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Poetry Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Manhunt Quotes:

A

“the frozen river which ran through his face”
“damaged, porcelian collarbone”
“parachute silk”
“foetus of metal beneath his chest”
“unexploded mine”
“then, and only then, did i come close”

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2
Q

Manhunt quote analysis

A

Body broken down into separate objects suggests war dehumanises people

“frozen river” - On physical level, adjective “frozen” emphasises permanent physical scarring on man’s face; reflects brutality of war and permanent impact.
The metaphor of a ‘frozen river’ could signify psychological trauma as scar goes ‘through his face’; Eddie has traumatic memories that haunt him.

Images of delicate materials “porcelain” and “silk” suggest beauty and vulnerability. “porcelain” - Fragile and delicate - need to be handled with care

“foetus” - emphasises experiences apart of him, being injured is as life-changing as becoming parent
Pain still growing mentally and physically
Juxtaposition: foetus connotes new life, birth and happiness - in reality growing in him is pain and trauma. Ironic as foetus is start of life and affects parent’s life positively. However, bullet can kill, spell end of life.

“unexploded mine” suggests potential to still explode or permanent damage

“only then did i come close” suggests it is journey through pain and healing and their reconciliation as a couple. Search not successful as only comes close as realisation husbands problems lie as much in memories than physical scars

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3
Q

Manhunt context

A

peace-keeper in Bosnia - discharged to injury and depression
about Eddie and Laura Beddoes
PTSD from war

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4
Q

Manhunt form/ structure

A

couplet - long stanzas
couplets rhyme at start but breaks down making poem feel disjointed conveys theme of brokenness

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5
Q

Manhunt themes

A

war and lasting effects
suffering - mental + physical

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6
Q

The Manhunt Title

A

suggests a chase or searching for something or that he is lost
organised search for criminal
In this case, wife’s search for for the man she knew and her relentless, yet tender, exploration of his inner trauma that leads to an understanding of him

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7
Q

Sonnet 43 quotes

A

“depth and breadth and height/My soul can reach”
“i love thee freely, as men strive for Right”
“i shall but love thee better after death”

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8
Q

Sonnet 43 quote analysis

A

“depth” - love is immeasurable and infinite
weighty concepts, suggests love is comprehensive and allows her to reach impossible extremes
Adverb ‘freely’ could suggest no one is influencing way she feels about him
Phrase ‘ Strive for Right’ could imply she is willing to ‘fight’ for their love.
“death” - her love is eternal - even death will not part them and a level of commitment she is willing to promise

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9
Q

Sonnet 43 context

A

autobiographical
brother drowned at young age so father very over-protective
eloped with Robert Browing showing how important love was to her

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10
Q

Sonnet 43 form/structure

A

Petrarchan sonnet
written in iambic pentameter with strong specific rhyme scheme conveying sense of certainty about her love
enjambment reflects magnitude of her love and its expansive nature

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11
Q

Sonnet 43 themes

A

deep lasting love
hope beyond death

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12
Q

London Quotes:

A

“marks of weakness, marks of woe”
“in every infants cry of fear”
“the mind-forg’d manacles i hear”
“and blights with plagues the marriages hearse”

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13
Q

London context

A

time of industrial revolution
thought to be autobiographical

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14
Q

London form/structure

A

dramatic monologue
first person
enjambement to show how everyone is linked by misery
repetition to emphasise no one unaffected

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15
Q

The Soldier Quotes:

A

“If I should die”
“richer dust”
“a pulse in the eternal mind”
“hearts at peace, under an English heaven”

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16
Q

The Soldier quote analysis

A

“If I should die” suggests an acceptance of death and modal verb “should” indicates a willingness to die for his country.

“richer dust” suggests remains of his body are superior to ground he lies in because he is English not foreign.

“A pulse in the eternal mind” suggests his presence in soil of foreign land will always live on making him immortal.

“under an English heaven” shows his pride in England as he is suggesting England is almost like paradise and to die in England’s name would bring him “peace”

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17
Q

The Soldier form/structure

A

sonnet - expresses love and devotion for country
clear rhyme scheme demonstrates persona’s commitment to England

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18
Q

The Soldier Context

A

Wrote idealistically about war. Had not seen action as died of blood poisoning from mosquito bite while on ship to war

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19
Q

The Soldier Title

A

suggests an anonymous person, reflecting how many soldiers died during WWI - universal experience
definite article “the” stresses the central importance of the average soldier in war and is used to inspire personal patriotism

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20
Q

The Soldier themes

A

deep and lasting love
faith, belief, and worship
attitudes to war and patriotism

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21
Q

She Walks in Beauty Quotes

A

“She walks in beauty, like the night”
“all thats best of dark and bright”
“A heart whose love is innocent”

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22
Q

She Walks in Beauty quote analysis

A

“like the night” breaks ordinary conventions of romantic poetry by emphasising how attractive her darkness is

contrast “dark and bright” throughout poem suggests both ‘dark’ and bright’ come together to create perfection and balance

“love” only mentioned in last line, suggest physical attraction or by writing poem in order to show process of falling in ‘love’ with someone and realises at end he does

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23
Q

She Walks in Beauty form/structure

A

lyrical in tone and nature, focusing on abstract ideas of beauty and innocence
each stanza one sentence giving sense of fluidity and reflecting her effortless grace, poise and elegance

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24
Q

She Walks in Beauty context

A

English Romantic
Said to be inspired by the wife of Byron’s first cousin - saw her at party and struck by beauty - appreciated beauty and to him she epitomises aesthetic beauty

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25
Q

She Walks in Beauty Title

A

celebrates female beauty, a portrait of a woman through someone else’s eyes
pronoun ‘she’ suggests air of mystery around woman because he doesn’t know her
main character nameless and therefore could argue she is objectified and subject to male view rather than being a real presentation of woman

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26
Q

She Walks in Beauty themes

A

love
faith and worship
beauty and goodness

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27
Q

Living Space Quotes

A

“nails clutch at open seams”
“eggs in a wire basket”
“the bright, thin walls of faith”

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28
Q

Living Space quote analysis

A

“nails clutch” could be a metaphor for how the people in slums ‘clutch’ for opportunities to raise their social status

“eggs”could convey vulnerability and fragility of their living area but also suggest new life and optimism
“wire basket” could imply metaphorical prison people in

adjective “bright” suggest hope and happiness people create in slums despite circumstances
adjective “thin” represent fragility and vulnerability of their society
metaphor of “walls” imply their optimism protects them from harsh reality of their lives
ends poem positively with hope, implying does not matter if rich or poor as nobody can take away your beliefs

29
Q

Living Space form/structure

A

irregular form using stanzas and lines of different lengths, mirroring random construction and chaos of the building and precarious nature of life
no rhyme reflecting disorder od space described

30
Q

Living Space context

A

born in Pakistan and now lives in Britain and India
poetry often explores life in India and difficult conditions in which the poorest live

31
Q

Living Space title

A

ironic as little “living space” in slums
suggests how other people view it as just a ‘living space’ and not a home
“living” as adjective, makes you begin to understand that this tiny space, where life shouldn’t exist, is alive with life and faith

32
Q

Living Space themes

A

sense of place
faith, belief, worship
innocence and goodness vs danger and darkness

33
Q

As Imperceptibly as Grief quotes

A

“As twilight long begun”
“The dusk drew earlier in -/The morning foreign shone”
“Our Summer made her light escape./Into the Beautiful”

34
Q

As imperceptibly as Grief quote analysis

A

image “twilight” suggest speaker trapped between dark/depressed and light/happiness
‘long ago’ shows melancholic tone of darkness taking over happiness
“dusk” suggests speaker feels darkness drawing closer and light (happiness) growing shorter each day
‘dusk’ coming earlier each day suggesting light leaving her life
“light” suggest speaker has finally accepted time passes and they have to face death
poem ends positively with word “beautiful” could imply she is now ready to move on to heaven

35
Q

As imperceptibly as Grief form/structure

A

one stanza, one sentence
lines short and frequently connected by hyphens creating pauses and giving poem a tone of melancholy reflection

36
Q

As imperceptibly as Grief context

A

Was a recluse so didn’t leave hose often
before she wrote poem, several family members had died

37
Q

As imperceptibly as Grief title

A

“imperceptibly” could suggest no-one notices speaker’s pain and grief because happened so gradually/ loss of summer goes unnoticed
“grief” suggests pain is unbearable and overwhelming. Grief is seen to be life-changing

38
Q

Cozy Apologia quotes

A

“I could pick anything and think of you”
“dappled mare” “silver stirrups” “chain mail glinting”
“thin as liquorice and as chewy”
“I fill this stolen time with you”

39
Q

Cozy Apologia quote analysis

A

“i could..” first person, suggests is autobiographical, “anything” suggests everything in her life has memories of being with her husband
“dappled mare”… stereotypical images of chivalry used in quick succession - dreamy tone but humorous , cliched image of knight in shinning armour
“thin as…” light-hearted extended metaphor shows relationships with these “worthless boys” lacked substances
“i fill..” suggests their relationship is happy and appreciated and tone is reflective and thoughtful - being content is better than great romance

40
Q

Cozy Apologia form/structure

A

first stanza:
uses cliched image of knight in shinning armour,
rhyming couplets - conforms traditional presentation of their love and intimacy
second stanza:
reminisces of childhood crushes
rhyme scheme disrupted when thinking of past relationships she regrets
third stanza: ends with how happy she is with her everyday ordinary
back to ABAB rhyme scheme as domestic harmony restores

41
Q

Cozy Apologia context

A

seems to be autobiographical, affectionate tribute to husband

42
Q

Cozy Apologia title

A

defend her relationship because others might view as ‘boring’ and ‘uneventful’ but to her, it’s special and worth protecting. Fred is Doves husband

43
Q

Valentine quotes

A

“it is a moon wrapped in brown paper”
“it will blind you with tears”
“its fierce kiss will stay on your lips”
“cling to your fingers, / cling to your knife”

44
Q

Valentine quote analysis

A

moon is traditional symbol of love and fertility, brown paper emphasises onion is plain, unsentimental gift - extended metaphor used to represent love, speaker sees onion as honest symbol - symbolises joy and intimacy of love but also pain
“blind with tears”: “it” unclear whether onion or love itself, onion symbolises way love can cause pain “blind” is strongly negative, unlike traditional valentines day messages
“fierce kiss” love described in physical terms. Also suggestion that it can be dangerous an possessive
“cling to” repetition on two separate lines emphasises the inescapability of its “scent”, shows love can be possessive and suffocating - love has power to wound

45
Q

Valentine form/structure

A

deliberate rejection of traditional love poetry forms such as sonnet
stanzas irregular length, some one line
lacks rhyme and rhythm and feels disjointed
words and ideas built up and repeated throughout which could mirror different layers of onion, as poem’s meaning revealed gradually

46
Q

Valentine context

A

response to radio presenter who asked her to write an original poem for Valentines day
contemporary poet making a statement about modern culture
Duffy likes to break conventions, criticises societies materialistic views

47
Q

Valentine title

A

title suggests poem will be simple expression of love, however just like an onion, many different layers to poem. surprising the reader

48
Q

A Wife in London quotes

A

“she sits in the tawny vapour”
“the street lamp glimmers cold”
“He - has fallen - in the far South Land…”
“His hand, whom the worm now knows”

49
Q

A Wife in London quote analysis

A

“tawny vapour” wife presented as alone, against the backdrop of a bleak city - fog yellow and thick, eerie scene and sense of foreboding, ominous language - highlights tragedy about to happen - whole world covered in gloom
“street lamp” no comfort or warmth in street light - adds to anticipation of bad news
“fallen” dashes mimic style of telegram and create pauses, as if the news doesn’t sink in, euphemism “fallen” rather than died-maybe trying to divert horror
“hand” morbid play on words, husband’s handwriting and his hand, vivid image highlights death and physical decay

50
Q

A Wife in London form/structure

A

two parts each with own title - create anticipation and factual descriptions add to speaker’s detached tone
speaker in poem is observer who watches in a detached manner contributing to helpless and melancholy tone

51
Q

A Wife in London context

A

Speaking about Boer War - many thought it was unnecessary and wasteful of life

52
Q

A Wife in London title

A

‘a’ wife reflects the tragedy of how many lives lost at war, could be any wife in London at the time
emphasises universality of this experience for women, who were alone and separated from husbands thousands of miles away

53
Q

Death of a Naturalist quotes

A

“bubbles gargled delicately”
“warm thick slobber” “daddy frog” “mammy frog”
“poised like mud grenades”
“If i dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it”

54
Q

Death of a Naturalist quote anlayis

A

“bubble” oxymoron shows childish enjoyment of something disgusting, adverb ‘delicately’ strange to use to describe this disgusting scene. Shows speaker appreciation for the flax-dam
“slobber” childlike language show narrator slipping into their childhood self
“mud grenades” simile suggests the frogs are about to explode - shows how terrifying the speaker found them also suggests war between speaker in the poem
“spawn” verb “clutch” suggests he is now afraid and scared of frogs. Believes he will not be able to escape from the knowledge of how he views the ‘angry’ frogs’ - metaphor for loss of innocence

55
Q

Death of a Naturalist form/structure

A

first-person narrator reflecting on their childhood
blank verse makes poem sound conversational
lack of rhyme scheme may suggest change not always predictable
two stanzas, each with different attitude towards nature, first stanza focuses mainly on personas childish wonderment, while nature presented as unfamiliar and threatening in second stanza

56
Q

Death of a Naturalist context

A

Four year old brother died in car accident when Heaney was young boy, death affected him badly and many poems about loss of innocence
Grew up on farm, many poems reflect upbringing

57
Q

Death of a Naturalist title

A

‘death’ suggests metaphorical death of the speaker’s innocence. Could also represent that it is lost forever and they cannot get it back
the ‘naturalist’ is the innocent natural child who blithely collects frogspawn, innocence dies as matures into adolescence and is replaced by tainted experience

58
Q

Death of a Naturalist themes

A

loss of innocence
passing of time

59
Q

Hawk Roosting quotes

A

“in sleep rehearse perfect kills”
“I sit in the top of the wood”
“I kill where I please because it is all mine”
“My manners are tearing off heads”
“I am going to keep things like this”

60
Q

Hawk Roosting quote analysis

A

“sleep” Violence emphasised as thinks of killing even when asleep
“top” physically up high - symbolises powerful position over the rest of nature
“I kill” shows arrogance - believes he can do whatever he wants, without boundaries due to power - presents to reader that power can corrupt a person - arrogance of power
“my manners” Oxymoron juxtaposes politeness with extreme violence to shock reader.
“I am” sense of certainty - hawk believed can keep whole world as it is. Ironic as reader knows it can’t control everything

61
Q

Hawk Roosting form

A

Dramatic monologue from hawk perspective
First person gives authority and commands poem without debate or interruption
framing device - poem begins and ends with “I” reflecting arrogance
no rhyme - harsh, blunt
stanza has four lines - decisive controlling nature of hawk

62
Q

Hawk Roosting structure

A

Begins with Hawk perched high in tree, untroubled and considering position in hierarchy. Relaxed and sure of its position as rehearse…
Supremely confident and asserts that rights are beyond debate
Ends on assured statement and complete future control

63
Q

Hawk Roosting context

A

Wrote many poems about natural world
Hughes said poem wasn’t about cruelty (many thought human allegory) just wanted to show Hawks natural way of thinking

64
Q

Hawk Roosting title

A

Image of Hawk suggest power. Word “Roosting” implies that Hawk feels at home and comfortable in perch
Suggests still, and not swooping bird of prey, gives sense Hawk is meditating in powers of destruction

65
Q

Prelude quotes

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66
Q

Prelude quote anlaysis

A
67
Q

Prelude form/structure

A
68
Q

Prelude context

A
69
Q

Prelude title

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English (16 decks)

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