English Poem Techniques Flashcards
Remains language (4)
Imagery
“ legs it up the road” colloguial language
“ hes here in my head when Inclose my eye/ dug in behind enemy lines” metaphor: war in his head, PTSD is entrenched
“ his bloody life in my bloody hands “ guilt
Remains structure (5)
Monologue
Flashback
First 4 stanzas set in Iraq, last 3 at home, shows aftermath
Enjambement: conversational tone, fast pace
Repetition “ probably armed possibly not “: guilt
Exposure language (6)
” brains ache “ suffering physically and mentally
Semantic field of weather ( enemy )
“ iced east winds knive us… “: personification, sibilance, ellipsis ( never ending )
Repetition of “ we “ “our”, collective suffering
“ tugging on the wire “ personification
Exposure structure (4)
Contrast of cold,warm,cold imagery, hypothermic soldier
Repetition of “ nothing happens “ never ending suffering
Rhyme scheme ABBA and hexameter gives poem sense of monotony
Pararhymes (half rhymes ) barely hold poem together, like the men
Poppies language (4)
Contrasting semantic fields of home/ childhood “ cat hairs, bedroom “with war/ injury “ blockade, bandaged “
Imagery through sounds “ my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt “ pain and inability to speak
“ hoping to hear playground voice catching on the wind “ longs for dead son
“ I was brave, as I walked you to the front door “ shows different bravery in conflict
Poppies structure (6)
Elegy, poem of mourning Strong sense of form despite free verse No ryhme scheme Enjambement Lots of caesuras - trying to hold it together , can't speak fluently Lots of time shifts
Charge of the light brigade language ( 4)
Biblical imagery
“ jaws of death, mouth of hell “ animalistic
“Honour light brigade, noble 600” glorifies soldiers
“Shot and shell” sibilance, whooshing sounds of battle
Charge of the light brigade structure (3)
Dactylic dimeter: horses galloping
1st stanza tightly structured, last stanza awkwardly structured mimicking chaos
Balld: poem to remember historical events
Only dialogue is the general who “ blundered “
Bayonet charge language (4)
” patriotic tear”, “sweating like molten iron “: sense of duty has turned in fear and pain
“ cold clockwork of stars and nations “ soldiers part of uncaring machine of war
“ his foot hung like statuary midstride” frozen with fear
“Yellow hare rolled like a flame “ impact of war on nature, hare echoes soldiers
Bayonet charge structure (4)
In media res: shock and pace
Enjambement maintains the momentum of the charge
Time stands still in second stanza: bewilderment
Contrasts soldiers mind to imagery of the battle
War photographer language (4)
” he has a job to do “ like soldier, photographer has a sense of duty to let the world know what is happening
“Running like children in nightmare heat “ emotive imagery, conotes hell
“ blood stained into foreign dust “ lasting impact of war - empathy for the person
Compared to “ priest “ shows monotony in a chaotic war ( desensitized )
“ ordered rows “ coping mechanism
“ rural england “ described by it not being a warzone
War photographer structure (4)
Enjamement: world is out of order
Specific stanzas he is trying to bring order to a chaotic world but “ they don’t care “
Contrast: imagery of rural england and warzone, england is defined as not being a warzone
Third stanza: “ something is happening “ specific memory appears before him “ ghost “
Cyclical structure: “ the aeroplane “
Emigree language (5)
“I left it as a child” ambiguous –either she left when she was a child or the city was a child
“I am branded by an impression of sunlight”: imagery of light - it will stay with her forever. Hope
City personified “I comb its hair” loves city like a child
“My city hides behind me”: it is vulnerable although she had to flee
Semantic field of conflict: “Tyrant, tanks, frontiers”
Emigree structure (4)
First person
Last line of each stanza is same “ sunlight “ overiddinf positivity “ sunlight clear “
First 2 stanzas have lots of enjamement conveys freedom
Final stanza has lots of full stops: she is trapped “ city of walls “
Ends with “ sunlight “ which suggests hope
Ozymandias lanuage (3)
” sneer of cold demand “ sculptor recognises the arroagance of the king
“ look on my works, ye mighty, and despair “ imperative, stressed syllable, commanding tone
“ lone and level sands stretch far away “ desert is vast and lasts far longer than a statue
Ozymandias structure (3)
Unconventionally structured sonnet - more ahis love for himself and power rather than someone else
Iambic pentameter disrupted this reflects hiw human structures can be destroyed
Final 2 lines huge desert described to emphasise insignificance of human power
Ozymandias’ voice has to be read out which contradicts that dialogue presents power
My last duchess language (5)
“Looking as if she was alive “ sinister tone
“ she liked whate’er/ her looks went everywhere “ she took undescriminated likings to his gifts and a bow of cherries
“ my gift of a nine hundred year old name “ she was beneath him in status
“ i gave commands; then all smiles stopped together “ euphemism for wifes murder
“ notice neptune, though “ points out othee painting, also about control - he has a taste in objects because he can control them
“ will’t please you rise “ control - imperative masked with interrogative
“ stoop “ repeated suggests he felt above her
My last duchess structure (6)
Dramatic monologue
Iambic pentameter
It is a conversation but only he speaks
Enjambement, he gets carried away with his anger
Heavy use of caesura , stuttering effect shows frustration, controls the punctuation shows he can manipulate the dramatic monologue ( control )
Dramatic irony
Sinister tone set which is masked by casual tone of the Duke - he feels that nothing was wrong to kill his wife
Tissues language (3)
Semantic field of light “ paper lets light shine through”
Light represents hope - more paper seperates and reduces hope for future
Gentle verbs “ pages smoothed and stroked and turned “
“ fine slips…might fly our lives like paper kites” simile: we allow ourselves ro be controlled by paper - maps seperate us
“ turned into your skin “ people make the world
Tissues structure (4)
The short stanzas create many layers, which is a key theme of the poem - many people make up the world - buildings blue prints
The lack of rhythm or rhyme creates an effect of freedom
All stanzas have four lines, except the final stanza which has one line “turned into your skin”: this line
Enjambment between lines and stanzas creates an effect of freedom and flowing movement
The prelude language (4)
“Led by her “ nature personified
“ an act of stealth and trouble pleasure “: confident, oxymoron suggests he knows it’s wrong
“ huge peak, black and huge “ shocking image of mountain
“ measured motion” personified, like a living thing
The prelude structure (4)
First person
Regular rhythm, enjambement add to natural speech and personal voice
Contrast in tone after volta
Storm on the island language (
Violent verbs describe the storm “ pummels, explodinf, spits”
Semantic field of war
“Exploding comfortably” oxymoron
Wind is a fighter plane “ dives, strafes “
Storm on the island structure (4)
Blank verse, lots of enjambement create conversational tone
“ we “ sense of community
Volta “ but no.” Caesura reflects final calm before the storm
