England Flashcards
AOMBDADK
An old, mad, blind, despised and dying King
* scathing portrayal of King George III
* Blind = ignorance + deliberate inability to see the suffering of his ppl or partial physical deterioration of eyes
* hard + direct tone = outrage + frustration
* listing = relentless, overwhelming
* alliteration and dental sounds = biting, harsh, decisive feeling
* lack of conjunctions suggests impatience, perhaps suggesting that this corrupt monarchy will forever continue unless people actually fight against them
deeperlevel
* Shows shelleys radical political beliefs, dehumanises him, takes away his power and dignity - he turns him into a symbol of everything wrong with the government - smn who is corrup, weak and disconnected with the ppl
RWNSNFNK
Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know
* semantic field of numbness and blindness
* triadic list - emotionally disconnected - willfully blind or total disconnection from reality
* lack of empathy + apathy, unconcerned
interpretations
* simply unaware
* or willfully blind so that they can benefit themselves without any remorse of the state of the people
* repetition of nor - emphasises how much humanity they lack, aren’t worthy to be rulers + rythmic quality like a chant - reflect insistence - built sense of accusation - shifts more power to the people and Shelley
alt int
* or perhaps Shelly isnt describing specific ppl but attacking the entire idea of authoritarian rule - true leadershup = justice, empathy
BLTTFCC
But leachlike to their fainting country cling
* simile - leaches dran blood - highglights their greedy and exploitative nature instead of nourishing the country + draining the life and strength from a nation thats already weak “fainting”
* personification - reinforces the collective suffering, desperation, collapse, decline
* refers to Peterloo Massacre - peaceful protestors demanding reform were violenty attack by gov forces
* They have become dependant on country’s weakness to maintain power
* Purpose - to highlight parasitic natural of rulers, critise ruling class for their cruelty and indifference - urge reader for need for political change and end corrupt leadership
AGPMB,TIOTD
A glorious phantom may Burst, to illumine our tempestuous day
* Phantom connotes - unreal, illusory, imply that “glorious” vision of change or hope is fleeting
* “Phantom” - people place blind faith in external forces rather than taking control of their own fate - false hope
* “Phantom” - perhaps suggests that hope only exists in imagination rather than reality because Phantoms aren’t real and are intangible
* Message = hope without action is powerless
* “burst” - sudden, explosive emergence thats short-lived
* “illumine” - bring light, clarity
* “tempestuous” - political and social chaos in 1819
purpose
* critiques pasive hope
* warns unrealistic hope can lead to chaos - “burst” - destructive
* real change must come from ppl
RC
Religion Christless
* oxymoron - religion without christ - spiritually empty
* suggests Church which should be moral and compassioante is corrupt and complicity
* Shelley - church no longer representss true faith,doesnt protect the vulnerable
* Shelley highlighting disconnect between appearance and reality - church pretends to be righteous but supports injustice - expose hypocrisy
Rhyme scheme
unconventional rhyme scheme - sense of instability and chaos - reflecting stat eof england
