Flashcards for Kamikaze

The Children

The Children are the kamikaze pilot's sons and daughters who, along with their mother and sister (The Daughter), initially take part in the collective act of shunning their father after he returns home from his failed suicide mission.

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The Daughter

The Daughter serves as the main narrative voice and moral compass of the poem, offering the primary perspective through which we learn about her father, the kamikaze pilot who chose to turn back from his suicide mission.

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The Grandfather

The Grandfather is a minor yet thematically significant character in Kamikaze, mainly appearing through the memories and reflections of others rather than through direct action.

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The Kamikaze Pilot

The Kamikaze Pilot is the haunting, silent core of Beatrice Garland's dramatic monologue Kamikaze, told from the perspective of his daughter looking back.

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The Wife

The Wife is a secondary but crucial character in "Kamikaze," acting as the enforcer of social shame and the main reason for her husband's domestic exile.

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“Her father embarked at sunrise with a flask of water, a samurai sword”

This opening line is from Beatrice Garland's poem Kamikaze, which features a dramatic monologue narrated by the daughter of a Japanese kamikaze pilot who decides to turn back from his suicide mission during World War II.

Narrator (the pilot's daughter)

“and half way there, she thought, he must have looked down at the little fishing boats”

This line is from Beatrice Garland's poem Kamikaze, which features a dramatic monologue by the daughter of a Japanese kamikaze pilot who decided to turn back from his suicide mission.

Narrator (the pilot's daughter) · Stanza 2–3 (mid-poem)

“strung out like bunting”

This striking simile appears in Beatrice Garland's poem Kamikaze, which is a dramatic monologue from the perspective of a Japanese kamikaze pilot's daughter.

Narrator (the pilot's daughter)

“the dark shoals of fishes flashing silver as their bellies swivelled towards the sun”

This striking image appears in Denise Riley's poem "Kamikaze," which is commonly included in secondary and post-secondary literature courses, such as the Edexcel GCSE Anthology.

Narrator (the pilot's daughter)

“and remembered how he and his brothers waiting on the shore”

This line comes from Beatrice Garland's poem Kamikaze, presented as a dramatic monologue from the viewpoint of a kamikaze pilot's daughter.

The pilot's daughter (narrator)

“till a lanternful of caught fish, silver, blue, black, iridescent”

This striking image is from Beatrice Garland's poem "Kamikaze," which presents a dramatic monologue where a Japanese kamikaze pilot decides to turn his plane around mid-mission and head back home — only to face silence and shame from his family and community.

Narrator / the pilot's daughter (dramatic monologue)

“he turned his plane around”

This line is from Beatrice Garland's poem Kamikaze, which tells the story of a Japanese pilot who, en route to a suicide mission during World War II, decides to turn his plane around and return home instead of giving up his life.

Narrator (the pilot's daughter)

“we too learned to be silent, to live as if he had never returned”

This closing line is from Fadwa Al-Qasim's poem Kamikaze, which is also attributed to Beatrice Garland.

The daughter (narrator)

“which had been the better way to die”

This haunting line comes from Beatrice Garland's poem "Kamikaze," which is a dramatic monologue from the viewpoint of a kamikaze pilot's daughter.

Daughter (narrator)

Fish

In Yusef Komunyakaa's poem Kamikaze, the fish represent the allure of the vibrant, living world contrasting with the destructive nature of war and sacrifice.

The Aircraft

In Beatrice Garland's poem Kamikaze, the aircraft highlights the struggle between duty and self-preservation, along with the irreversible consequences of rejecting both.

The Samurai Sword

In Kamikaze, the samurai sword represents the heavy burden of duty passed down through generations, ancestral honor, and a militaristic code that prioritizes self-sacrifice over personal desires.

The Sea

In Beatrice Garland's poem Kamikaze, the sea symbolizes life, freedom, and a deep, natural yearning.

Dramatic Monologue

The poem is narrated by the pilot's daughter, who starts speaking in the first person but soon transitions into a third-person recounting of her father's story.

Imagery

Garland fills the poem with vivid, sensory details of the natural world that the pilot notices during his flight home.

Extended Metaphor

The sea and its creatures serve as a powerful metaphor for life, continuity, and the everyday world that the pilot embraces instead of death.

Volta

The poem's most striking turn happens near the end, where the narrative changes from the daughter’s poetic recollection of her father's departure to the stark, heart-wrenching statement: 'we never spoke to him again.'

Enjambment

Garland employs enjambment throughout the poem to mirror the unfolding journey of the pilot in real time, with one line flowing into the next as his plane traverses the sky.

Symbolism

The kamikaze plane is a powerful symbol.

Irony

The poem presents a striking irony: the pilot survives his mission, only to endure a form of living death.

Juxtaposition

Garland contrasts the breathtaking beauty of the natural world that the pilot sees—the turquoise sea, silver fish, and 'green-blue translucent' water—with the harsh social reality he faces on land.

Motif

Fish and fishing serve as a recurring theme that ties generations together and anchors the poem's values in the everyday rhythms of life.

Pathetic Fallacy

The poem's natural world reflects and heightens the pilot's inner feelings.

Narrative Poem

Although it’s presented as a poem, 'Kamikaze' has a clear narrative structure: it unfolds a story with a beginning (the pilot's departure), a middle (his flight and the crucial decision), and an end (his return and the resulting social death).

Rhetorical Question

Near the end of the poem, the daughter asks about her father's muted life: "Which had been the better way to die?"