English: Power and Conflict Poetry Flashcards
“Shattered visage of lies”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Ozymandias
- Ruined statue is a metaphor for political power
- As the statue is “shattered”, so is Ozymandias’ power
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Ozymandias
- Repitition shows how Ozymandias wants to portray himself as omnipotent
- Suggests how he is trying to make himself appear like a God and wants to be worshipped as one
“Nothing besides remains. Round the decay
of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Ozymandias
- Juxtaposition between “colossal” and “wreck” emphasises contrast between his former power and his current state
- Caesura in “…remains. Round…” highlights how his power has come to an end.
- Harsh ‘b’ aliteration emphasises the reader’s distaste for him
“Sneer of cold command”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Ozymandias
- Harsh ‘c’ aliteration emphasises the reader’s distaste for him
“Marks of weakness, marks of woe”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
London
- Emotive language expresses Blake’s suffering and also his anger at the absence of any attempt to fix it
“In every cry of every man
In every infants cry of fear”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
London
- Emotive language expresses Blake’s suffering and the lack of help
- Repitition of “every” emphasises how the issue is widespread
“Every black’ning church appalls”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
London
- Colour imagery associated with ideas of corruption and even death
“Runs blood down palace walls”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
London
- Metaphor emphasising how the monarchy is living in luxury as the rest suffer
- Blood symbolises guilt
“We are prepared: we build our houses squat”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Storm on the Island
- Poem opens with a strong statement, emphasising the speaker’s confidence
- Caesura reinforces the speaker’s certainty
“Spits like a tame cat
Turned savage”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Storm on the Island
- Simile, emphasising how the storm is wild and uncontrollable
- Reminds the reader how something innocent could turn out to be deadly
“We are bombarded with empty air”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Storm on the Island
- Military metaphor, refers to how they feel like they’re being attacked
- “Bombarded” relates to air strikes
“Strange, its a huge nothing we fear”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Storm on the Island
- Juxtaposition highlights how strange the situation is. The storm is ultimately just air, which we cannot see or touch, which is frightening
“…But nothing happens”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Exposure
- Repitition gives the reader a sense of boredom caused by waiting
- Also hints at the pointlessness of war
“Our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knive us”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Exposure
- Personification makes the weather appear deadly. The weather is the real enemy of the soldiers
- Sibilance highlights intensity of the pain and the brutality of the weather.
“Less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Exposure
- Nature is described as more deadly and dangerous than bullets
- Contrasting images of “black” and “snow”, highlighting the horror of being exposed to these elements
- Also highlights how close to death the soldiers are
“Slowly, our ghosts drag home”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Exposure
- Metaphor suggests how war has sucked the life out of the soldiers and further reminds the reader that they are close to death
“All flesh is grass”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
War Photographer
- Metaphor highlights the widespread damage to human life due to war
- Biblical imagery, this is also a quote from the Bible which means that all life is temporary
“Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
War Photographer
- Metaphor which emphasises the speaker’s efforts to make sense of and order something so horrific
- Contrast between what the photographer tries to do and reality of conflict
“Running children in a nightmare heat”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
War Photographer
- Makes the reader understand the suffering caused by war to all people
- Refers to children to emphasise the loss of innocent in lives due to war
“A hundred agonies in black and white”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
War Photographer
- Makes the reader understand the pain and agony caused by war
“That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
My Last Dutchess
- Possessive pronoun “my” links to how the Duke felt that his wife was one of his possessions
“Since not puts by
The curtain I have drawn for you but I”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
My Last Dutchess
- Symbol of curtain suggests how the Dutchess was even controlled in her death
“This grew; I gave commands
Then all smiles stopped together”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
My Last Dutchess
- Implies the Duke had her killed
- Caesura and short phrases emphasises the swiftness, coldness and ruthlessness of her death
“Notice Neptune, though,
taming a seahorse”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
My Last Dutchess
- Use of boastful language to end the poem. Gives reader a lasting impression of the Duke’s poor treatment of his Dutchess.
“Troubled pleasure”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
The Prelude
- Contrasting ideas create a sense of anxiety
- Pleasure can come with feelings of guilt or discomfort
“A huge peak, black and huge”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
The Prelude
- Personification of nature as something terrifying
- “Black” associates with power and death
- This line breaks the iambic pentameter, showing how the overwhelming experience cannot be tamed
“There hung a darkness”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
The Prelude
- Dark colour imagery highlighting the haunting effect on the speaker
- “Hung” indicates how the speaker is unable to get rid of these feelings
“…And were a trouble to my dreams”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
The Prelude
- Vague language to describe how the experience was indescribable.
- The narrator is confused and unsettled
“Into the valley of Death”
“Into the jaws of Death”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Charge of the Light Brigade
- Metaphor and personification for horror and danger in the current situation.
- Also highlights the brutal end awaiting the men
“Cannon to the right of them
Cannon to the left of them”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Charge of the Light Brigade
- Repitition highlights the ongoing violence
- Also emphasises the helplessness of the soldiers in the midst of the battle
- Suggests how their fate is inescapable
“Where can their glory fade?”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Charge of the Light Brigade
- Rhetorical question which encourages the reader to honour the men that lost their lives
“Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade
Noble six hundred”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Charge of the Light Brigade
- Repitition of “honour” cements poet’s message that these men are worthy of admiration and respect
“Bullets smacking the belly out of the air”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Bayonet Charge
- Violent imagery, highlighting the inevitable danger on a battlefield
“He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Bayonet Charge
- Simile suggesting the uselessness of the rifle and how vulnerable he is
- Could also foreshadow injuries caused by war
“In what cold clockwork of the stars”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Bayonet Charge
- Harsh ‘c’ aliteration potentially highlighting the gruesome fate of the soldier and his helplessness
“The shot-slashed furrows
Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame…
Open silent, eyes standing out”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Bayonet Charge
- Gruesome image highlighting the brutality of war
“Steeled the softening of my face”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Poppies
- Juxtaposition highlighting the mother’s urge to put on a brave face in a tough moment
“The world overflowing like a treasure chest”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Poppies
- Simile and imagery for the opportunites and hopes for the boy
“Released a song bird from its cage”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Poppies
- Metaphor for how the mother can release her emotions after they had been trapped (crying)
“All the words, flattened and rolled, turned into felt, slowly melting, I was brave”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Poppies
- He is not responding the way she wants.
- Inside, she is devastated, outside, she is hiding her emotions
- Semantic field of textiles represents women
“Let the daylight break through capitals and monoliths”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Tissue
- Represents how government buildings are just temporary compared to nature
“The sun shines through the borderlines”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Tissue
- Borderlines are temporary, nature lasts forever and isn’t divided
- Could be related to God, not divided but unified
“The back of the Koran… names and histories”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Tissue
- Family identity is important, you must remember those who came before you, they affect how you should live your life
“Of paper smooth and stroked”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Tissue
- Sibilance makes the paper sound subtle and weak
- Fragility of society
“My city”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
The Emigree
- Use of possessive pronoun suggests the speaker’s deep admiration and pride in her city
“The bright filled paperweight”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
The Emigree
- Metaphor suggests the strength and solidity of the speaker’s positive memories
“The white streets”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
The Emigree
- Light colour imagery highlights how overwhelmingly positive the speaker’s memories are of the city
“I comb its hair and love its shining eyes”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
The Emigree
- Personification of the city as something the speaker dearly loves.
- Childish imagery, suggesting innocence and purity
“Her father embarked at sunrise”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Kamikaze
- Japan is known as ‘the land of the rising sun’, so could be a reference to the country’s heritage
- Symbol for hope
“One-way journey into history”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Kamikaze
- Metaphor indicating the significance of the act and the honour it could bring him
“Strung out like bunting”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Kamikaze
- Simile suggesting a celebratory image, which is ironic regarding what kamikaze pilots do
- Simile could symbolise the joy the pilot is leaving behind
“Green-blue translucent sea”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Kamikaze
- Natural imagery which highlights the beauty of Earth and what the pilot will leave behind.
- Helps the reader empathise with the pilot’s decision to turn back
“Bandage up me eye with my own history
Blind me to my own identity”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Checking out me History
- Metaphor for him not being able to learn or celebrate his history
- “Bandaged” and “blind” connotes to violence and restriction
- Plosive ‘b’ aliteration highlights how the speaker feels this is unjust
“Of mountain dream
fire woman struggle
hopeful stream
to freedom river”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Checking out me History
- Natural imagery used to describe Nanny de Maroon conveys his deep respect for her
“A healing star
among the wounded
a yellow sunrise”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Checking out me History
- Mary Seacole is associated with imagery relating to life and hope
“Dem tell me
Dem tell me
Wha dem want to tell me”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Checking out me History
- Repitition of “dem” suggests the disrespect by those who only speak of white history
- “Dem” builds up an angry tone
“I swear I see every round as it rips through his life”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Remains
- Violent language of “rips” highlights brutality of the attack
- Present tense could suggest how the trauma constantly replays in his memories
“Tosses his guts back into his body”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Remains
- Gruesome imagery indicating the reality of such a violent job, and the lack of honour associated with it
“Possible armed, possible not”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Remains
- Uncertain language reminds the reader of the doubt that soldiers have to deal with
- Links to guilt as there is an indication that the man who was killed is innocent
“His bloody life in my bloody hands”
What poem is it from? Analysis?
Remains
- Repitition reinforces his sense of frustration
- Bloody imagery suggests the guilt which is on his hands, and he cannot dispose of it
- “Bloody” could be interpreted as an aggressive word to highlight his anger and regret
