Anthologies Flashcards
A first person speaker exploring an intense event
A dramatic monologue
14 line poem, usually about love
Sonnet
“Suddenly he awoke and was running- raw”
Bayonet charge- unprepared, confused and vulnerable, raw emotions? Raw skin, damaged and blistered by the clothing supposed to protect him
“In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations/was he the hand pointing that second?”
Bayonet charge-Blaming universe and higher powers- God(“stars”-navigation/government(“he”) was it his will to put him through this pain, rhetorical question shows he believes it’s pointless
“King, honour, human dignity, etcetera”
Trying to find motivation to carry on. They all start with all this motivation and by the end of it the lost isn’t important enough to list”etcetera”
Context for bayonet charge
Ted Hughes was speaking in third person “he”referring to any soldier. His father was in ww1, new advancements in technology and undertrained soldiers meant they were going over the top blindly
Bayonet charge structure
3 stanzas
1. Put in the centre of action “suddenly he awoke”
2.doubting why he’s there “in what cold clockwork of the stars”
3.victimised and lost hope “human dignity, etcetera”
Enjambment shows disconnection of soldiers, not in a strong formation, stumbling unprepared going over the top- a mess
“My last duchess” title
“That’s my last duchess painted on the wall”first line
Repetition of “my” shows aggressive possessive behaviour. He introduces her, she has no power immediately
“(Since none puts aside the curtain I have drawn for you but I)” My last duchess
Repetition of personal pronouns”I” shows constant need to show himself off and give himself credit. Curtain is a metaphor for his power over her, no one is allowed to see her without his permission, shows craving for power over her even after she has passed
“Her looks went everywhere” my last duchess
He thinks she doesn’t respect herself because she “stoops” to speak to “lower class” as well as other men. This makes him insecure and possessive
“As if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-year-old name with anybody’s gift”
Suggests he believes she should consider herself lucky to have his name as a “gift” shows arrogance. The verb “ranked” means he thought everything was a competition and always compared himself to others
Speaker in the poem?
Duke of Ferrara 1500s, thought to have murdered his wife
Structure in my last duchess
Rhyming couplets reflecting him making it appear as if he’s in control but the enjambment symbolises that he’s nit actually in control, his mind is an insecure mess that is undeniable through the enjambment smothering any sense of order in what he’s saying
Form of my last duchess?
Dramatic monologue, answers his own questions, dominating the conversation
“Exposure” title
Exposing them to the harsh elements which took the lives of many soldiers, exposing reality of war, you didn’t always die a hero, the weather was the main predator most of the time, exposing the unprepared army letting them die from the weather
“The merciless iced east winds that knive us…” exposure
Personification shows his cruel and literally murderous it was, the sibilance represents the sounds of the wind, the ellipsis suggests it’s never ending
“Pale flakes with fingering stealth come feeling for our faces” exposure
Alliteration symbolises the snow seeking them out. The snow is insidious and unavoidable, it kills people off in mass numbers and can’t be fought, everyone is a victim
“But nothing happens” exposure
Boring and actionless War, it’s not what it seems
“Suddenly he awoke”first line bayonet charge
Adverb- emphasises soldiers being unprepared and the confusion felt by soldier and reader
Awoke- War is like a nightmare
“Raw” repetition in first two lines bayonet charge
Shows difficulty expressing feelings of war-vulnerability
“Bullets smacking the belly out of the air” bayonet charge
Personification-violent imagery- nature is the victim and is under attack
“Patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest” bayonet charge
Simile, original patriotism turned to fear and panic. Centre of chest emphasises deep pure fear
In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations was he the hand pointing that second?” bayonet charge
“He” god? Does he want this for them? Stars- navigation, feel lost. Astrology- was this war destined? Nations-insignificance to authority. Cold clockwork- soldiers just a cog in a machine. Rhetorical question- pointlessness
“King, honour, human dignity, etcetera” bayonet charge
Criticises patriotic value, meaningless motivation, not worth listing. Means little or nothing when facing the heat of war