“Kamikaze” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Kamikaze”

“Kamikaze” Summary

“Kamikaze” Themes

• 

  Patriotism, Honor, and Shame

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-42

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Kamikaze”

• Lines 1-6

  Her father embarked ...
  ... journey into history

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-12

  but half way ...
  ... green-blue translucent sea

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-18

  and beneath them, ...
  ... towards the sun

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 19-24

  and remembered how ...
  ... father’s boat safe

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 25-30

  – yes, grandfather’s ...
  ... prince, muscular, dangerous.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 31-36

  And though he ...
  ... chattered and laughed

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 37-42

  till gradually we ...
  ... way to die.

  

  

  

  

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“Kamikaze” Symbols

• 

  The Samurai Sword

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Line 2: “a samurai sword”

“Kamikaze” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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  Where alliteration appears in the poem:

  • Line 2: “samurai sword”
  • Line 4: “full”
  • Line 5: “fuel”
  • Line 6: “history”
  • Line 7: “half,” “there,” “thought”
  • Line 8: “later”
  • Line 9: “looked,” “far”
  • Line 10: “fishing,” “boats”
  • Line 11: “strung,” “bunting”
  • Line 12: “blue,” “sea”
  • Line 13: “beneath”
  • Line 14: “flag,” “first”
  • Line 15: “figure”
  • Line 16: “fishes”
  • Line 17: “flashing silver”
  • Line 18: “swivelled,” “sun”
  • Line 20: “brothers”
  • Line 21: “built,” “pearl-grey pebbles”
  • Line 23: “breakers”
  • Line 24: “bringing,” “boat”
  • Line 25: “boat,” “safe”
  • Line 26: “salt-sodden”
  • Line 27: “cloud-marked”
  • Line 28: “crabs,” “prawns”
  • Line 29: “whitebait,” “once”
  • Line 30: “prince”
  • Line 32: “mother”
  • Line 33: “meet”
  • Line 36: “children,” “chattered”
  • Line 37: “learned”
  • Line 38: “live”
  • Line 39: “he had,” “that this”
  • Line 40: “longer,” “loved”
  • Line 41: “sometimes,” “said,” “wondered”
  • Line 42: “which,” “been,” “better,” “way”

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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  Where assonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “father embarked,” “sunrise”
  • Line 2: “water,” “samurai”
  • Line 3: “cockpit,” “shaven”
  • Line 4: “full,” “powerful incantations”
  • Line 5: “enough,” “one-way”
  • Line 6: “journey,” “history”
  • Line 7: “way”
  • Line 8: “later”
  • Line 10: “little fishing”
  • Line 11: “strung,” “bunting”
  • Lines 12-12: “green- / translucent sea”
  • Line 12: “blue”
  • Line 13: “beneath,” “ arcing,” “swathes”
  • Line 14: “waved,” “way”
  • Line 15: “eight”
  • Line 16: “fishes”
  • Line 17: “flashing silver as”
  • Line 18: “swivelled”
  • Line 20: “waiting”
  • Line 21: “grey”
  • Line 23: “breakers”
  • Line 24: “safe”
  • Line 26: “salt-sodden, awash”
  • Line 27: “cloud-marked mackerel”
  • Line 28: “black crabs”
  • Line 29: “loose,” “once”
  • Line 30: “a tuna, the,” “muscular”
  • Line 33: “she meet”
  • Line 34: “neighbours,” “they treated him”
  • Line 35: “though,” “no,” “existed”
  • Line 36: “only,” “children still chattered and laughed”
  • Line 37: “till gradually we too”
  • Line 38: “to be,” “to”
  • Line 39: “he”
  • Line 40: “longer,” “father,” “loved”
  • Line 41: “sometimes,” “must,” “wondered”
  • Line 42: “die”

• Asyndeton

  

  

  

  

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  Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

  • Lines 25-30: “– yes, grandfather’s boat – safe / to the shore, salt-sodden, awash / with cloud-marked mackerel, / black crabs, feathery prawns, / the loose silver of whitebait and once / a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous.”
  • Lines 34-40: “and the neighbours too, they treated him / as though he no longer existed, / only we children still chattered and laughed / till gradually we too learned / to be silent, to live as though / he had never returned, that this / was no longer the father we loved.”

• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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  Where caesura appears in the poem:

  • Line 2: “water, a”
  • Line 3: “cockpit, a”
  • Line 7: “there, she”
  • Line 13: “them, arcing”
  • Line 25: “– yes, grandfather’s boat – safe”
  • Line 26: “shore, salt-sodden, awash”
  • Line 28: “crabs, feathery”
  • Line 30: “tuna, the,” “prince, muscular, dangerous.”
  • Line 33: “presence, nor”
  • Line 34: “too, they”
  • Line 38: “silent, to”
  • Line 39: “returned, that”
  • Line 41: “sometimes, she said, he”

• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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  Where consonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 1
  • Line 2
  • Line 4
  • Line 5
  • Lines 5-6
  • Line 7
  • Line 8
  • Line 10
  • Line 11
  • Lines 11-12
  • Line 12
  • Line 13
  • Line 14
  • Line 15
  • Line 16
  • Line 17
  • Line 18
  • Line 19
  • Line 20
  • Line 21
  • Line 22
  • Line 23
  • Line 24
  • Line 25
  • Line 26
  • Lines 27-28
  • Line 29
  • Line 30
  • Line 31
  • Line 32
  • Line 33
  • Line 34
  • Line 36
  • Line 37
  • Line 38
  • Line 39
  • Line 40
  • Line 41
  • Line 42

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-2: “sunrise / with”
  • Lines 2-3: “sword / in”
  • Lines 3-4: “head / full”
  • Lines 4-5: “incantations / and”
  • Lines 5-6: “one-way / journey”
  • Lines 6-7: “history / but”
  • Lines 9-10: “down / at”
  • Lines 10-11: “boats / strung”
  • Lines 11-12: “bunting / on”
  • Lines 12-13: “sea / and”
  • Lines 13-14: “swathes / like”
  • Lines 14-15: “way / then”
  • Lines 16-17: “fishes / flashing”
  • Lines 17-18: “ bellies / swivelled”
  • Lines 18-19: “sun / and”
  • Lines 19-20: “he / and”
  • Lines 20-21: “shore / built”
  • Lines 21-22: “pebbles / to”
  • Lines 22-23: “longest / the”
  • Lines 23-24: “breakers / bringing”
  • Lines 25-26: “safe / to”
  • Lines 26-27: “awash / with”
  • Lines 29-30: “once / a”
  • Lines 31-32: “back / my”
  • Lines 32-33: “again / in”
  • Lines 33-34: “eyes / and”
  • Lines 34-35: “him / as”
  • Lines 36-37: “laughed / till”
  • Lines 37-38: “learned / to”
  • Lines 38-39: “though / he”
  • Lines 39-40: “this / was”
  • Lines 41-42: “wondered / which”

• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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  Where metaphor appears in the poem:

  • Lines 5-6: “a one-way / journey into history”
  • Line 27: “cloud-marked mackerel,”
  • Line 28: “feathery prawns”
  • Line 30: “a tuna, the dark prince,”

• Simile

  

  

  

  

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  Where simile appears in the poem:

  • Lines 10-12: “the little fishing boats / strung out like bunting / on a green-blue translucent sea”
  • Lines 13-18: “arcing in swathes / like a huge flag waved first one way / then the other in a figure of eight, / the dark shoals of fishes / flashing silver as their bellies / swivelled towards the sun”
  • Lines 34-35: “they treated him / as though he no longer existed”
  • Lines 38-39: “to live as though / he had never returned”

• Irony

  

  

  

  

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  Where irony appears in the poem:

  • Lines 19-30
  • Lines 31-42

“Kamikaze” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Samurai Sword
• Incantations
• Bunting
• Shoals
• Cairns
• Turbulent Inrush
• Breakers
• Salt-Sodden
• Whitebait

• (Location in poem: Line 2: “samurai sword”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Kamikaze”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Kamikaze” Speaker

“Kamikaze” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Kamikaze”

More “Kamikaze” Resources

• External Resources

  • World War II Poetry — A valuable critical overview of WWII poets by the Poetry Foundation.

  • Garland's Perspective — Garland discusses the poem in this short interview. 

  • Interview with Kamikaze Pilots — Garland's poem was in part inspired by this article, an interview with two kamikaze pilots.  

  • More Poems by Garland — A link to Garland's own website, which has a number of her poems up for reading.  

  • Shame and Honor — A fascinating essay that looks into the Japanese attitude towards shame and honor. The essay also focuses on bushido (which originated with the samurai warriors).