Beach Burial is an elegy by Kenneth Slessor, published in 1944 as a tribute to the soldiers who fought in World War 2. Beach Burial tells the story of the extreme loss of life and the crude, makeshift burials for soldiers. I believe the purpose of the poem was to appreciate the people who took the time to bury soldiers and put them at peace while also exploring the fruitless nature of war. The poem has a reflective, haunting tone and with the extensive use of poetic devices and language techniques it reflects on the futility of war and the severe loss of life.
Onomatopoeia, oxymorons and metaphors have been used to support the theme that war was a grim, fruitless event in which many soldiers were killed. Onomatopoeias have been used extensively to make the reader feel like they are witnessing war. In stanza 2 he says; ‘ Between the sob and clubbing of the gunfire.’ Another example is; ‘The words choke as they begin.’ This use of onomatopoeia positions the reader so that they feel like they are witnessing the event happening. It makes the account of war more ‘real’ for the reader and demonstrates the anonymity of the many soldiers killed. Slessor has also used oxymorons to reiterate the extreme loss of life and the issues surrounding the burial of soldiers. The title ‘Beach Burial’ is an oxymoron since the beach is commonly associated with happiness with family and friends not death and makeshift graves. Slessors’ subdued choice of title intrigues the reader and makes them question his choice of words therefore making them want to read the poem. A final poetic device used is metaphors.
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After reading Dulce Et Decorum Est I feel respect for the people who buried the soldiers. There was so many lives lost but someone had the time to bury and put these soldiers to peace. I also feel a huge respect for the soldiers themselves and the incredible bravery and zest they showed despite the grim circumstances they
On page 107-108 it shows Frank and Murray burying the unidentified soldier. In war there is a lot of collateral damage. In this particular scene, Frank and Murray contemplate what to do with his corpse. In accordance to this Murray suggest to bury him and say a few words. In war things are a lot more different to what everyone does on a daily basis, because each choice is a matter of life and death.
Accessed 23 April 2018. Mays, Kelly J. “Chapter 1 Understanding the Text.” The Norton Introduction to Literature 12th Edition, edited by Spencer Richardson-Jones, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp 92 & 1421. McGuire, Thomas G. and Bryan Doerries. "Bryan Doerries Discusses the Theater of War & the Palliative of Shared Suffering."
In “The Semantics of Flowers on Memorial Day” by Bob Hicok, is a similar take to war poems. However, it talks about the meaning of each flowers that were given on Memorial Day and how it doesn’t compare to the actions of war. The poet’s word choice and metaphors gave the poem details about Memorial Day and war. The author used words like “fucking trench foot,” “sex please now,” and “saying high-density bombing” (7-10). The word choice showed the character of the uncle.
It’s been 8 long months since I last saw your darling face. I long to hold you close in my arms one more time. Sadly my dear, that may be the last time I ever embrace you. You see things here in the God-Forbidden trenches are so grotesque that men are dying left and right. They have even resorted to burying them in the walls, making an awful stench.
So the soldier went to the trench to lie down and die. There is also another shift when the author says “and soundlessly attending, dies…”. In the last stanza, the audience can infer that the author is at peace with the death. He says “misted and ebullient seas and cooling shores, towards Amphibia’s empiries.” The audience can feel the relaxation.
As I look back upon the battlefield we beheld the dead lying there as if the have fallen through resilience. An awful spectacle! Dead comrades and foes, pompous horses, and fragmented
These themes are exemplified by the experiences of the narrator in “Ten Kliks South” and Tina Beller in her e-mail to her parents. The major takeaway from these two pieces is that soldiers undergo tough situations that are unknown to the average human being. Just like everyday humans face the trials and tribulations of life, soldiers too come face to face with situations that can leave an emotional scar. Therefore, it is important for us to show appreciation for soldiers, for all that they do, and for all that they will continue to do for
The reader may feel the injustice that the soldier in Purgatory is suffering over as well as the rest of the veterans that are in a similar predicament. Dead or alive, the veterans receive the short end of the stick. Furthermore, allusion is again used when the soldier describes his encounter with the social worker who is separating his
In addition, the deaths of soldiers will forever be with the ones who remained alive. In “Hope, Despair and Memory” written by Elie Wiesel, the author describes how “for the first time in history, [soldiers] could not bury [the] dead, [they] bear their graves within [themselves]” (2). Throughout the time of a war, each and every soldier will experience a variety of different deaths, each playing a unique emotional role in their lives. War, as challenging as it already may be, is created to be made even more difficult with the immense loss of life every soldier must suffer through. There is absolutely no time to grieve or mourn toward a dear soldier that was lost.
Using distinctively visual, sensory language and dramatic devices in texts allows the reader and audience to view as well as participate and relate to different emotions. In the fictional play “Shoe Horn Sonata” written by John Misto, 1995, Misto sets the scene by using dramatic devices to address the extremely confronting circumstances that the protagonists, Sheila and Bridie experience. Similarly, in the poem “Beach Burial” by Kenneth Slessor, 1944, Slessor too uses extremely strong visual language on the subject of war to overcome the gruesome realities of the subject matter. Misto’s play “Shoe Horn Sonata” shares the impacting journey two young women are forced to face, spending 1287 days in captivity in a Sumatran war camp, during world war two.
Contrasting images are used between the beginning and end of the poem. At first, the speaker is described as standing on a “wide strip of the Mississippi beach,” (Trethewey l. 2) while her grandmother is standing on a “narrow plot of sand.” It symbolizes the freedom the speaker now compared to the confinement and limited opportunities her grandmother experienced. Natasha Trethewey uses mood, symbolism, and
Question: The role of heroism has evolved over time. What is the role of heroism? The definition of heroism has changed over the years. In early ages, a hero is defined as somebody that is willing to die for someone or something, but in modern times, it is thought unnecessary to do so.
He then contrasts between the bomber’s view to the civilians’ view from the ground. The bombers view is recognized from a plane filled with ammunition. This suggests the bombers are carefree of their acts committed, but the civilians are petrified for the safety of their lives due to the uncertainty of the attack which is to occur. The effect on readers is that while reading the poem they begin to notice the different views of the bombers and civilians while experiencing war. Also, the readers tend to realize the savagery conveyed by the
Matthew Arnold 's "Dover Beach" can regularly beguile perusers into feeling that the speaker is really quiet and substance. Be that as it may, in the event that we analyze and look at the sonnet painstakingly, we see that the Arnold stresses over life and its significance. The disposition of the lyric changes from one of serenity to one of trouble. Arnold makes the disposition by using distinctive sorts of symbolism, clear modifiers, analogies, and similitudes. Utilizing these abstract components, he depicts a man remaining before a window contemplating about the sound of the stones hurling on the shore as the tide goes out.
Within the context of recent history, Wilfred Owen is often considered the greatest writer of modern British war poetry. Composing the vast majority of his poems in a one-year time span, Owen found inspiration from his personal experiences fighting in World War I and fellow poets joining in the fight around him. Born in 1893, Owen grew up the oldest of four children, enjoying a particularly close relationship with his mother while his father remained distant. Owen graduated from Shrewsbury Technical School at age eighteen. Afterwards, Owen took numerous odd jobs throughout Europe, seemingly at a loss for his purpose in life.