CLOSE STUDY OF LITERATURE: POETRY | Baamboozle - Baamboozle

English 37 Public

Revision of poetry.

Study Slideshow

Who is our poet?

Bruce Dawe

5

The poem 'Weapons Training' looks at the futility of war. What does futility mean?

Pointlessness or uselessness.

15

'Connotations' means

Ideas/image you think of and associate with a word.

10

Is Dawe pro or anti war?

Anti.

5

'Weapons Training' dehumanises the enemy. Who are the enemy AND how are they dehumanised?

The Viet Cong (Vietnamese) - through racist, derogatory language: "little yellows"

25

What does derogatory mean?

Showing a critical or disrespectful attitude.

10

Who is the 'you' that are being spoken to in 'Weapons Training'?

The new soldiers.

15

"What are you guna do about it?" is an example of what technique?

A rhetorical question.

15

What is a reality of war shown in 'Weapons Training'?

That it is violent and can end in death.

20

Why does Dawe leave the soldiers nameless in 'Homecoming'?

To emphasise that they have lost their identity.

25

What does it mean to dehumaise someone? Why is this something that happens in war?

Remove their identity; makes it easier to kill; detach from reality and horror of war.

25

"All day, day after day" is an example of what technique?

Repetition.

20

How is the title 'Homecoming' ironic?

It is not a celebration, it is the end of life and the grief of death.

25

The opening line of 'Homecoming' suggests ("All day, day after day, they're bringing them home")

The soldiers are being 'picked' to fight with the enemy

The meaningless collection from battle and returned home

They are being chosen to fight on the front line

The soldiers are being asked to pick sides in Vietnam

15

The sorrowful tone of 'Homecoming' implies

The war has ended with death for no purpose

That war is empowering

The solders are sad

The war was worth fighting

15

What technique is used in this line and what does it mean: "the noble jets are whining like hounds"?

A simile - the pain of the journey home.

25