Power and Conflict Poetry Flashcards
1
Q
Ozymandias quotes
A
- “frown,/And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command”
- dispassionate authority: commanding nature and presence
- imagery: lack of empathy, ruler’s disdain and contempt for his own subjects
- alliteration: adds emphasis on the words - harsh repeated sound reinforces his callousness, pride and insensitiveness - “the pedestal”
- metaphor for his superiority - belittling to his subjects
- pedestal raises statue even higher (higher importance) - “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;/ Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair”
- people should fear his superiority and tyranny
- imperatives reinforce his absolute power and control
- superlative and hyperbole ‘supreme ruler’ - “the decay/Of that colossal wreck”
- deterioration and transience - eroded by time
- oxymoron, immense ruin. statue stripped of its power. was giant but now not - “boundless and bare,/ The lone and level sands stretch far away”
- nature has ultimately triumphed
- power of nature and impotence of humans
- nature is indifferent
- alliteration of ‘l’ sound creates a calm sound - flat, featureless calm of desert
2
Q
London quotes
A
- “each charter’d street,/ Near where the charter’d Thames does flow” - Repetition of “charter’d” draws attention to the ownership of London streets and how perhaps the people “wandering” through them have no freedom at all: it is like they are owned by the government. even the free-flowing river is managed and controlled
- “In every voice: in every ban,/ The mind-forg’d manacles I hear”
- anaphora/ repetition of ‘in every’ shows how he hears it everywhere and everyone is impacted, as if impossible to escape. emphasises the extreme extent of suffering.
- ‘mind-forged’ suggests that it’s created by people’s own ideas. suggests that people play a part in their own oppression by following society’s rules. London has become internalised and enslaved by the authorities as well as their own mindset. imprisoned and subservient - “How the Chimney-sweepers cry / Every blackning Church appalls”
- children collectively referred to as ‘chimney-sweepers’. the identity of children is not mentioned. lost innocence. the care-free protected period of youth is violated by exploitative labour market
- ‘black’ning’ perceived as criticism of religion and its failure to protect the more vulnerable. could also refer to the smoke and soot that polluted London following the Industrial Revolution
- ‘appalls’. could refer to shock and disgust that the Church should feel about labour and shouldn’t be engaging in it themselves. church is not appalled. a ‘pall’ is a cover for a coffin. play on words: children die and the church is responsible - “And the hapless soldier’s sigh / Runs in blood down Palace walls ”
- adj. ‘hapless’ unlucky/unfortunate/no choice/powerless. not able to control outcome of their fate. out of place because it’s more than just unfortunate
- sibillence of ‘hapless soldier’s sigh’: sinister atmosphere to emphasise soldier’s on-going weakness and helplessness
- ‘blood’ has connotations of guilt. metaphor - guilt stains the monarchy
- stark image in reader’s mind of lives lost at mercy of nobility and loyalty
3
Q
The Prelude quotes
A
- “It was an act of stealth/ And troubled pleasure”
- oxymoron: enjoyment in terms of stealing boat but he’s slightly conflicted in doing it. dominant nature - “a huge peak, black and huge…upreared its head”
- repetition of ‘huge’ highlights how vast nature is and it brings it to life as a supreme force
- power of nature overshadows man’s power
- ‘upreared’ - personification - “Towered up between me and the stars”
- “With trembling oars I turned, … in grave/And serious mood”
- symbolism of the oars shows his perspective of nature has changes, turning away from previous arrogance
- becomes humbled as now speaker snakes with fear
- nature makes speaker feel insignificant
4
Q
My Last Duchess quotes
A
- “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,/ Looking as if she were alive. I call/ That piece a wonder, now”
- possessive pronoun and objectification
- ‘alive’ ominous/sinister - implies she’s dead, curiosity in reader
- ‘that piece’ - takes credit
- makes himself seem powerful and superior
- now that she’s captured in the painting, the Duke regards her as wonderful but implication that he didn’t before - “since none puts by/The curtain I have drawn for you, but I”
- rare privilege to see painting, falsely flattering him
- threatened by anyone else
- still wants control over Duchess even now that she’s dead
- Duke can limit who can view it - reminds audience that he can give and take away control
- concealing her as if a secret - “her looks went everywhere./ Sir, ‘twas all one!”
- complaining that he can’t always control her
- only as a painting he can control her - “My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name”
- Duke is affronted by fact that Duchess doesn’t appear to appreciate his heritage and title
- Duchess regards this in the same way as every other gift
- Symbolism: Duke is alluding to his family’s longstanding wealth and status - “I gave commands;/ Then all smiles stopped together.”
- euphemism: seems to tell reader that Duke ordered wife’s murder
- use of language here is cold and clinical, showing lack of emotion and reinforcing the fact that he sees his wife as a possession - “for dowry will be disallowed;/ Though his fair daughter’s self … is my object”
- ‘dowry’ is said before ‘daughter’ implying the money is more important than the woman
- objectification of woman highlights patriarchy and misogyny - “Notice Neptune, though…thought a rarity” similar to when he talks about painting by “Fra Pandolf”
- tries to change the subject and moves onto another piece of art as if his wife was just an object and art like something in his collection
- wants to feel superior again by trying to show his wealth
- ‘Neptune’ God of the sea known for his power and ability to control and dominate his surroundings
5
Q
Storm On The Island quotes
A
- “We are prepared: we build our houses squat”
- anaphora of ‘we’, inclusive/collective pronoun indicating community and togetherness
- ‘prepared’: confident/bold/declarative - betrays their fear of nature - “blows full/Blast”
- plosive sound emphasises extent and harsh brutalness of the attack - “exploding comfortably”
- oxymoron: sense of unease and tension - “spits like a tame cat/Turned savage”
- sibilance of harsh ‘s’
- simile emphasises unpredictability and unexpectedness
- a cat is usually tame, compliant and comforting > out of character/poses a threat - “strafes”, “salvo”, “bombarded”
- semantic field using military/war-like language/imagery - “Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear.”
- oxymoron: isn’t as powerful as it is perceived to be. ultimately, it’s just ‘air’ and not threatening
- ‘strange’: foolish reason to be afraid
6
Q
Tissue quotes
A
7
Q
The Emigree quotes
A
8
Q
Checking Out Me History quotes
A
- “Dem tell me/Dem tell me”
- repetition to get his point across
- repetition: idea of being forced to learn about euro-centric history - deliberate action
- monosyllabic like a drum beat creates a pace
- phonetic spelling to defy colonial oppression, he is proud of his history and language
- defiant, gives himself a voice - “Bandage up me eye with me own history/ Blind me to my own identity”
- aggressive ‘b’ plosive sound
-ironic because ‘bandage’ has connotations of healing, instead bandage is to stop him from seeing his own identity
- metaphor connotate harm
- contempt
- ‘blind’: trying to fight off long-lasting effect - part in italics: “vision”, “Toussaint de thorn”, “beacon”
- italics marks change in tone: no reference to frivolous nursery rhymes. more serious tone
- ‘thorn’ connotations of a man who posed a threat and inflicted pain on French colonial rulers
- ‘beacon’: light imagery
- ‘vision’ contrasted with ‘blind[ness]’ in second stanza - “Dem tell me bout Lord Nelson and Waterloo/but dem never tell me bout Shaka de great Zulu”
- contrast between euro-centric and Caribbean history emphasises difference
- British figures are glossed over quickly/not explored whereas from other cultures: in more detail. Agard thinks they deserve far more respect and a place in history - “But now I checking out me own history/ I carving out me identity”
- ‘but’: turning point/volta from ‘dem’ to ‘I’: different pronouns - taking ownership
- ‘carving’: connotations of a strenuous act - can never rest. connotations of sculpting (his understanding of black history of his own history)
- Agard triumphantly is creating his own peronal identity by researching his own
9
Q
Ozymandias poet
A
Percy Bysshe Shelley
10
Q
London poet
A
William Blake
11
Q
The Prelude poet
A
William Wordsworth
12
Q
My Last Duchess poet
A
Robert Browning
13
Q
Storm On The Island poet
A
Seamus Heaney
14
Q
Tissue poet
A
Imtiaz Dharker
15
Q
The Emigree poet
A
Carol Rumens
