The Star Spangled Banner

Paraphrasing?

Stanza 1: As the sun's first light shines down on the battlefield you can see the remains of the fort. The sun's light is overpowered by the still exploding bombs and rockets, which illuminate the torn up flag, that still proudly stand over the fort, it's influence all over America

Stanza 2: As the battle ends the British boats begin to retreat, disappearing into the morning mist. As breeze starts to pick up and the Star Spangled Banner starts flapping in the wind, allowing everyone to hear it, ensuring that the Americans will live on, past the battle.

Stanza 3: The army band that kept the soldiers motivated had left, bringing their promise of victory with them. The beaches are soaked with the blood of the fallen as those still living, try to forget and move past what happened that night.

The Star Spangled Banner

Stanza 4: In the future when people are going about their lives, they wont have to worry about war at home because of those who sacrificed themselves at the beach. They will be blessed with victory and peace. The poem finishes with one last reminder of the flag waving on over the land of the free, the home of the brave,

Figurative Language?

Personification is the most obvious form of figurative language in the piece.

The object that is personified is the flag, that waves during the battle. We know its personified because you can see that it is talked of like a human. Ex.) WHOSE broad stripes and bright stars....

The flag is also treated with a lot of respect, like a person. They hold it in so much honor as if it were someone like the president, which is another example of personification.

This was used to enhance the patriotism in the song.

Connotations?

Connotations are used to invoke other meanings aside from its literal meaning.

In the "Star Spangled Banner" the most evident connotation is the word "proudly."

The word itself means to show satisfaction for an event or action. In this case its about the attack on the fort.

This implies the deeper meaning of being patriotic and being proud of your country. It shows that the American soldiers have a lot of patriotism.

However it also brings up the negative side of a connotation. With the word "proud" being used so much, it goes from patriotic, to obnoxious as there is so much patriotism.

By: Alex Simone and John Janetos

Style-POV-Structure?

Poetic Devices?

Style: The style of "Star Spangled Banner" is deeply patriotic and uplifting. The patriotism coming from the original battle poem, and the happiness coming from the jolly drinking tune to which it was assigned.

Point of View: The point of view that the poem is written in is first person. Ex.) "OUR flag was still there..."

These 3 poetic devices helped enhance expressions in the Star Spangled Banner:

Imagery:

Structure: The rhyming scheme that the poem is written in is A-B-A-B-C-C-D-D, the last word of each line being the rhyming word.

Imagery was used to enhance the battle scene displayed in the poem. It allows for a better and deeper picturing of the battle. (no cameras, only by drawings or word of mouth.) Ex.) bombs bursting in air, dawn's early light, terror of fight, gloom of the grave.

Alliteration:

Alliteration is also found in the poem, and is showed when certain parts of a word a stressed and repeated. Ex.) Oh SAY can you SEE - Rockets Red Glare.

Mood:

Mood was used in the poem help establish the feelings of war. Deep patriotism and love of country are the key moods that are present in the poem. The mood of the piece is also cheery, as the original poem was fitted to the tune of an old drinking song called, "To Anacreon in Heaven."

Type of Poem?

The type of poem that the "Star Spangled Banner" is written as an epic.. This means that it is a lengthy narrative that describes or celebrates an adventure. (an epic battle)

It can also be knows as a narrative poem, as it spends a lot of time making sure that all the subjects are very detailed. Ex.) rockets RED glare.

Topic?

Fort McHenry

The topic of the poem "Star Spangled Banner" is the British bombardment that took place at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, during the War of 1812.

The British had been trying to take the sea port, to close off the area, but the Americans wouldn't give it up.

The poem itself, is told in the eyes of a lawyer, Francis Scott Key, who was watching the battle from a distance.

After witnessing the soldiers show true bravery, he came up with the poem that night.

As the poem grew in popularity the tune from an old drinking song was added, creating the anthem as we know it today. *(only the first stanza is played.)

Star Spangled Banner

Francis Scott Key