KAMIKAZE - by Beatrice Garland

KAMIKAZE - by Beatrice Garland

1. CONTEXT - Kamikaze was one of a group of Japanese WW2 pilots who flew on a suicidal mission.

2. FORM

   • The poem is mostly narrated in 3rd person using reported speech of the pilot's daughter, but her voice is heard directly in the later stanzas.
   • The absence of the pilot's voice shows that he's been cut off from society
   • The use of 3rd person emphasises the distance between pilot and daughter.

3. STRUCTURE

   • The first 5 stanzas form one sentence which covers the account of the pilot's flight as the pilot's daughter imagines it.
     • The end of the sentence represents the pilot's landing
   • The final 2 stanzas deal with the fallout of the pilot's actions.

4. LANGUAGE

   • IRONY
     • There are ironic reminders of how the pilot has abandoned his mission
       • The pilot should have been aiming for big enemy ships, but it's "little fishing boats" that catch his eye.
         • "at the little fishing boats"
     • The way he's treated when return to his family is ironic
       • They act as if he's dead, even though he chose not to die.
         • "they treated him as though he no longer existed"
   • DIRECT SPEECH
     • The addition of direct speech makes the poem seem more personal.
     • Hearing the daughter's voice emphasises the impact of war on a specific family
   • NATURAL IMAGERY
     • Similes, metaphors and detailed descriptions are used to emphasised the beauty and power of nature.
       • "pearl-grey pebbles"
       • "cloud-marked mackerel"
     • The pilot's daughter hints that this beauty was one of the main triggers for his actions.