Poem Overviews

Question 1

The City Planners

Answer 1

• The Characterlessness nature of modern development
• Any imperfections, or remaining natures are hidden under a facade
• Contrast between the planners Certainty and yet their clear ignorance

Question 2

The Planners

Answer 2

• An expression of frustration at the seemingly relentless modernisation of our Landscapes
• Coming at the expense of History, Culture, Nature, etc.

Question 3

The man with night sweats

Answer 3

• The breakdown of the narrator’s relationship with his body, something he did trust but is now a vessel for pain
• Contrast between pleasure and freedom, and their risks
• Certainty of pain and a sense of resigned futility in the face of an uncurable disease

Question 4

Rain

Answer 4

• An isolated, un-named speaker watches rain falling as they prepare for war, reflecting on their own morality
• The all encompassing, inescapable, bleak reality of war
• A war which has distanced him from his past life and left him on the brink of wishing for death

Question 5

From Long Distance

Answer 5

• The irrationality of grief and the idea that this irrationality is acceptable and often helpful
• Trying to find solace and comfort in the familiar routine they’re accustomed to
• The deep connections we make with the people in our lives

Question 6

He never expected much

Answer 6

• Human powerlessness and our inability to influence our fate, it is futile to expect too much as a result
• The realism and pessimism of his outlook on life, a repression and stoicism being celebrated here
• A nihilistic sense of no greater power or god, and an irony at the start where the world keeps faith with him rather than the other way around.

Question 7

The Telephone Call

Answer 7

• A comment on the materialistic, money-driven nature of modern society and the emptiness of our interactions with big corps
• Emphasises our powerlessness in the face of being manipulate in the context of modern society
• The idea of experiences as being more valid than wealth

Question 8

Ozymandias

Answer 8

• A comment on the transient nature of human power and/or life
• A comment on the Hubris of political leaders who believe they are all powerful
• Timeless power of Art