Poetry
Explication
The Death of
the Ball Turret Gunner
Poet: Randall
Jarrel
Written By:
Zehra Nasirali
Date: 10th April, 2001
From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze,
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighter.
When I died, they washed me out of the turret with a
hose.
By: Randall Jarrell
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The theme of the poem "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" written by Randall Jarrell, is one of war. The setting of the poem makes the reader perceive it to be vast land, dull skies that reflect bad times and hopelessness. On earth it seems like havoc with many casualties and rescuers all over. The feeling that a reader of this poem experiences, such as myself, is depression, misery and sympathy - this is the emotional environment, the mood created by the poet. The first three lines of the poem takes place in the air, as the gunner in still in the ball turret, and the last two lines is about the death of the gunner and how he was taken care of by the nightmare fighters once he hit earth.
The speaker of this poem is the ball turret gunner himself. His attitude to the theme and his situation seems like he asks the reader to feel sorry for him as he himself feels sorry for himself. The diction he has used indirectly incorporates his attitude. Words such as 'hunched', 'wet fur froze', 'dream of life', 'nightmare fighters' and 'died' are fabulous diction that draws sympathy from the readers. Moreover, the mentioning of 'my mother's sleep' in the first line is the starting point to softening the reader's heart. Everyone has a soft place in their heart for their mother. Although the reader will later realise that 'mother's sleep' is a metaphor in the poem, it is a great emotion grabber and a success for the poet who wants his readers to have sympathy for him.
Furthermore, this poem is filled with imagery. The shape of the ball turret is described as the "mother's sleep' which is a fabulous metaphor for womb. Also the diction used, "I hunched in its belly" explains the condition that the gunner was in, all squashed in a little round womb of a turret. When the poet uses words like six miles from earth, it makes the reader think of barren land and a smoky sky where no life exists. And when he says 'I woke to black flack', you can actually picture him waking up to all the commotion with all the people namely the 'nightmare fighters' around him. Moreover, the act of washing the ball turret gunner out with a hose can also be pictured. Moreover, the words 'nightmare fighter' really implies some sort of rescuer. But because he has used words such as 'nightmare' makes the situation seem even more dramatic. To me it Seems that the poet is trying to make the readers realise that it was not only a horrific incident for the gunner but also for the rescuers, for they ore also the one's that have the job of dealing with these various horrific incidents. In conclusion, those involved in any way with a war, deal with much more than simply the physical aspect.
The structure of the poem often emphasises meaning. The structure used in this poem is one between life and death. The first four lines are when the gunner is alive and the last line is when he has died. However, majority meaning of the poem when he is alive emphasises how he had hope, hope of one thing, life; 'dream of life'. The ball turret gunner hunching in the boll turret, waiting till is 'wet fur froze' and then talking about a long lost dream of life, gives the reader this idea and feeling. The position he mentions the nightmare fighters is towards the end, and this too signifies the end of his life as well.
Although the length of the poem is short but powerful, the poet incorporates a great deal of poetic devices:
• Apart from the imagery, metaphors, diction and mood described above, he has used a lot of alliteration. Some examples are, in line one, my and mother's; in line two, in and its, fur and froze.
• 'Fur froze' is also a good example of euphony.
• The poet has also used assonance. Some examples are, in line four, black and flak, nightmare and fighters.
• A 'belly is usually in respect to a bulging stomach. In accordance with words like 'mother's sleep', these are two great examples of personification of the ball turret of the plane.
• If the reader would have only read the first sentence of the poem and not the rest, he would be bound to think that the speakers mother died at his birth, hence the word sleep, and as a result the speaker, as a baby became property of the State. And in relation to the title, the baby as he grew up joined the air forces and died as a ball turret gunner. It is quite ironic how this is far from the actual meaning of the poem!
In conclusion, I, as a reader of this poem, think that the central idea of the poem, apart from war, is the 'dream of life'. I think those are the key words. If you ponder deep into the poem/you can feel the gunner wonting to survive and have a chance to a good life. Furthermore, this tells the reader to 'enjoy' the small wonders of life, as not everyone has the mere chance to dream about 'life, like the example of the ball turret gunner.