Half of a Yellow Sun

You can surf this site:

http://www.halfofayellowsun.com/index.php

which is the official site of the book. 

We'll discuss some of those entries in class!

Here

Ronald Stuart Thomas was a Welsh poet and Anglican priest who was noted for his nationalism, spirituality and deep dislike of the anglicization of Wales. He was one of the major English language and European poets of the 20th century. In 1996 Thomas was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

“Here” is divided in seven stanzas of three verses each one. In the first stanza, “I am a man now” is a short, simple sentence that shows the brutal and brief nature of war and violence. It presents a sharp tone and atmosphere. It also implies that, as the narrator is going to war, he is no longer considered a boy, but a man. The phrase “the brains grow” refers to the man´s growing in knowledge and understanding of the world, as he is exposed to such violence in war. The simile “I am like a tree” in the second stanza is also a short and brief phrase, that reinforces the previously mentioned points. The narrator links himself to a tree (nature imagery), and says that he can see “the footprints that led up to me”. These are metaphors for the past events in his life which led him to be who he is now. This establishes a reflective tone, reflecting on his past, probably because he knows he is risking his life. In the third stanza, “blood” is a war imagery and “the stain” is a metaphor for the negative emotions which lead to war. The fact that this “stain” is carried in the “veins” as “blood”, shows that it is passed down from generation to generation. However, the use of the phrase “run clear” show that the narrator was able to break free of this hereditary prejudices leading to violence. The word “contracted” has many negative connotations, as we “contract” a disease or illness. By using the first rhetorical question in stanza four, the narrator questions if he has escaped from the violence prejudices of his ancestors, why is he at war, killing people? He concludes that he has been “misled”, forced and tricked in war. The phrase “hands red” brings connotations of guilt and blame. Words such as “red”, “blood” and “dead” add to the war images. Stanza five continues with the questioning phrase and he questions why his hands “will not do as I say”, being his hands a symbol for his entire self. This reinforces the idea that he has been forced into war. The last verse “does no God hear when I pray?” shows his desperation, praying to more than one god. The sense of desperation increases as he mentions that he is trapped and has nowhere to go, another short sentence showing brutality in stanza six. “Swift satellites” shows he is constantly being watched, and consequently cannot escape. The metaphor “the clock of my whole being is slow” has many ramifications, his life becomes predictable and controlled, not unique in any way. The stanza seven starts with him admitting “it is too late to start/for destinations not of the heart”, meaning that it is too late to think rationally, only violence, war and prejudice remain. The poem ends with a melancholy tone, “I must stay here with my hurt”, showing that he truly is trapped in war, and cannot get out.

The regular structure and rhyme scheme (AAA BBB CCC etc.) shows the unstoppable march of the soldiers at war. The poem moves from him being a new recruit (“I am a man now”) to being a hardened veteran, familiar with the tragedy of war (“I must stay here with my hurt”).

Attack by Siegfried Sassoon

At dawn the ridge emerges massed and dun
In the wild purple of the glow'ring sun,
Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud
The menacing scarred slope; and, one by one,
Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.
The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowed
With bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear,
Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire.
Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,
They leave their trenches, going over the top,
While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,
And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,
Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop! 

Siegfried Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirized the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's view, were responsible for a vainglorious war.

Attack is a short poem of 13 lines and only one stanza written in speech rhythm with some rhyme. The detach structure of the poem represents mankind losing direction and righteousness inn life in times of war. The poet adopt a calm yet emotional tone on serious and agonising subject as shown by the words: make it stop. The poem begins with time and ends with reference to Jesus, who western time is centred around. This implies end of humanity. The caesura in the barrage roars and lifts. Contrasts with the enjambment that is found throughout the poem.

The language used creates effectives images in the poem. The opening lines of Attack describe the new day emerging as shown by the line: at dawn the ridge emerges massed and dun. The ridge, however, is personified as having a living presence and no specific shape, with the use of words emerges and massed The sun is described as being almost inactive and personification is use again, as the word glowering suggests that nature is both disapproving and antagonistic. The word smouldering portrays a vivid images of the sun being covered by the infected smoke, almost giving a literal meaning as to look at what human action has done to nature. Sassoon uses more personification when describing the slope- scarred evokes a physical visualization and the sense of human danger. The poet also use color imagery like wild purple, dun, grey. The poem start by presenting brighter colors such as purple and dun, as the poem progresses duller colors are presented such as grey and blank, representing how young men were keen to go to war to represent their country but realize the actual terror of it later.

One major technique that the author uses in order to convey of the horror of the battlefield and what it seemed to be like to be in an attack is literal and figurative imageries. Examples of literal images are "the ridge emerges", "bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear", "lines of grey, muttering faces". The poet uses very striking diction that makes the poem sounds more uncomfortable, for example, "scarred slope". The color of the atmosphere is described as dun and wild purple which accentuates on the menacing atmosphere of the setting. The verbs at the beginning of the poem are very significant as they seem to be particularly strong in this poem, like the description of the tank "creep and topple" over the ridge, the barrage that "roars and lifts" or the men who "jostle and climb to", etc. On the other hand, the poet also uses a lot of figurative images. These figurative images include: "time ticks blank and busy on their wrists", "and hope, with furtive eyes, ..., flounders in mud", etc. These images help to personify and emphasize the meaning of the poem, for example, in line 11:

"While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists"

  

Sassoon uses more personification when describing the slope-'scarred' evokes a physical visualisation and the sense of human danger. The verb 'creep' is interesting, a personification that captures the tentativeness slowness of the 'tanks' moving towards the wire which slows down the tone and builds up the tension considering the verb 'creep.' Sassoon used another verb: 'roars' which is in obvious contrast to 'creep' conveying intense violence.

Siegfried Sassoon's use of alliteration in line seven-'and' emphasises the weight of the men's kit. The weight is also symbolic of the soldiers oppressive fear, and in the next line (line eight), in this landscape only now the men are mentioned, as though they are in an alien territory.

In conclusion, the author of the poem Attack describes the life at the trenches in times of war. He adopts a calm and emotional tone on serious and agonising subject as these one. Sassoon describes what he had lived as a soldier, that is why his poem has so many emotions: he was there.

CAMBODIA

James Fenton, the poet of 'Cambodia' spent several years in Asia, touring countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Indochina and became distressed and exceedingly more and more incensed by the atrocious war crimes being committed by those in authority. He wrote most of his poems upon his return to America, but 'Cambodia' was written while he was visiting Southern Asia. Cambodia was a country devastated by war, and over 2 million civilians died in the various conflicts. The conflict he is referring to here is when American troops conducted illegal bombing raids under the guise of killing Viet-Cong they thought were fleeing into Cambodia. These bombing raids cost 750,000 innocent civilians their lives. Cambodia was then ruled by Pol Pot, who killed up to two million civilians in his reign. James Fenton was particularly disillusioned with those who had the power to stop the war, and became a fervent anti-war supporter. He knew that it was the ordinary citizen who was dying, not soldiers or the higher class. In this poem it is those ordinary people he focuses on, those who have either perished or are facing almost certain death on the battlefield.

'Cambodia' has a deceptively simple and childlike structure. In the 1st stanza he describes a man who smiled and said goodbye, a reference seemingly to his death. If this is so, it is debatable whether this is sarcastic, given that the man would not be smiling at the time of his death, or whether it is highlighting how war can instantaneously change things for people, so that one day he was smiling and happy and the next dead. However on closer inspection, it could appear to be a man either being sent away from the battle, or a man being called up for duty possibly saying his farewells to his family. The fact that a constant theme throughout the poem is that the first line contains a survivor, while the second line depicts the dead or those who will soon be dead, adds credence to this thought as does the fact that he is saying two will be left-presumably left behind in battle. In the second line James Fenton initiates a trend that continues throughout the poem of an increasing number of people in the second line of the stanza. As stated above, this poem is to focus on the dead and those who will die and the second line here adheres to that. He gives us false hope by saying that two shall be left, but then cruelly dashes that when he says that "two shall be left to die".

In the 3rd stanza we are told that a man shall give his best advice, but three men will die as a result of it. This is a reference to the habitually abysmal military intelligence that plagued these conflicts and often led men into traps. In the fourth stanza we see that one man shall live, but will live a life of regret and to meet that one man surviving four men will have to die. This could be the cause of the man's regret, as survivor's guilt that often plagues the survivors of war in these situations when they live, but their comrades don't. In the fifth stanza we see the after-effects of war, the nightmares and flashbacks and the shellshock suffered. We see this expressed in many poems, but the minimalism of this line conceives an extremely vivid and therefore shocking image of the after-effects of war. The second line also describes that the man thinks it's a nightmare or a dream, but it is actually happening and is reality. War is so bad that it must seem like a nightmare to those involved, and this also shows that there is no escape from war no matter where you are.

The last stanza escapes the form of the previous stanzas, in that it doesn't have one man on the first line and then six men on the second line. Instead it says "one man to five. A million men to one." I think here that James Fenton is trying to emphasise that for the one man who started the war, a million must suffer the consequences, and also that for every five people who stay at home and don't go to war, one man must die. The last line, "And still they die. And still the war goes on." is a chilling reminder to us, a line that is as brutal as it is simple. This line feels laden with anger, accusations, guilt and grief and could be tabled as an accusation at those who are in 'control' of the battles as to why they won't end it. It also demonstrates how there is no end to war, and that that must be particularly astute to those involved.

The structure of 'Cambodia' is so 5 stanzas of two lines which lets the poem flow extremely fast and lets the poem get straight to the point. This makes it concise and almost allies us to the poem, rather than letting us feel detached. The poem is also almost lyrical and is presented in an almost joking way which only heightens the shock and impact of his words when we get to the real message. As these poems were always intended to be a form of anti-war propaganda (a fact touched upon by the Washington Post Editorial Feature) and so would be used as a way of getting his message across to the masses, it is clever that he gives us hope at the start of each line. Every first line starts optimistically like "One man shall live" which grants us false hope, before cruelly taking it away from us and showing us that war doesn't have happy endings, as is shown with this line which ends with "live to regret." Because we are hopeful at the start when we lose that hope we feel even more negative, which is a really good tactic for this form of propaganda.

Although references have been made to this already, it is necessary to remark again upon the importance of the simplistic outlook of this poem. This is because it is this simplicity that allows James Fenton to convey successfully to us the shock. The simple structure lends the poem a fast, snappy rhythm which ensures the poem gets straight to the point. This creates not only a tense atmosphere but guarantees that the reader will feel that this is an important message. The simple words of no more than 6 or 7 words contrive to build up devastating images because they allow our imaginations to run wild and think up horrors far worse than words could.

This poem brings up an extremely famous quote by a man who committed some of the worst deeds history has ever seen, mostly against his own people. Stalin once commented that while "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." While these words are ghastly, to a certain degree they are true. Reading in the papers of one mans heroic death is far more heart-rending than hearing that 1 million soldiers have died in the war so far. James Fenton uses that to his advantage here; by always keeping the numbers low - even when he talks about the million dead he reminds us that it is caused by one person.

As this was intended as a piece of anti-war propaganda, it is worthwhile to look at how effective a piece it is. To me, this is a superb illustration of how bad war is, but how simple it appears. Although not as comprehensive as pieces such as "Dulce et decorum est" by Wilfred Owen, I think that it is far more shocking and persuasive than the aforementioned poem, while not drawing on any personal experiences or describing the abominable conditions of war. It was published in countless newspapers and figured on leaflets and anti-war demonstrations which shows its eminence and value. Even now it is an apt and timely reminder about the perils of war.

 Fabi Acuña and Camila Pellegrini

A Man I Am

I was consumed by so much hate

I did not feel that I could wait

I could not wait for long at any rate

I ran into the forest wild

I seized a little new born child

I tore his throat, I licked my fang

Just like a wolf. A wolf I am.

I ran wild for centuries

Beneath the immemorial trees,

Sometimes I thought my heart would freeze

And never know a moments ease,

But presently the spring broke in

Upon the Pastures of my sin,

My poor heart bled like anything,

The drops fell down, I knew remorse,

I tasted that primordial curse,

And falling ill, I soon grew worse.

Until at last I cried on Him,

Before who angel faces dim,

To take the burden of my sin

And break my head beneath his wing.

Upon the silt of death I swam

And as I wept my joy began

Just like a man. A man I am.

At first glance, the poem seems to be about a cold blooded man who committed a murder. He knew no guilt, remorse or regret at first, but as the years pass, his conscience catches up with him. He starts feeling guilty, remorseful, until someone or something relieved him of these feelings of guilt. Only then, was he able to feel joy and happiness.

More deeply it talks about the things that mankind had committed.

What the poet is trying to say through her poem is that mankind started off really bad. We started off with violence and death. We killed off innocence lives for the benefit of ourselves. We knew no remorse, no guilt, we had not conscience. We’re basically like animals (Wolf); we follow our aggressive, merciless, impulsive and impatient nature.
But, then, we started to progress. We grew a conscience, we learned about remorse and guilt. But, the progress is slow; it’s surprising that we even progressed at all. 

Paula Scotti - Paulo Ojeda

For Heidi with blue hair

When you dyed your hair blue

(or, at least ultramarine

for the clipped sides, with a crest

of jet-black spikes on top)

you were sent home from school

because, as the headmistress put it,

although dyed hair was not

specifically forbidden, yours

was, apart from anything else,

not done in the school colours.

Tears in the kitchen, telephone-calls

to school from your freedom-loving father:

‘She’s not a punk in her behaviour;

it’s just a style.’ (You wiped your eyes,

also not in a school colour.)

‘She discussed it with me first -

we checked the rules.’ ‘And anyway, Dad,

it cost twenty-five dollars.

Tel them it won’t wash out -

not even if I wanted to try.

It would have been unfair to mention

your mother’s death, but that

shimmered behind the arguments.

The school had nothing else against you;

the teachers twittered and gave in.

Next day your black friend had hers done

in grey, white and flaxen yellow -

the school colours precisely:

an act of solidarity, a witty

tease. The battle was already won.

Analysis

Introduction

For Heidi with blue hair is a poem written during the 1980s. The poem presents the readers with a central image of a child being sent home from school for dying her hair blue. The poem can be seen as one in a narrative form since the poem is being described like a story, with several dialogues used. Using different literary devices and imagery, Adcock manages to transform such a minor event and convey the different issues faced in adolescence’s life such as friendship, solidarity, school life, home life, family relationship, independence.

Themes in the poem

The poem deals with independence and individuality in human beings. The main character- Heidi, in the poem has obviously grown up, and has developed her own thoughts and personality, and this can be seen in the headmistress’s tone, being unused to students dyeing their hair ‘blue’. The poem successfully shows how important relationships between parents and children are, as without her father’s help she would not have achieved her independence. Her father is recognised as a “freedom-loving father”, showing the support he gives to Heidi, which is not very usual among parents. From the poem we can also see Heidi’s strong determination in achieving what she wants, as she is strong minded. The poem uses some imagery, and a metaphor is used “shimmered behind the arguments”, demonstrating how they were all aware of the depressing news of her mother’s death, and that it was a major problem that she was going through. Despite this the poet regains Heidi’s justice and strongly states his firm and that by dyeing her hair blue was not to rebel against her mother’s death, “It would have been unfair to mention your mother’s death, but that shimmered behind the arguments.” The poet however, manages to evoke the reader’s feelings, such as to feel what Heidi is going through, having to face her mother’s death, “The school had nothing against you; the teachers twittered and gave in.” From this we can see that the death of her mother may have caused the school to back out of pity.

Heidi’s impression to the reader

Heidi strikes as a wild and rebellious girl initially. The first stanza of the poem describes in detail her hair, which is dyed "ultramarine for the clipped sides, with a crest of jet-black spikes on top". Ultramarine is a shocking blue colour that stands out completely and her hairstyle is outlandish, definitely not what one would expect from a typical student. The convention is an ordinary hairdo, for example a ponytail, without spikes or dyed hair. Heidi's hairstyle shows the rebellious and wild side to her character since she should very well have known that ultramarine is too extreme a colour to be acceptable by the school or societal norms. Her spiked hair is also unconventional for a student. Despite the school's pressure against having it, she showed no fear of going against it, thus showing her rebellious way.

Heidi also gives the impression of being a stubborn girl. The poet wrote in stanza four of the poem that when Heidi's father called the school to speak up for Heidi and told them that "we (Heidi and her father) checked the rules", Heidi told him that "anyway, Dad, it cost twenty-five dollars. Tell them it won't wash out - not even if I wanted to try". These show that even after Heidi was sent home from school because of her dyed ultramarine hair, she was still unrepentant of what she had done and did not feel that she was in the wrong. She cared little about conforming to rules, as could be seen from the word "anyway" which suggests that she did not want to give in to the school's request for conformity. Heidi was insistent on keeping the hair colour and hairstyle by providing reasons like it costs a lot and that it would not wash out. Hence, despite the school's opposition, Heidi remained unafraid and would not change, showing her stubborn side.

At the end of the poem, the impression of Heidi has changed to one that is more sympathetic. In stanza three, the poet portrayed a chaotic scene in the kitchen after Heidi was sent home from school, with "tears in the kitchen". The effect of this stanza evokes sympathy from the reader.

Sources

Poem

Introduction

Heidi's impression

Themes

Photo

Aldana Saccomanno and Jorge Lin Kang

Follower

This poem was written by Seamus Heaney. The poet tells the story of his childhood with his father on the countryside. He follows his father while he ploughs throughout the field. The poet admires the way his father does this. He describes the action of ploughing as amazing and perfectly done. He is willing to follow his father’s footsteps. He achieves his dream as his father is too old to continue doing the job. The old man takes the place of his son, inverting roles. This is a typical case of the son taking care of the father’s lifetime achievement, working on it and improving what was left by the older man.

There is also a description of the physical conditions of the father in the very beginning of the poem, and the reader is also informed about this man’s works as a farmer. The man is described as a very hard-working person. The title refers to the admiration that the poet feels for his father and it also represents the desire of being like him in a future.

The author places himself in his childhood, and gives us his own point of view about the personal relation that he had with his father, which was very special and close. Being the first of nine children made this easier and is considered to be important.

The author is an Irish poet. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.

Martina Izurieta and Manuela Scatena Bugallo