Power and Conflict Poetry

Question 1

Remains: Two quotes?

Answer 1

“His bloody life in my bloody hands.”

“Sleep an he’s probably armed possibly not.”

Question 2

Remains: Form and structure??

Answer 2

Monologue- told in present tense to convey a flashback

Enjambment between lines = conversational tone

Question 3

Remains: context??

Answer 3

Written to coincide with a TV documentary about PTSD

To show read that mental suffering lasts post-conflict

Question 4

Charge of The Light Brigade: Two Quotes??

Answer 4

“Jaws of death”

“Noble six hundred”

Question 5

Charge of The Light Brigade: Form and structure??

Answer 5

A ballad- written to remember historic events

Structure breaks down over time becoming more awkward.
Reflects the chaos of battle.

Question 6

Charge of The Light Brigade: context??

Answer 6

Written to glorify soldiers in Crimean War

To draw attention to a commanders who’d “blunder’d”

Controversial point- as blind devotion to power = expected

Question 7

Exposure: quotes??

Answer 7

“the merciless iced east winds that knive us”

“mad gusts tugging on the wire”

Question 8

Exposure: form and structure??

Answer 8

Repetition of “nothing happens” = cyclical structure = never ending suffering

Question 9

Exposure: Context??

Answer 9

Written by an actual soldier in 1917

Highlights the tragedy and futility of war, but he’s not bitter about his suffering

Question 10

Bayonet Charge: Quotes??

Answer 10

“Cold clockwork of the stars and nations”

“King, honour, human dignity… dropped like luxuries”

Question 11

Bayonet Charge: Form and Structure??

Answer 11

Starts ‘In medias res’: in the middle of the action to convey shock and fast pace

Time stands still in 2nd stanza = soldier’s reflective thoughts and confusion

Question 12

Bayonet Charge: Context??

Answer 12

Published in 1957 and set in WW1

Contrast between idealism of patriotism and reality of killing

Poet’s father died in WW1- written to draw attention to hardships of trench war.

Question 13

Poppies: Quotes??

Answer 13

“Play at being Eskimos”

“Hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind”

Question 14

Poppies: Form and Structure??

Answer 14

Elegy- poem of mourning

Enjambment = anecdotal tone

No rhyme scheme = melancholic

Question 15

Poppies: Context??

Answer 15

Ambiguous = a timeless relevance to all mothers and families

Hints of criticism- soldiers are intoxicated by the glamour of the military

Question 16

War Photographer: Quotes??

Answer 16

“Blood stained into a foreign dust”

“Running children in a nightmare heat”

Question 17

War Photographer: Form and Structure??

Answer 17

Enjambment- Reinforces the world is out of order

Rhyme- He’s trying to bring order to a chaotic world

Question 18

War Photographer: Context??

Answer 18

Brutality of war and
desensitisation

Inspired by her friendship with a war photographer

Location = ambiguous and universal

Question 19

Kamikaze: Quotes??

Answer 19

“Head full of powerful incantations”

“Dark Shoals of fish flashing silver”

Question 20

Kamikaze: Form and Structure??

Answer 20

Direct speach provides a personal tone

Third person narrative- distance between daughter and father.

Question 21

Kamikaze: Context??

Answer 21

Cowardice = shame in wartime Japan

Beauty of nature VS honour

Question 22

The Emigree: Quotes??

Answer 22

“It may be sick with tyrants, but i am branded by an impression of sunlight”

“I left it as a child”

Question 23

The Emigree: Form and Structure??

Answer 23

First person

Last line of each stanza references sunlight= love and positivity for the city

Question 24

The Emigree: Context??

Answer 24

Memories of her home city that she’s forced to flee

Home country = unknown.
Gives the poem timeless relevance.

Question 25

Checking out me history: Quotes??

Answer 25

"Toussaint de beacon", Nanny de maroon = "Fire-woman" "Bandage up me eye with me own history"

Question 26

Checking out me history: Form???

Answer 26

Quatrains ( with Enjambment + non-standard phonetics ) Rhymes reflect calypso (carib) music - CULTURE Black history sections = Free verse Traditional history = nursery rhyme structure - Mockingly

Question 27

Checking out me history: context??

Answer 27

Poem challenges racism and prejudice History of UK = Eurocentric

Question 28

Ozymandias: Quotes??

Answer 28

"Look on my works, ye Mighty and Despair" "A shattered visage lies"

Question 29

Ozymandias: Form and Structure??

Answer 29

Sonnet + iambic pentameter , but structure changes in line 9. Human structures can decay.

Question 30

Ozymandias: Context???

Answer 30

Written by a romantic poet. Power of nature + emotion Poet hated the concept of a monarchy. Power = temporary.

Question 31

Extract from the Prelude: Quotes??

Answer 31

"She was an elfin pinnace" "a huge peak, black and huge, as if with voluntary power instinct, upreared its head"

Question 32

Extract from the Prelude: Form and Structure??

Answer 32

First person narrative = personal poem Regular rhythm + enjambment = effect of natural speech

Question 33

Extract from the Prelude: Context???

Answer 33

Romantic poet- explores theme of nature and how it shapes humans We should respect nature Prelude = story of the poets life

Question 34

Storm on the Island: Quotes??

Answer 34

"Space is a salvo" "Exploding comfortably" 'pummels', 'exploding', 'spits'

Question 35

Storm on the Island: form and structure

Answer 35

Blank verse + enjambment = conversational + anecdotal tone. 'We' = first person plural COUPLED WITH 'You' = direct address Reader feels immersed in experience

Question 36

Storm on the Island: Context??

Answer 36

Title spells 'Stormont' = NI's Parliament Metaphor for the political storm that was building in the country at the time.

Question 37

London: Quotes??

Answer 37

"Marks of weakness, marks of woe" "Mind-forged manacles" "Runs in blood down palace walls"

Question 38

London: Form and Structure??

Answer 38

Dramatic monologue + first-person narrator Simple ABAB rhyme scheme- reflects unrelenting misery + pattern of his footsteps as he walks around the city. Stanzas 1,2, and 4= Focus on People Stanza 3 = focus on institution

Question 39

London: Context??

Answer 39

Work influenced by his radical political views: social + racial equality Questioned the decisions of Govt Focuses on how innocence is lost and society is corrupt

Question 40

Tissue: Quotes??

Answer 40

"The sun shines through their border lines" "Pages smoothed and stroked and turned"

Question 41

Tissue: Form and Structure??

Answer 41

Lack of rhythm = freedom and openness Short stanzas = many layers (human life through layers) Enjambment between lines = flowing movement

Question 42

Tissue: Context???

Answer 42

Poet born in Pakistan Questions fragility of humanity Tissues represent human tissue and paper. Paper = fragile, but dictates human life.