotive lang, metaphors)
7. Structure (e.g repetition, enjambment, rhythm,
   rhyme, stanzas, pace, caesura)
8. Form (poetic forms such as sonnets)
9. Context
10. Evaluation