Power and Conflict Poem Flashcards
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings”
Ozymandias - we hear this phrase from Ozymandias himself, there is a superlative quality to it and he sees himself as being more important than others
“Look upon my works ye mighty and despair”
Ozymandias - imperative command giving a sense that he is powerful, there is irony here as “nothing beside remains” as the poetic voice shifts back to the narrator
“A shattered visage lies”
Ozymandias - symbolism exploring how the facade that Ozymandias had as a ruler has crumbled away over time reinforcing the temporal nature of power
“Sneer of cold command”
Ozymandias - plosive sounds suggest a tone that is cruel and cutting - this quote tells us he was not a nice ruler
“The hand that mocked, the heart that fed”
Ozymandias - on the surface he is a cruel leader who abuses his power but internally there is a sense of love for his people that he wants to look after
“Round the decay of that colossal wreck”
Ozymandias - juxtaposition between the size of the statue and its current situation having eroded over time
“Near where the chartered Thames does flow”
London - the verb “chartered” means controlled - Blake could be criticising how mankind control nature and abuse their power
“Marks of weakness, marks of woe”
London - there is a rhythm established within this poem shown in this line - could represent the continual suffering or the footsteps of the poet. “Weakness” and “woe” are both creating a sense of pain and misery
“The mind-forged manacles I hear”
London - “mind-forged manacles” suggests that people are trapped in their thoughts and minds in London - they cannot escape their suffering
“Runs in blood down palace walls”
London - very graphic imagery and metaphor which could have a connection to the French Revolution - perhaps Blake is calling for a similar revolution in London
“Blights with plagues the marriage hearse”
London - oxymoron at the end of this quote which could suggest how short life is - blights and plagues gives a sense of disease and death
“One summer evening (led by her)”
The Prelude - Nature is personified as a temptress - it causes Wordsworth to want to sail across the lake
“Straight I unloosed her chain”
The Prelude - there is a confident tone established at the start - the poet feels secure in his ability
“With an unswerving line”
The Prelude - again the poet shows his confidence in his rowing ability
“Lustily, I dipped my oars into the silent lake”
The Prelude - calming tone, shows that he is being at one with nature - there is almost a sexualised undertone, as a romantic poet this could be showing how nature has had an impact on him
“The horizon bound a huge peak, black and huge”
The Prelude - there is a Volta here where nature becomes more dangerous and deadly - it is seen as being more visibly powerful and threatening
“I struck and struck again”
The Prelude - we see how there is a shift in the way that he rows as a consequence of his changing perspective of nature
“With trembling oars I turned”
The Prelude - a final Volta where the poetic voice now becomes afraid and fearful - this causes him to reflect on how he now sees nature
“O’er my thoughts, there hung a darkness, some call it solitude”
The Prelude - The poetic voice now cannot escape his thoughts on the layers to nature and how threatening it can be
“That’s my Last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive”
My Last Duchess - the poem opens with a threatening tone - the simile “as if she were alive” creates a haunting tone
“(Since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you but I)”
My Last Duchess - The duke controls who gets to look at his last duchess and also who she gets to look at by drawing the curtain - shows his power and control
“Must never hope to reproduce the half flush that dies along her throat”
My Last Duchess - a reference that could suggest that the Duke had her killed due to the fact that she was flirting with other individuals rather than focusing on him
“Her looks went everywhere”
My Last Duchess - a subtle criticism that the duke is stating to be able to criticise her flirtatious behaviour - we do only see this poem through his perspective though!
“My gift of a nine-hundred year old name”
My Last Duchess - The Duke believes he gave he some of his power by passing on his title to her - therefore expected her to respect him and the title
“I choose never to stoop”
My Last Duchess - the Duke reminds us of his power and states that he is higher status and will not lose that status
“I gave commands then all smiles stopped together”
My Last Duchess - there is an imperative power within this quotation but also an allusion to him having ordered her to be killed
“Our brains ache in the merciless iced-east winds that knive us”
Exposure - Nature is personified as a deadly force - the use of the words “ache” and “knive” and “merciless” creates a sense of inescapable and unrelenting suffering
“But nothing happens”
Exposure - repeated throughout the poem to show a frustrating reality of the soldiers situation - it never improves
“Like twitching agonies of men among its brambles”
Exposure - there is a mixed metaphor here - brambles may be a natural reference again showing natures power - it could also be a reference to the barbed wire which presents a very graphic image of death
“Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army”
Exposure - Dawn is personified - it should bring warmth and comfort but instead brings further misery for the soldiers - showing how bad their situation is
“Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence”
Exposure - shows the unpredictability of the war and nature - the sibilant sounds make it seem more realistic and deadly
