exposure vs kamikaze comparison

Both poems allude to the theme of the monotony & futility of life/war

Themes: patriotism, power of nature, loss & absence, conflicting (emotions.    )

kamikaze structure

• 7 regular stanzas used >> strict routine of military/ tradition of japanese army/ tradition of using kamikaze pilots & idea of risking your life for your country, making the actions of the pilot more shocking

• garland uses free verse creating serious tone/ >>  lack of freedom the pilot has in the middle of his mission

• Alt. free verse could >> hostility he faces when he returns home / how life is effectively ruined

• Garland allows poem to flow rapidly through enjambment, it mimics movement of kamikaze plane as it spirals quickly downwards / >> spiralling out of control of this pilot’s life as he defies tradition

• Alt. Could >> the pilot’s childhood memories taking over his ability to complete the mission

• to show that a culture can abandon life & glorify death

Exposure structure

• Half rhyme adds a somber tone under surface of poem & adds a discord which challenges our expectations 

• Regular stanzas >> the monotony of life in the trenches & also subtly >> the irony of the repeated phrase “nothing happens” (irony: men do not realise they’re dying)

• As the poem progresses the men’s suffering worsens & by the final stanza the soldiers are on the verge of death. (Stanzas 5-7 end w “is it that we are dying?” /“we turn back to our dying” / “for the love of G seems dying”

• The poem shifts focus from the men themselves to their dreams/beliefs & by the end of the poem all 3 are broken  

• To show…