Context- detailed Flashcards
Ozymandias
- Written in 1818(Georgian era)
- Shelley was part of the romantic movement –hence the idea of nature overpowering man
- Ozymandias is Greek named for Ramesses II (Tyrannical Egyptian Pharaoh)
- Poem could be read as a criticism of George III or Napoleon (Powerful ruler of the time).
The passionate shepherd
- Pastoral poems- praising the beauty of nature and the countryside
- Carpe diem
- Published in 1599-Elizabethan era
Title added by publisher
Sonnet 130: My Mistressess eyes
- Elizabethan era
- Patriarchal society
- Addressed to the “Dark lady”
- Sonnet is satirizing Italian poet Petrarch
Sonnet 73
- Addressed to the “Fair youth” (Who we know is a man)
- Elizabethan era
- Carpe diem message
- At the time churches where empty all over the country due to henry the 8th closing then when he was in power
The Flea
- Carpe diem
- Metaphysical poet
In his young years he was very promiscuous - He was a catholic at a time when Catholicism was seen by many as sinful
- Focuses more on the physical side of a relationship
There is a garden in her face
- Influenced by Petrarch
- Orient is reference to what we call Asia
- Published in 1617 Jacobean times – though possibly written earlier in Elizabethan times
- Music composer (The poem would have been set to music)
- London fruit vendors were known to use the phrase “Cherry ripe”
- Christian attitudes- women were expected to remain “Pure” by avoiding sex before marriage
To virgins to make much of time
- Carpe diem
- Published in 1648
- Herrick lived during the reign of Charles
- English civil war
- Herrick’s father committed suicide
- Herrick was a priest
- Patriarchal society- women were expected to marry and become housewives
- Stuart era
To my dear and loving husband
- Written during the 1640’s
- Anne Bradstreet was among the 1st English people to settle in the US, these early settlers were puritans
- She was happily married and had eight children
- First published female poet in America
- Rare for women to write love poems to their husband/ men
A satirical elegy…
The poem is criticizing and satirizing a recently dead General- based on the Duke of Marlborough
Written in 1920’s – early Georgian times
The poem is an elegy – a written tribute to someone. These were popular at the time. Obviously, swift is subverting the elegy genre by saying the opposite of what would normally be said about someone so recently deceased would have been viewed as controversial at the time
The poem is criticizing/ satirizing the Duke of Marlborough (John Churchill) who had recently died . By the time of his death, he was hugely unpopular. He was perceived to have profited from English involvement in wars and to have caused many needless deaths – hence the reference to widows and orphans
The poemrefers to the “Final trump”- this is a reference to the bible- the idea that a trumpet would sound before it was announced whether a recently deceased person would go to heaven or hell
Towards the end of the poem, the focus shifts to other powerful leaders of the time- suggesting that if they are not careful, they too could suffer a similar fate to the Duke- despised after death
London
Written in 1794- during the reign of George III- Georgian times. Taken from Blake’s songs of experience- these poems were darker in tone than his songs of innocence published five years previously
Five years earlier, the French revolution occurred- the line “Runs in blood down palace walls” is a reference to this.
From the 1760’s onwards, the industrial revolution was taking place. This saw great numbers of people working long hours. Blake is criticizing the effects of the industrial revolution and wanted to return to a simpler way of life
He saw the government as being to restrictive- see the reference to “the chartered Thames”
Child labor was becoming increasingly common at this time
The church at this time was expected to protect the poor, but Blake suggests here that they are failing to do this
Prostitution was becoming common- young women were often involved
Britain was becoming involved in many foreign wars at this time- arguably unnecessarily”
* Forced marriages
The school boy
- The poem features many references to nature
- Blake was part of the romantic movement- these poets liked to describe the power and beauty of nature
- Romantic poets were often critical of authority as seen here
- Blake left school aged ten and was educated by his mother from that point on
At this time child labour was a big issue
Blake campaigned against it - Written in Georgian times
- School in this poem: Constricting, limiting, stifling, oppressive, straining, tedious, restrictive.
Composed upon westminster bridge
Written in 1802- Georgian times
Wordsworth is a romantic poet and his poems generally focus on the beauty of nature. This poem is unusual in the way it focuses on a large city and praises it’s beauty- it goes against the expectations for a typical romantic poem
Wordsworth wrote the poem when travelling across Westminster Bridge early one summer’s morning. He was so impressed by the view from the bridge that he asked his carriage driver to stop, climbed on top of the carriage and composed the poem
Significantly, the poem is set early in the morning before the factories opened. Therefore, there is no reference to pollution or overcrowding etc- these had become characteristic’s of London since the onset of the industrial revolution in the 1760’s
At this time London was developing as a powerful, world-famous city. Wordsworth is celebrating it’s magnificence
She walks in beauty
- Written in 1813- Georgian times
- Byron was known for his hedonistic lifestyle- he had many relationships with women. This poem, however, reveals *Byron’s more sensitive side
- He wrote this poem after seeing a beautiful woman at a party he attended- the poem is a tribute to her
- Byron was one of the key Romantic poets. These poets tended to praise the power and beauty of the natural world- we see a number of references to nature in this poem
England in 1819
- Written in 1819 (Late Georgian era) and reflecting the problems in society at that time. *There was high unemployment
- George III had been king for a very long time by this stage. He was very unpopular by now and had gone insane- he is the “old, mad, blind, etc king” referred to at the start
- George III son- the Prince Regent had taken charge with his father no longer able to carry out his duties. *The Prince Regent was viewed as immature and incompetent- he is referred to in the opening lines
- In August 1918 the Peterloo massacre occurred at St Peter’s Field in Manchester. Many people were killed by government soldiers after protesting about the government. This is referred to in the poem
- The prime minister of Great Britain at this time was the second earl of Liverpool. Again, he comes under criticism in this poem
- Shelley was often critical of the church which he saw as hypocritical and ineffective
- expelled from Oxford for promoting atheism
My last duchess
- This poem was written in the mid 1800’s- Victorian times
Like many or *Browning’s poems, this is a dramatic monologue: the speaker gives a long account of something and we only hear their side of the story. The narrator is often unreliable and/ or deluded – as we see here - The poem is based on a true story from the renaissance period. It concerns the Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara, whose young wife Lucrezia died in suspicious circumstances in 1561
- Although set in the renaissance times, the poem reflects the patriarchal attitudes of Victorian society: men had all the power in relationships and women were expected to be obedient and submissive
