📚 WALT: Analyse poetry and understand literary techniques

Read this extract from 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae:

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below."

1. What do the "crosses, row on row" represent?

Church decorations

Grave markers for fallen soldiers

Road signs

Farm boundaries

2. Which literary technique is used in "larks, still bravely singing"?

Metaphor

Personification

Alliteration

Simile

3. The phrase "poppies blow" suggests the flowers are:

Being destroyed

Moving gently in the wind

Very colourful

Growing quickly

4. What creates contrast in this verse? Tick TWO answers.

Beautiful poppies vs. death (crosses)

Singing larks vs. sounds of war

Red poppies vs. blue sky

Day vs. night

✏️ WALT: Interpret meaning and explain the poet's choices

5. Why do you think the poet chose poppies as the main image in this poem? Give TWO reasons.

6. Explain what the poet means by "Scarce heard amid the guns below". Use evidence from the text.

7. How does the poet create a sense of both beauty and sadness in these lines?

🎯 WALT: Evaluate the poem's impact and write creatively

8. Extended Writing: The poem was written during World War I. How effectively does this verse help readers understand the reality of war? Consider the poet's use of imagery, contrast, and language choices in your answer.

Success Criteria:

• Use quotations from the poem
• Explain the effect of specific words/phrases
• Comment on literary techniques
• Give a personal response with reasoning

Extension Activity: Research why poppies became a symbol of remembrance and write a paragraph connecting this to McCrae's poem.

Support: Use the word bank: symbolism, imagery, contrast, poignant, memorial, sacrifice, nature, warfare