In Poppies, Weir uses language to create powerful imagery to convey feelings about the letting go of loved ones during in conflict. The protagonist expresses a deep heart felt sorrow as she “released a song bird from its cage”. This could suggests that she is trying to accept the fact that her son has gone to engage in warfare and that she is trying to let him go. The “song bird” is significant because she has let it escape and this suggests that she will no longer hear its sweet tune and will no longer be able to appreciate the good things in life while her son is not with her. Furthermore, the “songbird” is usually a symbol of happiness, this contrasts and emphasises how this moment is one of her most dismal. Alternatively, the “songbird” could also symbolise her son and this could reflect that her son’s freedom has come at the cost of hers and she may no longer feel that she can go on without him. Moreover, the “cage” could be reflecting how the protagonist may even feel empowered that she has let her son go, as it was the right thing to do and she could not keep him encaged forever. The reader may feel proud of the protagonist for making such a difficult choice of allowing her son to leave as it has evidently profoundly affected her. The writer may have used language to convey how people may feel that war is their escape to freedom. Also, the writer is trying to give a voice to the women who are so often forgotten during times of conflict and remember also the difficulties and hardships which they experienced in WW1 from letting their sons go.
Similarly, in The Falling Leaves like in Poppies, the writer uses language to convey the feeling of sorrow and regret for WW1. Both poets appear to use symbolism of passive and mellow objects, such as the leaves and the songbird. In The Falling Leaves, the persona sees the “brown leaves dropping from their tree”, this is similar to the image of the “songbird” as both poets have portrayed nature which seems to contrast the hostility of war and highlight how unnatural war is. The word “leaves” is significant as leaves fall from trees in a cycle and this could suggest that the deaths of the soldiers in WW1 were inevitable. Alternatively, it could imply that war is a never-ending cycle and will continue on forever. Furthermore, the leaves are “dropping” from their trees, this could symbolise that the soldiers are leaving their tree of comfort to go and explore the world of conflict. Alternatively, the tree could symbolise the mothers and families and this could mean that the leaves were taken from the tree, which is similar to Poppies, because the protagonist feels that her son has been taken from her. Contrastingly, Poppies is only about the loss of one soldier whereas The Falling Leaves is a “multitude” of soldiers which almost takes away the significance of the loss of individuals lives and makes the reader think only of the abundance of deaths, whereas Poppies focuses on the loss of one soldier to war. Another difference between the two poems is that The Falling Leaves uses very passive language, which contrasts to the reader the brutality of war and puts the reader into a calm state of mind whereas Poppies uses military language such as “blockade” and “reinforcements” to emphasise the fact that her son has gone to war. Another difference, is that The Falling Leaves seems to be an extended metaphor whereas Poppies appears to be a narrative.
To conclude, both poets are giving those away from WW1, at home in Britain a voice as they appear to be so often forgotten, yet as deeply affected by the effects of war as the soldiers fighting the battles. Both poets are evidently deploring the profound sense of regret at the loss of loved ones and young lives to conflict. Further, both poets appear to be using nature to perhaps suggest how the war seems almost unreal to them and they cannot comprehend it. However, there is also a sense that both personas have a sad acceptance of losing so much. Furthermore, by using nature related language, both poets emphasise and contrast to the reader the brutality of war.
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