Adam & Eva’s Presentation 

Poem A – Invasion by Choman Hardi. Poem B – Parade’s End by Daljit Nagra

Invasion The poem is read by an unknown speaker to an unknown listener The speaker does not refer to themself directly, instead focusing upon the ominous 'them' in the first half of the poem, and the inclusive 'we' in the second half. Pretty simple meaning and there’s no implicit suggestions.

Parade’s End The poem is very implicit, and most of the raw meaning is hidden, not obvious. The car is a symbol for the family for their aspirations in life and potentially the area as a whole.

Exposure The men appear to be trapped in a No Mans land between life and death. The poem has a ‘circular’ structure. When It ends, they are exactly where they were in the first verse. The poem gives a worm’s eye view of the frontline based on Owen’s experiences in the war.

Similarities(A-B) They all Belong to a similar theme of depression and shattered dreams Both finish bad, not a happy ending. One’s doomed to failure and the other is about immigrants , not fitting in. The title ‘parade’s end’ relates to invasion in the sense that, a parade is normally formal and organized march. This is similar to the military theme that is present in ‘invasion’

Differences(A-B) ‘Parade’s end’ is about racism, about the outsiders trying to fit into the community. It has constant references back to their skin colour and how desperately they want to belong. It is very implicit compared to ‘invasion’. The meaning is much more hidden ‘invasion’ forms a negative outcome from the start. Very pessimistic throughout.

Structure Both are short poems that are separated by stanzas and use form devices to link the,. ‘Invasion’ uses short sentences in its stanzas which links to them not having much time.

Language ‘Parade’s end’ the poet uses the symbol of the car to represent conflict in subtle clever ways. For example the champagne gold car, which automatically triggers images of wealth in your mind, ironically. Also, ‘parade’s end’ is much more poetic in the sense that the meaning is much more implicit, you have to dig deep to find it. In ‘invasion’ the meaning is explicitly in front of you, much more obvious.

Meaning Both poems have a completely different meaning explicitly. Invasion is about war and parade’s end is about belonging. However, implicitly they are very similar, both are about sorrow and misery and shattered aspirations.

Imagery Both are descriptive, and use adjectives and metaphors to help get a clear image of where the poem sets, and the context. Parade’s end is more subtle about it. Invasion uses a more eerie set of linguistic devices.

Effects Both poem seem like their fate is determined by the very first stanza and is confirmed at the end by the last one. Invasion they are doomed from the very start, the war will happen despite anything they do. Parade’s end you know that immigrants stand out of the usual English crowd and will never be 100% accepted by some of them.

Theme As we are aware, all the poems relate to the same theme, in this collection ‘clashes and collisions’. All the poems are about conflict and how people deal with those situations. Their misery is always unrelated for example war and invasion and acceptance in parade’s end. On an implicit level, in the end they both tie together, ending in misery and shattered dreams.