Poetic Structure Beginnings/endings Caesura Enjambment A unit of rhythm/the pattern of beats in poetry. It is also called a foot. Each foot has a certain number of syllables in it. The flow of words and phrases in poetry according to long and short or stressed and unstressed syllables. A pause near the middle of a line. A structure in which the ending leads or refers back to the beginning. The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. Beginnings/endings Caesura Enjambment Pace through punctuation Repetition White space Cyclical Rhythm Meter

The poem is 4 four-line stanzas The poem is 4 four-line stanzas. Where do you think the line breaks and stanzas should go? Spared / Wendy Cope It wasn’t you, it wasn’t me, up there, two thousand feet above a New York street. We’re safe and free, a little while, to live and love, imagining what might have been – the phone call from the blazing tower, a last farewell on the machine, while someone sleeps another hour, or worse, perhaps, to say goodbye and listen to each other’s pain, send helpless love across the sky, knowing we’ll never meet again, or jump together, hand in hand, to certain death. Spared all of this for now, how well I understand that love is all, is all there is.

Spared ‘That Love is all there is, Is all we know of Love…’ — Emily Dickinson   It wasn’t you, it wasn’t me, Up there, two thousand feet above A New York street. We’re safe and free, A little while, to live and love, Imagining what might have been – The phone call from the blazing tower, A last farewell on the machine, While someone sleeps another hour, Or worse, perhaps, to say goodbye And listen to each other’s pain, Send helpless love across the sky, Knowing we’ll never meet again,   Or jump together, hand in hand, To certain death. Spared all of this For now, how well I understand That love is all, is all there is. Caesura Meter Enjambment Repetition Rhyme/Rhythm

Ensure to link the answers to what the poem is about as a whole. What might be the purpose for the caesura that is used? Why might the poet have used repetition in the last line? Look at the three moments in the poem where the poet employs a full stop. What might be the significance of these moments in particular? Can you suggest a reason for Cope’s decision to emphasise these specific moments through her choice of punctuation? Ensure to link the answers to what the poem is about as a whole.

Anthem for Doomed Youth / Wilfred Owen What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells, Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, — The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires. What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall; Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds.

What attitudes and beliefs does Wilfred Owen present about war? OR What attitudes and beliefs does Wilfred Owen presented about religion?

Anthem for Doomed Youth / Wilfred Owen What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? A Only the monstrous anger of the guns. B Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle A Can patter out their hasty orisons. B No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells, C Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, — D The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; C And bugles calling for them from sad shires. D What candles may be held to speed them all? E Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes F Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. F The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall; E Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, G And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds. G Humans = animals Guns = Humans Holy glimmers = tears Goodbyes = deaths Tender minds  opposite of eager minds ready for war Passive sentence = who is drawing the blinds?

Why is the poem called ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’? What does the simile, ‘who die as cattle’ suggest about the deaths of the young soldiers? Which weapons of war are described in the octet (the first eight lines) How does the poet try to capture the sounds and atmosphere of the battlefield where the soldiers died? Why do you think religious words are used in the octet? What is the poet trying to say about organised religion and its relevance to the soldiers? What might be the purpose for the caesura that is used? Which words link the two parts of the sonnet together? Which words used in the sestet (last six lines) would we associate with a funeral and what it the effect of these? Why might the poet have used alliteration in the last line? What is the poem’s rhyme scheme and what is the impact of this? Why is it important? Why do you think the poet has used rhetorical questions? How does it link to the message of the poem? Try to ensure that you link your answers to what the poem is about as a whole.