Class 11 English Lesson 12: The Gift in Wartime: Reference to the context

 

Reference to the context

a.      What is the theme of the poem?

The theme of the poem is the cruelty and inhumanity of war and its negative impacts on humans. The poem talks about the tragedy caused by war. One life ends, but many others are affected. After the untimely death of the soldier, his family and dear ones will suffer. Life is priceless, so there is no compensation for this great loss.

b.     What imagery from the poem made the greatest impression on you? Why?

The poet has used several powerful images in this poem. Among them all, I liked the shrapnel image the most. It made it very clear what a war can give to human beings. The shrapnel does not only mean that it shattered the body of the soldier, but also shattered the life of the beloved. That is the deadly gift of the war.

c.      Which figurative language is used in the poem? Explain with examples.

Figurative language is phrasing that goes beyond the literal meaning of words to convey a message. We find the use of irony, apostrophe, anaphora, and metaphor as figurative language in this poem. Irony takes place when the poet talks about the gift, which is not a real gift but one of grief and loss. A grave and a shrapnel as tokens of remembrance are examples of it. The poet uses imagery when roses are offered in her beloved’s grave, and her husband is described as a corpse with lips with no smile and eyes with no sight. The red roses traditionally symbolize love.

The next figure of speech is anaphora, which is the repetition of the same words at the beginning of a line. In the first, third, and fifth stanzas, the poet repeats “I offer you,” and comes to the sixth stanza where the speaker repeats “you give me” three times in a row. These are examples of anaphora used in this poem. The poem also utilizes the apostrophe literary technique that is addressed directly to a non-present person or an inanimate object. Like in the poem, the speaker meets the corpse of her spouse.

 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_FCiV6kYyU 

 

d.     What does the speaker “offer” in this poem? What does the person address as “you” give in return?

The speaker offers various things like roses, her wedding gown, her youth, clouds, cold winters, etc., to her lovable person. The person addressed as “you” gives her the medals with shining stars, a badge with yellow pips, the smell of blood from the wardress, lips without a smile, arms without tenderness, eyes without sight, and a body without motion.

e.      An apostrophe is a literary device in which a writer or speaker addresses an absent person or an abstract idea in such a way as if it were present and could understand. Discuss the poem with the apostrophe.

An apostrophe is a literary device in which a writer or speaker addresses an absent person or an abstract idea in such a way as if it were present and could understand. Here in the poem, we can see the use of an apostrophe when the speaker addresses the dead body as if it can understand her. She offers him red roses and her wedding gown at his grave. Her youth has ended with his death. His badge, bravery medals, and the blood from his dress make her sad. Her eyes are full like summer clouds, and her life has changed from spring to winter. She wants to prove her deep love and respect for her husband by showing her sacrifice. Thus, this poem has shown the bitterness of war on behalf of the speaker using the apostrophe.

 

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