Belfast ConfettiBy Ciaran

CarsonObjectives

Know what the poem is aboutBe able to annotate key ideas in

the poemUnderstand the feelings of the poet as portrayed in the poem

Confetti – Associations?

Definition ‘Belfast Confetti…’

• (Slang) screws, bolts, and metal shop scrap used by rioters as missiles.

What is the significance of the poem’s title?

Ciaran Carson• Born Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1948• Carson was a young man in Belfast when

the Troubles began in 1969.• ‘The Troubles’ refers to almost 30 years of

violence between the nationalists (mainly Catholics) who wanted independence from the UK and the unionists (mainly protestants) who believed in strengthening political ties between Northern Ireland and Britain.

Background: What was ‘The Troubles’?‘The Troubles’ was a period of conflict in Northern

Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. It is generally agreed to lasted from the late 1960s until 1998, when the “Good Friday” Agreement was signed. Nevertheless, violence still continues on a sporadic basis.

The main issues in the Troubles were the status of Northern Ireland and the relationship between the Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland. The Troubles had both political and military dimensions. Its participants included politicians and political activists on both sides, and the British and Irish armies.

Background: What caused ‘The Troubles’?

• Britain ruled Ireland, both politically and religiously. • Ireland was split down religious lines: the lower classes were

Catholic Irish and the upper classes were Protestant English.• The Irish state was created in 1920 and was split into the Irish

Republic and Northern Ireland.• A referendum was held on the future of Northern Ireland to

decide whether it would join the Irish Republic or stay with the United Kingdom.

• Northern Ireland (which is overwhelmingly Protestant) voted to stay with the UK.

• The remaining Catholics wanted to be part of the Irish Republic and didn’t want any British control on any part of Ireland.

Examples of Irish Republican Army (IRA) posters:

Examples of murals in Northern Ireland:

Examples IRA attacks:

London, 1993

Manchester, 1996

Omagh, 1998

• TASK: • The words below have been taken from a

poem you will be studying. Create as many categories as you need to sort these words into groups.

• Sort the words into different groups: • You can label the groups as you wish, eg

colour or movement words.• You can put a word into more than one

category if you wish.

•alleyways asterisk balaclava Belfast blocked bolts broken burst car-keys colons complete confetti Crimea dead end escape exclamation explosion face-shields fire fount fusillade head hyphenated Inkerman kept know Kremlin-2 labyrinth line makrolon map marks mesh move nails name nuts Odessa punctuated question-marks raglan raining rapid riot Saracen sentence side squad stops streets stuttering suddenly type walkietalkies well

• Fount – fountain• Asterisk – a star shaped mark *• Hyphen – a short stroke joining two words• Labyrinth – a maze – a tangle of intricate

connections• Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman, Odessa – famous

historical battles• Crimea – the scene of the Crimean war• Saracen – military tank vehicle• Kremlin – the Russian word for fortress; also the

government building of the Soviet Union• Makrolon – transparent tough material,

resistant to impact• Fusillade – rapid continual discharge of firearms

Language in the poem

Balaclava-street names celebrating battles in Crimean war

A raglan The Inkerman memorial to the Crimean war.

Language in the poem

A saracen The Kremlin, in Russia

Makrolon face-shield

Language in the poem

A fusillade is a collection of weapons all firing at once on a target.

Hear the poet saying the poem:

http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=

339

LO: To explore and analyse the poem

Title: Annotate ‘Belfast Confetti’

STARTER

1. Jot down three things you learnt last lesson in bullet points.

2. Now we will read the poem.

*!

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- - - - - - - - - -

- - -- --

: .: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :??? ???

Read, discuss and annotate poem…1. Protest was supposed to be peaceful but ended up a

bloody riot.

2. Note down some ideas on how punctuation shows conflict.

3. What impact do the indented lines have when read by themselves?

4. EXT: Can you identify the different tones and emotions in the poem? At what points is there a change in tone and emotion?

Annotation

• Belfast Confetti

Suddenly as the riot squad moved in it was raining exclamation marks,

Nuts, bolts, nails, car-keys. A fount of broken type. And

the explosion

Itself – an asterisk on the map. This hyphenated line, a burst of rapid fire …

An image of celebration

Starts in the middle of the action.

Metaphor gives visual image of bomb as well as sense of alarm

Suggests broken metal and the failure of words to describe the scene

What is this describing?

I was trying to complete a sentence in my head, but it kept stuttering,

All the alleyways and side streets blocked with stops and colons.

Trying to escape but cannot

Reflects the sound of gunfire and the speaker’s fear - onomatopoeia

I know this labyrinth so well – Balaklava, Raglan, Inkerman,Odessa Street –

Why can’t I escape? Every move is punctuated. Crimea Street. Dead end again.

A Saracen, Kremlin-2 mesh. Makrolon face-shields. Walkie-talkies. What is

My name? Where am I coming from? Where am I going?A fusillade of question-marks.

Relates to mythology. Knows area but still trapped

Areas and roads in Belfast

Implies violence and hesitation

What does the last line mean?

Implies he is having these questions shouted at him.

Surrounded by communication by security forces

HOMEWORK: Complete this PEE• POINT: The consequences of war are presented in

Ciaran Carson’s ‘Belfast Confetti’.

• Evidence: “ Where am I coming from? Where am I going?”

• Explanation:– What do the questions tell us about the effect of war

on the speaker?– What is the tone of the speaker?– What is this poem saying about war (meaning?)

Questions• What has the speaker been caught up in?• Why can the speaker not escape from

the area?• Why does the speaker use irregular line

lengths and incomplete sentences?• The language changes from past to

present between the 1st and 2nd stanza. Why has the poet done this?

• What does the poet suggest about himself in the poem?

Raining Exclamation marks• ‘Belfast Confetti’ is extremely visual and

Carson has made use of vivid imagery. On the next slide are some of the key images from the poem.

draw what you see or feel – ideally using colour identify whether the quotation is a simile or a

metaphordescribe the effect it has on you, the reader, in

your own words.

Quotation Simile Metaphor Effect

‘raining exclamation marks’

‘A fount of broken type’

‘an asterisk on the map’

‘This hyphenated line’

‘blocked with stops and colons’

‘A fusillade of question-marks’

Join up with another pair to compare your answers and discuss differing points of view.

• What impact does Carson’s use of imagery have on you?

• How does Carson build up a sense of panic and claustrophobia?

• Why do you think he uses so much punctuation in the poem itself? Why does he make such extensive references to punctuation and language?

• He uses a lot of proper nouns in the poem. Circle or highlight these and consider why he has chosen to use these words.

• Explore the imagery of the title of the poem. What ideas does it suggest?