Poetry Flashcards
Who wrote Ozymandias
Percy Shelley
How does Shelley distance himself from the subject of his poem
Uses a different speaker
“I met a traveller from an antique land…”
Who is Ozymandias about
Rameses II - but actually about current king, George III
“Whose frown and…
…wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command”
“On the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ “
How is irony shown in Ozymandias
“Nothing beside remains”
Human power and empire has been destroyed by time and nature
How is the king in Ozymandias presented as egotistical
“Despair” - tyrant who rules by fear
“King of kings” - connotations of God, he believes in his own ultimate power
“Round the decay…
…of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away”
How does Shelley present the power of art
“Its sculptor well those passions read”
Praises skill of the artist who made the statue - art is powerful and lasts throughout time (fits with ideas of romantic era)
How does Shelley present the power of nature in Ozymandias
Nature ultimately powerful over humans
Nature has become the next tyrant - the statue is “half sunk” as though in a burial and the “boundless” sand stretches “far away” like it has conquered the land
Ozymandias is an example of ekphrasis, what is this?
Written description of visual art
What meter is Ozymandias written in
Iambic pentameter
How does Shelley use alliteration to mirror how the sand has taken over the statue
“Half sunk, a shattered visage lies” - sibilance reflects the sound of sand
What does sand symbolise in Ozymandias
Power of nature and time itself
What does the statue symbolise in Ozymandias
The might of human power
The fragility of human power
The power of art
How does Shelley use enjambment
To mirror the sand stretching away into the desert
What form is Ozymandias written in and why is this significant
Sonnet- normally associated with love which shows his love of himself
Significance of Ozymandias’s rhyme scheme
Shelley deliberately breaks the rhyme scheme multiple times which reflects the way nature and time have broken Ozymandias’ statue and empire
Who wrote London
William Blake
What meter is London written in and what is its significance
Iambic tetrameter (8 syllables per line)
Mirrors the way he is walking
“Marks of…
…weakness, marks of woe”
“Mind-forged…
…manacles”
Significance of “chartered” in London
Mapped - implies constraint or lack of freedom
Significance of “mind-forged manacles”
Minds with no imagination or freedom - people trapped in their own minds
Repetition of “every” in London
Emphasises his message and creates a monotonous rhythm implying sense of tiredness or lethargy
“The chimney-sweeper’s…
…cry every black’ning church appalls”
Link between “black’ning church” and “chimney-sweeper’s cry”
Chimney sweepers were children and church was supposed to be responsible for poor children
Significance of “black’ning church”
Physical blackening of children covered in soot
Their symbolic blackening as being drawn closer to death
Blackening of the church as it becomes more evil for not doing its duty
What institutions does Blake criticise
Church and monarchy
“The hapless…
…soldier’s sigh runs in blood down palace walls”
“The youthful…
…harlot’s curse blasts the newborn infant’s tear, and blights with plagues the marriage hearse”
What were Blake’s religious beliefs
He was very spiritual - believed in God and had visions of angels
Disliked organised religion
Significance of “chartered Thames”
Even natural features like rivers have had their course mapped out for them - no freedom
What is the significance of referencing young people, children and babies in London
Joy of new life has become an initiation into poverty and hopelessness
Cyclical nature of London’s poverty
People don’t have the freedom to escape the oppression urban setting
What does London say about the corruption of childhood and how does this link to Blake’s beliefs / ideas
Blake believed everyone is born with what they need for a good, happy life but the adult world corrupts this
Songs of Innocence and Experience
The children are miserable since birth and many are chimney sweepers - what should be happy childhood has been destroyed
How does Blake use alliteration to show how institutions are directly responsible for people’s suffering
Chimney sweeper = Church
Black’ning = Blood
What is the significance of the oxymoron “marriage hearse”
Love cannot exist in an oppressive place like London - marriages doomed
The youthful harlot’s curse blights with plagues the marriage hearse - presence of prostitutes destroys the sanctity of marriage
Context for London
Blake = romantic poet
Writing during Industrial Revolution - this represented to him physical and mental enslavement
What form and meter is The Prelude written in
Blank verse
Iambic pentameter
“Straight I…
…unloosed her chain, and stepping in pushed from the shore”
How is nature presented as beautiful in the Prelude
“Small circles glittering idly in the moon, until they melted all into one track of sparkling light”
Nature beautiful / peaceful at first
What does the journey across the lake mirror in The Prelude
Wordsworth’s own spiritual journey of reflection
How is Wordsworth presented as arrogant in the Prelude
“Like one who rows, proud of his skill, to reach a chosen point”
“I dipped my oars into the silent lake” - first person possessive pronouns
Hubris
“A huge peak…
…black and huge, as if with voluntary power instinct, upreared its head”
Significance of “the grim shape towered up between me and the stars” in the prelude
Stars symbolise innocence or purity
Dark symbolises guilt
Threatening - power of nature through personification of mountain
How is a sense of loss portrayed in the prelude
“No familiar shapes remained, no pleasant images of trees, of sea or sky”
Negative absence
Repetition of “no” - sense of loss
Nature as powerful enough to take things away from us
“No familiar…
…shapes remained, no pleasant images of trees, of sea or sky, no colours of green fields”
Significance of “huge and mighty forms, that do not live like living men… were a trouble to my dreams” in the prelude
Nature as actively living - but differently to humanity - a powerful force
Wordsworth haunted by experience
What may the mountain represent in The Prelude
Guilt of stealing boat
Fear of nature’s power
Symbolic of loss or grief
How is conflict presented in The Prelude
Between man + nature - nature overpowers man in the end
Caused by man’s attempt to manipulate nature
How is power presented in The Prelude
At the beginning the speaker appears to have power but by the end we can see nature is more powerful
How is the magic of childhood shown in The Prelude
The act of rowing the boat is described like a fairy tale - “elfin pinnace” (elf’s boat), description of water “glittering” and “sparkling”
Mountain causes childlike terror
Children are especially open to the beauty, adventure and terror around us
Significance of the boat in The Prelude
Starts out at one with nature - “tied to a willow tree within a rocky cove”
Also compared to a “swan” - part of the natural environment
After speaker’s fear of mountain, he leaves boat where he found it - restoring things to how they should be - literally, and also symbolises him being humbled by experience with power of nature
How can The Prelude be seen as discussing the theme of solitude, and its importance to spiritual growth
He has a vision of “huge and mighty forms” - divine connotations
His solitude allows him to be open to the spiritual power of nature
“That do not live like living men” - the forms have an aspect of divinity or supernatural to them
Significance of use of blank verse in The Prelude
Inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost which was in turn modelled on ancient poets like Homer and Virgil
Wordsworth turns the language of these older poets inward to elevate internal experiences and the imagination to the level of an epic tale
Significance of enjambment in The Prelude
Lines flow into each other, it flows like a story
Could even mirror a river or stream, showing that nature pervades even his poem
Why is there a lack of rhyme in The Prelude
The poem follows the speaker’s wandering thoughts and experiences
Lack of rhyme allows the poem to follow Wordsworth’s train of thought - the poem is based on authenticity and perceptions of the mind - shouldn’t be structured or constrained
Context of John Milton for The Prelude
Wordsworth was inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost which describes the fall of Adam and Eve / humanity
Wordsworth turns this theme inward to capture his thoughts during significant moments of his life
Who wrote My Last Duchess
Robert Browning
“That’s my last…
…duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive”
“She had a…
…heart - how shall I say? - too soon made glad, too easily impressed”
“She liked…
…whate’er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere”
“As if she ranked…
…my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift”
“E’en then would be some…
…stooping, and I choose never to stoop”
“I gave commands…
…then all smiles stopped together”
How does Browning criticise the objectification of women
The duke (speaker) tries to control his wife
He views her as an object that can be discarded - “my last duchess” is impersonal and casual, “all smiles stopped”
Doesn’t want her to be independent or have her own emotions
How does Browning criticise social status and elitism
Poem reveals how people in power can misuse their status to manipulate others
The duke is cruel and dominating
Significance of “Neptune taming a sea horse” statue
Mirrors the way the duke controlled his wife through force
What does the painting symbolise in My Last Duchess
Duke’s status
Objectification of women
Significance of the form of My Last Duchess
Dramatic monologue - allows Browning to explore the mind of a narcissistic tyrant - monologue only shows duke’s perspective
Significance of meter of My Last Duchess
Iambic pentameter - strict meter, control
Context of dramatic monologue form of My Last Duchess
Browning, along with Tennyson and others, was one of the Victorian innovators of the dramatic Monologe
These often reveal a troubling insight into their speakers - explore psychology