Poems Flashcards
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : CONTEXT
Based on event from the Old Testament
Assyrian army mysteriously defeated over night due to Gods protection
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : LANGUAGE QUOTE
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : LANGUAGE QUOTE ANALYSIS
‘THE’
The- definitive article
Suggest high importance and status
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : LANGUAGE QUOTE ANALYSIS
‘Came down’
Phrase suggest a sudden and violent attack
Reinforcing the power of the Assyrian army
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : LANGUAGE QUOTE ANALYSIS
‘The wolf’
Danger , aggression and predation
Merciless
Fighting is in their blood it’s natural instinct- powerful
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : LANGUAGE QUOTE ANALYSIS
‘On the fold’
Vulnerable defenceless group
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : FORM QUOTE
the tents were all silent, the banners alone/ the lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : FORM QUOTE ANALYSIS
AABB RYHME SCHEME
Organised and neat
Well planned and orchestrated attack- makes their downfall more tragic and unsuspected
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : FORM QUOTE ANALYSIS
ANAPESTIC TETRAMETER
Strong galloping rhythm
Fast paced rhythm , impending doom
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : STRUCTURE QUOTE
And their heart but once heaved, and for ever grew still
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : STRUCTURE QUOTE ANALYSIS
Caesura
The comma slows the pace, reflecting on the suddenness and finality of death
DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB : STRUCTURE QUOTE ANALYSIS
Contrast with earlier imagery
Walker the army was described with powerful energetic imagery
This calm lifeless line creates a stark contrast, from power and pride to silence and death ,underlining the divine power of God
EXPOSURE: CONTEXT
Written by Owen while serving in the army in World War One
EXPOSURE: LANGUAGE QUOTE
The merciless iced east winds that knife us
EXPOSURE: LANGUAGE QUOTE analysis
The merciless
Relentless, unforgiving
No compassion for soliders
EXPOSURE: LANGUAGE QUOTE ANALYSIS
Knife us
Painful , violent
Physical harm and vulnerability
EXPOSURE: LANGUAGE QUOTE ANALYSIS
East winds
East winds are Associated with harsh unpredictable weather
Represents enemies closing in
EXPOSURE: FORM QUOTE
“Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence.”
“Less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow,”
EXPOSURE: FORM ANALYSIS
Irregular ryhme and half ryhme
Unsettling
exhaustion and uncertainty
Half rhyme= waiting for something that never comes Just like the men wait for an end that never seems to come
EXPOSURE: FORM ANALYSIS
5 long lines 1 short line : Short simple sentence at the end of each stanza
“Is it that we are dying”
Unresolved , hopeless feeling at the end
EXPOSURE: LANGUAGE QUOTE
But nothing happens
EXPOSURE: LANGUAGE QUOTE ANALYSIS
Repitition
Futility and hopelessness
There’s no point to their suffering, this highlights the unsettling monotony of their exsistence
‘But’ dispute everything’s they’ve endured nothing will get them to safety in the end
BELFAST CONFETTI CONTEXT
Fictional bombing that happened during the period of conflict in Northern Ireland
Ciaran Carson narrowly missed death when he was shot at in a taxi
Divide between nationalists and loyalists
3000-400 people dead from riots
BELFAST CONFETTI STRUCTURE QUOTE
‘ It was raining exclamation marks/ Nuts, bolts , nails , car keys ‘
