"Kamikaze" was written by contemporary British poet Beatrice Garland and published in The Invention of Fireworks (2013). The title refers to Japanese pilots during World War II tasked with flying a suicide mission. With planes full of explosives and just enough fuel to make it to their target, kamikaze pilots had to fly directly at American warships to inflict maximum damage—killing themselves in the process. The poem tells the story of one particular pilot who decides to turn back, prompted by a childhood memory of his brother and father by the sea. Upon his return, however, his whole family disown him—including the poem's main speaker, his daughter.

• 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). 

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