490696
Description
Flashcards by katiehumphrey, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by katiehumphrey
over 10 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| subject | The Falling Leaves is a woman's response to the huge number of men who died in the First World War. When it began in July 1914, the war was very popular with the British public. It was seen as a way of punishing an aggressive Germany and politicians confidently predicted that it would be over by Christmas. By November 1915, when The Falling Leaves was written, thousands of soldiers were dying for the sake of a few hundred metres of gained territory. In 1915 alone, the French lost over one million men, the Germans more than 600,000 and the British more than a quarter of a million. |
| form and structure | There are twelve lines of alternate lengths: six syllables followed by ten. The poem also follows a strict rhyme scheme, with the rhymes in groups of three: lines 1 and 4, lines 2 and 5 and line 3 and 6. Structure The poem is therefore built from a series of contrasts: the short and long lines; the first half and second half of the poem. In the first half, Cole sets up gentle contrasts between the rider and the leaves, then the leaves and snowflakes. In the second half of the poem, the poem is more angry, with contrasts between the poet and the dying soldiers, then the soldiers and the snowflakes. |
| sound | The careful rhyme scheme expresses a calm control. In the first half, the rhymes are soft. In the second half of the poem, however, the rhymes are stronger and the sounds more aggressive. The last one is softer but it reminds us of death. The '-ing' sound is also repeated throughout the poem (in the title, and lines 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 12). This suggests that while the poet is out for a quiet ride on a still afternoon, soldiers are continuing to die in huge numbers, unseen and unheard hundreds of miles away. |
| imagery | Line 6 contrasts snowflakes and total destruction. The poet then starts to use Biblical imagery and language, for example line 10. The emotion is expressed by contrasting this violent imagery with the sad reality of what is happening. These men are now rotting like leaves. |
| themes and ideas | Most poetry of the First World War was written by the men who fought in it. It tends to focus on violent action or the death and despair that follow it. The Falling Leaves provides an interesting female point of view. It expresses the feelings of someone who is not on the battlefield but yet who still feels the loss it brings. There is a great contrast between the quiet, normal everyday life the poet is leading (going out for a relaxing ride) and the violent events happening in the war. The collision between this quietness and the violence is mirrored in the tightly structured form expressing outward calm with the alternating long-short lines suggesting inner turmoil. Being so far away, the poet is also able to see the war in perspective. Instead of the death of an individual friend, she sees thousands of bodies returning. |
| comparison to 'Futility' | Futility – this poem was also written during the First World War and expresses a strong anger at the death that war brings. It is written from a different point of view: Owen was in the trenches, Cole was still living in England. Both poets, however, use nature imagery to move from the particular deaths of men in the trenches to express a greater anger at the tragedy to Mankind in general. |
| comparison to 'Poppies' | Poppies – this is another poem that adds a powerful female voice to the presentation of war in poetry. The poet's relationship with the subject matter is different. Weir describes a mother mourning her child. Cole's sadness is more a general mourning for all Mankind. Both poets, however, express the deep, difficult emotion felt by being at such a distance from the events that bring them grief. |
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