Presentation of In Flanders Fields – script

Presentation of In Flanders Fields – script

Our presentation is on In Flanders Fields by Lieutenant Colonel John

McCrae.

There is an irregular rhyme scheme = aabba

aabc

aabbac

Almost all lines are 8 syllables long

The rhythm sounds like that of a nursery rhyme – there is an iambic

pentameter with a very regular line length and rhyme scheme. This is

in great contrast to the actual words all about death and war.

* Line 1 – ‘In Flanders Fields the poppies blow’ presents a nice

natural image of poppies swaying in the breeze.

* Line 2 – ‘Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place…’ ‘row on row’ signifies the enormous number of

graves, as it is not a definite, but an infinite number of crosses.

We all know that the crosses symbolise the graves of the dead. McCrae

doesn’t say it explicitly yet; he uses euphemisms of death as he knows

the people at home will. This gives the poem a much sadder tone

preparing us for what is to come.

* Line 3 – ‘…and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below…’, the larks have been personified

and symbolise how the natural world was trying to carry on but could

not, because of the war. This seems to distance the natural world from

the world of war, as if they don’t belong together.

· This symbolises how the world carried on bravely despite the war,

but the sweet, nice things could not be heard, as they were drowned

out by the sounds of war.

· The military imagery of the guns is in great contrast to the

beautiful natural imagery that came before and is a shock as you

realise that the deaths mentioned earlier are still happening.

* This stanza is much shorter than the other 2 and most of the word

are monosy...

... middle of paper ...

... melancholy. The

simple joys of life described such as feeling dawn and seeing sunset

glow makes us appreciate those things we tend to take for granted. A

feeling of guilt can be experienced when we are suddenly reminded of

the death of these soldiers. Why are we still alive, and millions of

soldiers dead just because of a war- a conflict between humans?

The last stanza gives us a feeling of responsibility- we must hold

the torch of patriotism and honour high, with all due respect to those

who suffered, died and whose bodies are now lying in Flanders fields.

* The poet

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae fought in the First World War in France

as part of the Canadian army.

He wrote "In Flanders Fields" the day after presiding at the funeral

of a friend and former student.

McCrae was to number among the 9,000,000 fatalities that the war would

claim.