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CLOSE STUDY OF LITERATURE: POETRY

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  • How are the dead soldiers categorised in 'Homecoming'?
    By being labelled only by their haircuts.
  • Who is our poet?
    Bruce Dawe
  • What is the effect of the word "mob" in 'Weapons Training'?
    Image of pack, animals, threat.
  • Why does the drill sergeant belittle the new recruits?
    Asserts his own authority; make them fearful of him; put them in their place.
  • 'Weapons Training' is filled with slang references to sex and male genitals. Give one example.
    "old crown-jewels", "cockpit drill" etc.
  • Once we have referred to Bruce Dawe in his entirety, how else can we refer to him?
    Dawe
  • What does it mean to be 'ruthless'? In which poem is this idea explored?
    Showing no pity or compassion for others. 'Weapons Training'.
  • Why do the families in 'Homecoming' feel bitter?
    They are angry and hurt at the unjust loss of their loved ones?
  • "What are you guna do about it?" is an example of what technique?
    A rhetorical question.
  • In 'Weapons Training', how does Dawe show that war is violent? Must quote!
    "Tripes round your neck" etc.
  • What does 'sorrowful' mean?
    Feeling/showing/causing grief and intense sadness.
  • What are three themes explored in 'Weapons Training'?
    Realities of war, attitudes of soldiers towards enemy, degrading treatment of soldiers.
  • Is Dawe pro or anti war?
    Anti.
  • Who is the 'you' that are being spoken to in 'Weapons Training'?
    The new soldiers.
  • How is the title 'Homecoming' ironic?
    It is not a celebration, it is the end of life and the grief of death.
  • What technique is used in 'Weapons Training' that ensures it is fast paced and mimics the quick speech of the drill sergeant?
    Enjambment.
  • 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.
  • What does the season winter symbolise? What reference to this in 'Homecoming' does Dawe make?
    Death, darkness, end of life. "leaves from a wintering tree".
  • "All day, day after day" is an example of what technique?
    Repetition.
  • 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.
  • What is a reality of war shown in 'Weapons Training'?
    That it is violent and can end in death.
  • The opening line of 'Homecoming' suggests ("All day, day after day, they're bringing them home")
    The soldiers are being asked to pick sides in Vietnam
    They are being chosen to fight on the front line
    The soldiers are being 'picked' to fight with the enemy
    The meaningless collection from battle and returned home
  • When we see the word 'how' in a question, it is asking us to identify what?
    Techniques used in a text
  • 'Connotations' means
    Ideas/image you think of and associate with a word.
  • Why does Dawe leave the soldiers nameless in 'Homecoming'?
    To emphasise that they have lost their identity.
  • The poem 'Weapons Training' looks at the futility of war. What does futility mean?
    Pointlessness or uselessness.
  • What connotations does the word 'home' have?
    Safety, love, connection, belonging.
  • What does derogatory mean?
    Showing a critical or disrespectful attitude.
  • Why does 'Weapons Training' have little punctuation throughout?
    Dawe wants the reader to feel overwhelmed by the onslaught from the drill sergreant.
  • 'Weapons Training' dehumanises the enemy. Who are the enemy AND how are they dehumanised?
    The Viet Cong (Vietnamese) - through racist, derogatory language: "little yellows"
  • What are "their shadows" in 'Homecoming'?
    The spirits of the soldiers.
  • How are the families connected in 'Homecoming'?
    By the loss of their loved ones through the "wide web of suburbs".
  • What is the effect of the repetition in the line "You're dead, dead, dead"?
    Reality of war: alive one moment, dead the next.
  • How does Dawe want the reader to feel about war in 'Homecoming'?
    Variety of answers.
  • What does the "frozen sunset" symbolise in 'Homecoming'?
    How grief has paused the lives of the families who have lost loved ones.
  • Who is the narrator in 'Weapons Training'?
    The drill sergeant.
  • The sorrowful tone of 'Homecoming' implies
    The solders are sad
    The war has ended with death for no purpose
    The war was worth fighting
    That war is empowering
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