Student Poetry Comparison

1. “Out of the blue”
“falling leaves”
Callum Murray
Daisy Waller

2. “Out of the blue” and its use of sensory
language
Out of the blue uses sensory language to
provoke imagery and emotions in the reader.
“…That a white cotton shirt is twirling,
turning”, this quote shows the sense of sight.
This creates a vivid image of a character
twirling a cotton white shirt. This image
contrasts with the horror of the twin towers.
Cotton is very soft, pairing this with the idea of
terrorism emphasises the conflict.

3. “Falling leaves” and its use of sensory
language.
Cole uses sensory language to convey her personal
situation at the time of the war. It is also used to show the
context of the poem and when it was written. “Today, as I
rode by” this shows what an imaginary passer by might
see. This is an appropriate start to the poem because the
poet is guiding the reader into her own mentality and
thoughts about troops fighting abroad. The poem goes on
to later describe what she is thinking as if she is telling
someone she may meet what she thinks about war. She
uses simple language to create a simple image within the
readers head which can motivate the reader to imagine
more.

4. “Out of blue”, how does the author
create conflict?
The poet uses different types of senses to add Varity and
to create different types of images and emotions. "Sirens
below are wailing, firing” this creates the sense of
hearing. Because of this the character becomes more
realistic to the reader. Using words such as wailing and
firing produces a feeling of violence with the storyline
and character. This contrasts with where the character is
in their situation. Usually sirens are associated with
ambulances and police, which are thought of to be safe
and secure areas. When he uses violent words to contrast
with this ideology it gives the sense of disbelief within
the character, that he doesn’t actually believe the police
and ambulances will help him.

5. “Falling leaves”, how does the author
create conflict?