Ozymandias Flashcards
Key quotes for Ozymandias
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings”
- command and arrogance
“Look on my works ye Mighty and despair!”
- capitalisation, ironic
“The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed”
-emotive language,
“Round the decay Of that colossal wreck”
- ironic
Context of Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Written under the reign of King George 3rd
Poet hated the oppressive monarchial government
blaming the monarchy
Themes:
Pride, arrogance, power
London key quotes
“near where the chartered Thames does flow”
- suggests nature is controlled by man
“The mind-forged manacles. Hear:”
- alliteration shows the ongoing suffering
- metaphor compares Londoners to slaves
“Every black’ning church appalls”
- juxtaposes the bells of the church being happy
- challenges religion/faith
“Runs in blood down palace walls”
- metaphor sacrifice to protect
- link to the French Revolution, could blame the Monarchy
London Context
William Blake
Saw London as corrupted by greed and unfairness
Anti-monarchy
During the French Revolution
AND the industrial revolution
Themes
Lack of power
Abuse of power
Extract from The Prelude key quotes
“One summer evening (led by her)”
- nature is personified and is in control
“When from behind that craggy steep, a huge peak, black and huge”
- Volta (tuning point) of the poem
- monosyllabic
-repetition shows the fear
“Upreared its head”
- personification
- animalistic, shows nature trying to defend itself
“But huge and mighty forms, that do not live like living men”
- alliteration
- simile
- nature has an influence on our lives
Extract from The Prelude Context
William Wordsworth
Romantic poet
Loved nature
Disliked the industrial revolution
My Last Duchess quotes
“I gave commands; then all smiles stopped”
- abuse of power, hints at the murder of the duchess
“None puts by. The curtain i have drawn for you but i”
- he controls who sees the painting
- ironic as he couldn’t control the duchess
“She looked on, and her looks went everywhere”
- jealousy
- lack of control
- ironic as he is the duke but cannot control the Duchess
My Last Duchess context
Poem is based on historical events Duke Alfonso’s wife died under mysterious circumstances
The renaissance had a sinister side, powerful people could pay assassins
The Italian Renaissance
The Charge of The Light Brigade quotes
“All in the valley of Death”
- biblical allusion to hell, they are going to die
“Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs is to do and die”
- abuse of power soldiers are powerless
- objectifies them as a symbol
- tone becomes solemn
“Into the mouth of Hell”
- biblical imagery
“Horse and hero fell”
- admiration
- it was not their fault
- sadness
“When can their glory fade?”
- rhetorical question challenges the reader
- was it their fault?
The Charge Of the Light Brigade context
Britain was in the Crimean War
Cavalry were sent as backup for the soldiers on the ground
Form - regular rhythm echoes the horses and fast pace
Repetition - impressing doom, all men were involved
Exposure quotes
“But nothing happens”
- repeated constantly
- emphasises no one is helping them
“What are we doing here?”
- question the reader
- what is the point of war?
“The doors are closed”
- the men are shut away from home
- no one cares about them
“All their eyes are ice”
- metaphor
- they feel dead with cold
- dumb to suffering
“We turn back to our dying
- ironic statement
- emotional
Exposure context
Wilfred Owen
He was a soldier in WW1
Showed the reality of war
The conditions of war can be worse than fighting
Based on a true event?
Storm on the Island quotes
“We are prepared”
- strong first statement
- shows sudden preparation
“But there are no trees, no natural shelter”
- emphasis on “no’
- not even nature can save them
- nature is powerless here
“Spits like a tame cat”
- things that were safe before are untrustworthy
- simile
- cats can turn from cute to dangerous quickly
“Forgetting that it pummels your house too”
- it affects everyone
- no one can escape the storm
EXTENDED METAPHOR
Storm on the Island context
Seamus Heaney
Irish poet
Based on the Irish troubles
Catholics vs the Protestants
STORMONT - name of the government buildings of Northern Ireland in Belfast
Bayonet Charge Quotes
“Suddenly he awoke”
- sudden start
- the soldier was safe before but is now running for his life
- war is sudden
“The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye”
- ironic as men are supposed to not cry
- suggests the patriarchy is dumb
“King, honour, human dignity etcetera dropped like luxuries”
- juxtaposition
- all these reasons are not enough for war
- dismissive tone
