poetry quotes Flashcards
manhunt quotes
“After the first phase, / after passionate nights and intimate days.” - opens with rhyming couplet to establish regular rhyme scheme which occurs through the first 3 couplets mimicking the couples original harmony. The pause after “phase” foreshadows the change which comes later
“only then would he let me trace / the frozen river which ran through his face,” enjambment creates a sense of gradual revelation mirroring the slow healing process of understanding the soldiers trauma. The metaphor “frozen river” also alludes to a coldness/numbness about him and suggests that his original self is trapped underneath this new layer however can only be found once the new layer is cracked.
The repetition of “then” conveys the time and patience required to rebuild trust and intimacy and highlights the slow process
“blown hinge of his lower jaw”
“damaged, porcelain collar-bone”
“parachute silk of his punctured lung”
“climb the rungs of his broken ribs” all descriptions of his body parts (sensory imagery) however unlike other love poems, his body is not presented as perfect, but damaged and frail showcasing the brutal effects of war
valentine quotes
“i give you an onion” - untraditional love however she explains throughout the poem how the different elements of the onion mimics all parts of traditional love
“wrapped in brown paper” -> low key untraditional. When unwrapped has many layers mimicking the many layers of love
“like the careful undressing of love” - very sincere simile showing the physical and more erratic traditional element
“it will blind you with tears” - love can sometimes be painful or incredibly happy. love also can blind the lover with bliss
“its fierce kiss will stay on your lips” - again very erratic and traditional love contrasting the untraditional element of the onion. physical displays
“its scent will cling to your fingers, / cling to your knife” repetition of cling emphasises how once you’ve fallen, love will consume your whole life, however this may be a damaging thing -> unconventional idea
death of a naturalist (time) quotes
“flex-dam festered” - sticky/disgusting imagery foreshadows after the volta when he is no longer interested in the frogs
“bubbles gargled delicately” sensory imagery highlights the childish tone and the typical childish fascination of disgusting things
“I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied / specks” childish curiosity and deep obsession with the frogs, informal “jampotfuls” shows childish tone and playfulness
“you could tell the weather by the frogs too” shows how much he studied the frogs as he knows so many details about them. “too” implies that he has many other things he could say about the frogs showing his extensive knowledge and therefore how much time he has spent studying them.
“then one day when the fields were rank” same as what the poem started with, showing the fields are still the same, however its his perception that has changed showing aging. “then” shows abrupt change
“a coarse croaking that I had not heard / Before” he has heard the croaks before however now they sound different and unfamiliar as his perception has changed. “coarse croaking” alliteration mimics the sounds of the frogs
as imperceptibly as grief quotes
“as imperceptibly as grief” she compares the inevitable passing of time with passing of grief suggesting that both things slip away with out you realizing, however one is positive and the other is negative
“the summer lapsed away - “ lapsed suggests gradual change further enhanced by assonance creating a smooth, flowing sound mirroring the idea that time will keep going, without you noticing
“the Dusk drew earlier” shows that winter is coming - unavoidable (cyclical nature of time) - sadness element of time passing - missing the good summer
“the morning foreign shone” even though she has experienced the morning before, it is unfamiliar as she is now experiencing it without grief and also no longer in summer
“into the beautiful.” only full stop in whole poem which is at the very end which reflects the finality of the grief passing
soldier quotes
“if I should die, think only this of me:” abrupt and straight to the point, only thing that matters when you die is if you died nobly fighting in war. also suggests he has accepted the fact he may die in war however he doesn’t mind as he will die for england (very patriotic). “only” shows how the only thing that matters to him is dying for England
“theres some corner of a foreign field / that is forever England. “ cesura with full stop emphasises how now his body died and bled out there, it will always be English and never change -> finality. England transcends mere geography; the spirit of England is eternally interwoven with that of the soldier and therefore he will feel peaceful after death knowing he has given everything for England and even after death he has played his part in helping England capture whatever land they are fighting for.
“A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, / Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam” Personification of England as a mother with idealised language (“flowers”, “love”, “roam”) is typical of a Romantic idyll and elevates England into something celestial, thus highlighting the poet’s adoration of his country
“all evil shed away” dying and fighting for England will cleanse him from all of his sins as it is a very noble thing to do which encourages others to do the same as at the time, going to heaven was very important
“In hearts at peace, under an English heaven” even if he dies in the war effort as it was a noble thing to do, he will be rewarded by being sent to an English heaven so it would be worth it and he will be in the best place possible. The metaphor “under an English heaven” imbues the country with divine status, portraying the idea of dying for it as a noble and beautiful act of patriotism
dulce et decorum est quotes
“bent double, like old beggars under sacks, / knock-kneed, coughing like hags” war has turned what was originally incredibly fit, healthy young men into old, sick and weak people who can barely walk -> simile & alliteration
“towards our distant rest began to trudge” rest has double meaning, they are walking to camp to sleep but also walking to their death -> permanent rest
“Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling” The abrupt exclamation reflects the soldiers’ panic, contrasting with the weary trudging of the previous stanza. Caesura creates tension and a pause in the poem as the men grapple with their gas masks, disrupting the rhythm to reflect the chaos. Enjambment quickens the pace, heightening the sense of panic the soldiers would have felt
“guttering, choking, drowning” tricolon getting progressively worse and more vivid mirroring the mans actions as he dies and showing the trauma the other soldiers experienced even though they were the ‘lucky’ ones who didn’t die
“The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum est / Pro patria mori.” meaning its sweet and proper to die for ones country. He finishes with this to leave this in the readers mind to hopefully persuade them to not believe the lie after all of the awful descriptions he just wrote.
living space quotes
“beams / balance crookedly on supports” shows how uneven everything is showing how its a miracle the place is still standing and also mimics the uneven element of the universe as some people live in mansions however others live in slums.
“nails clutch” “thrust off the vertical” (personification) verb mirrors the desperation of the people who live there to grasp any opportunity to live as they survive the horror of the slums which takes a lot tenacity
“the whole structure leans dangerously / towards the miraculous” showing literally how it is unsafe and impressive it is still standing but miraculous shows how the people there still have hope which even more impressive than the fact the place still stands
“squeezed / a living space” not called a home demonstrating how people shouldn’t have to live there also in its own stanza squished between the other two mimicking how the slums are squished in
“place / these eggs” eggs represent hope and new life but they are also fragile as they are hanging precariously in their own structure, just as the inhabitant’s life hangs precariously in their cramped living space. Eggs also symbolise new life, which could be linked to optimism the people who live their have to have
London quotes
“each charter’d street / near where the charter’d thames does flow” repetition of charter’d symbolises a city that is rigid and controlled and suggests human desire to control even natural forms
“every cry of every man” anaphora of every emphasises how nothing can escape the control and the suffering. Anaphora in this stanza builds a rhythmic intensity that mirrors the relentless suffering described
“mind-forg’d manacles” The metaphor suggests that the citizens lack any societal freedom. These “manacles” are not physical chains but mental and social restrictions that limit freedom and happiness. Even their minds and thoughts are controlled
“black’ning Church” black has connotations of death and corruption which mirrors the decaying core of the establishment and alludes to both physical and moral decay of the church which is supposed to help the people
‘blights with plagues the Marriage hearse” An oxymoron and language associated with disease at the end of the poem creates a bleak tone and reinforces the poem’s message about the city’s lack of hope and confinement the people experience
hawk roosting quotes
“I sit in the top of the wood” references on top of the world showing the hawk is literally above all other creatures but also metaphorically above them as it is more powerful. I sit also suggests that the hawk is comfortable up there -> it naturally is this power
“the convenience of the high trees!” everything is engineered to help the hawk further showing how its power is natural and it deserves to be this powerful as God has made it this way
“I kill where I please because it is all mine” shows how the hawk is able to do what it wants as it has so much power that no one can stop it showing absolute dictatorlike power
“the sun is behind me” metaphorical suggestion that God is behind it and therefore what it is doing is correct which further increases its confidence and suggests the hawks power is natural
“I am going to keep things like this” The use of the future tense in this declarative sentence and monosyllabic words allude to the hawk’s arrogance and confidence, conveying an inevitability and determination that reinforces its belief in its own power. The tone is resolute.
The prelude quotes
“I heeded not the summons” would rather stay outside even with the cold of winter, in nature than come in for dinner showing how much he appreciates it
“we hiss’d along the polish’d ice” sibilance sounds mimic the sounds of his ice skates - he is enjoying and appreciating the beauty that nature has provided
“leafless trees and every icy crag” even when nature is at its darkest and most lifeless there is still beauty - pathetic fallacy shows his longing for his youth to come back
“the stars / eastward, were sparkling clear” suggests clear night with the stars making beautiful dots
“The orange sky of evening died away” beautiful image of orange sunset as the person returns back inside after a fulfilling day enjoying nature. also shows the end of the day and time passing as sunsets mark the end of day and start of night
