Anthology Context Flashcards
1st Date -She and 1st Date -He?
Wendy Cope,
Poetry is best known for whitty humour,
Uses strict, formal rhythm and rhyme with traditional form.
Valentine?
Carol Ann Duffy,
Britain’s first Poet Laureate,
Trained as a teacher before becoming a poet,
Specialises in witting monologues from the point of view of disturbed individuals,
Strong focus on feminism,
Often try’s to go against society (she’s a lesbian too),
Born 1955 (woman’s rights weren’t fully developed).
One Flesh?
Elizabeth Jennings,
1926-2001,
She often explored relationships,
Title comes from the bibles description of marriage,
This is a personal poem of her own parents.
I Wanna Be Yours?
John Cooper Clarke,
Famous in mid 1970s when he was known as the “Punk Poet”,
Much of his poetry was set to the music “The Invisible Girls”,
He was a heroin addict 1980s while living with a model actress,
His poetry comes under “kitchen sink drama”,
Arctic Monkeys were inspired by this poem and made a song to it,
Part of the punk poetry movement in 1970’s.
Loves Dog?
Jen Hadfield,
Born 1978,
Youngest winner of T.S Elliot Poetry Prize,
This poem is a response to another poem written by Edwin Morgan, “A View Of Things”.
Nettles?
Vernon Scannell,
Fought during the Second World War,
Joined the army in the 1940’s at the age of 18,
He deserted from the army because of the horrors he has witnessed and was caught and imprisoned in Egypt,
On his release, he went back into service and was wounded shortly after,
He escaped again from military hospital and was arrested two years after the war had ended,
He was released and devoted his life to writing.
The Mahhunt?
Deals with social issues,
The Manhunt was broadcast as part of a channel 4 TV documentary focusing on injured soldiers, “The Not Dead”,
The poem is written in the point of view of the soldiers wife,
The poem adventures the long lasting affects of war.
My Father Would Not Show Us?
Ingrid De Kok,
South African poet and professor of the University Of Cape Town,
Born in 1951 and immigrated to Canada at age 26,
Returned to South Africa in 1984,
Many of her poems have a political slant because she grew up in South Africa’s “Apartheid Regime”,
This poem is a highly personal poem, however, we are not sure is Ingrid is talking of her own experiences in this poem.
La Belle Dans Sans Merci?
John Keats,
Ballads were intended to be sung and are medieval traditions,
Features of the Ballad include:
- A compelling story,
- Song-like rhythm,
- Quatrain verse form,
- Repetitive refrain,
- Simple rhyme scheme,
- Archaic language,
- Few descriptive details,
Keats chose to write in a Ballad because it came from a folklore origins,
He was part of the 19th century Romantic Movement that reacted against 18th century interest in science and focused more on nature and the imagination and emotions,
He composed this poem after an autumnal walk through Winchester in 1819, the year that marked the end of his poetic career due to financial issues,
La Belle was written when Keats was just 24 and less then two years later, he died of tuberculosis.
A Child To His Sick Grandfather?
Joanna Baillie,
She was a revered Scottish dramatist and poet of the late 18th century/late 19th century,
She was writing during the early romantic era,
Her work was influenced by romantic writers, Byron and Shelley,
She moved to London in 1784 and was encouraged to write poetry by her aunt, Ann Hunter,
Ann gained her access to the literary society of London,
Baillie offered this world a new way of looking at drama and poetry at a time when creative woman’s voices were really heard,
Many contemporary writers held her in the highest esteem,
This poem is taken from her first public collection.
My Lat Dutches?
Robert Browning,
1812-1889,
Best remembered for his use of the dramatic monologue,
Focus on disturbed and unhinged individuals in his poetry,
This poem is thought to be based on the real life marriage of Italy’s Duke Alfonso 2nd and Lucrezia De Medici who died at the age of 17, only three years after marrying the Duke,
In reality, she may have been poisoned which was not unusual in Italy among the wealthy families of patricidal society,
Victorian England readers would have interpreted Italy as associated with political murders and corruption in high places. For example, Borgia family were infamous for positioning politely rivals.
Sonnet 43?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
The structure of this poem is a patrician sonnet,
Elizabeth is using this sonnet to express passionate love because she is adhering to the common use of sonnets,
Unlike Shakespearean sonnets, which end in couplets, a patrician is made up of an octave and a sestet,
This type of sonnet usually uses one idea in the first octave and introduces a new one in the second sestet. This is not the case here,
Sonnet 43 is one of the 44 sonnets Elizabeth wrote about her love for her future husband, Robert Browning,
Her parents disapproved of this relationship,
Reference to religion in this poem shows the religious beliefs during this time.
She Walks In Beauty?
Lord Byron,
He was one of the most notorious and flamboyant of the romantic poets during the romantic era,
Romantics formed a political and social movement that railed against the logic and reason that was rising in Europe,
Byron was a man who was scandalous and known for the amount of lovers he had, of both sexes,
“Mad, bad but dangerous to know”,
He left England for foreign shores in the 1816’s,
Byron enjoyed traveling the world and lived in Italy for seven years,
Joined the Greeks independence fight against the Ottoman Empire,
While he was fighting here, he caught the fever that would kill him at the age of 36.
Neutral Tones?
Thomas Hardy,
Was a 19th/20th century poet,
Influenced by the emotionalism of the Romantic Movement and the social realism of campaigning novelists such as Charles Dickens,
Hardys novels focuses on tragic characters and social problems of the Victorian England,
Many of Hardy’s poems deal with the theme of disappointment in life and love, including this one.
A Complaint?
William Wordsworth,
“Lyrical Ballads” was his poetry collection published in 1802,
Wordsworth said they were placing the “spontaneous overflow” of emotions at the heart of their work,
This lay the foundations of the later romantic poets who would emphasise pure emotion and use of emotion as a unifying theme in their writing,
This create a new romantic sensitivity in English literature,
After three years abroad in Malta, Coleridge returned to visit this once-close friend, Wordsworth, in 1806 and everyone who was present felt the charge in the two poets,
This could be the subject of the poem.
