Power and Conflict Vocabulary- Year 11 Power Poems

Question 1

Tier 3

Context

Answer 1

Descriptions of events, people and background information that offers the reader a clearer understanding of what is happening in the narrative.

When reading the poem ‘The Prelude’, it is important to understand the context of Romanticism.

Question 2

Tier 2

Ideal

Answer 2

A standard or principle to aim towards.

The Romantic ideal of nature is prevalent in Wordsworth’s poetry.

Question 3

Tier 2

Hubris

Answer 3

Excessive pride or self-confidence.

The statue in ‘Ozymandias’ could be seen as a metaphor for the pride and hubris of humanity.

Question 4

Tier 2

Perspective

Answer 4

A particular attitude or way of regarding something; a point of view.

In ‘My Last Duchess’, the Duke’s perspective towards women highlights his narcissism.

Question 5

Tier 2

Landscape

Answer 5

The setting, often used to describe natural or countryside environments.

The landscape of ‘Storm on the Island’ is bleak and barren.

Question 6

Tier 2

Sublime

Answer 6

A moment or description of something deeply awe-inspiring.

The speaker experiences the sublime when confronted with the cliff in ‘The Prelude’.

Question 7

Tier 2

Contemporary

Answer 7

The time in which the text was produced.

A contemporary reader would have seen the impacts of the Industrial Revolution first hand.

Question 7

Tier 2

Atmosphere

Answer 7

The feeling or sense evoked by an environment or setting.

Heaney creates an atmosphere of destruction and violence in the poem ‘Storm on the Island’.

Question 8

Tier 3- Language

Non-standard English

Answer 8

The informal version of English, often containing slang.

Agard uses non-standard English in the poem ‘Checking Out Me History’ to show the difference between the speaker’s own culture, and the taught history of white culture.

Question 9

Tier 3- Structure

Enjambment

Answer 9

A ‘run over’ from one poetic line to the next, without punctuation.

Enjambment may have been used in the poem ‘Tissue’ to represent the need to break barriers between humanity.

Question 10

Tier 3- Structure

Caesura

Answer 10

A punctuated pause midway through a poetic line.

The use of caesura in the line “city of walls. They accuse…” in ‘The Émigrée’ could convey the isolation and segregation of the speaker.

Question 11

Tier 3- Structure

Quatrain

Answer 11

A 4 line verse of poetry.

Blake’s ‘London’ is written in four quatrains with alternate lines rhyming.

Question 12

Tier 3- Structure

Iambic pentameter

Answer 12

A line of verse composed of ten syllables arranged in five metrical feet (iambs), each of which consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

The sonnet form, written in traditional iambic pentameter, emphasises Ozymandias’ self-love

Question 13

Tier 3- Language/Structure

Contrast

Answer 13

An obvious difference between two or more things.

‘Checking Out Me History’ contrasts a famous white character from history with an ignored black person.

Question 14

Tier 3- Language

Oxymoron

Answer 14

Two words used together that seem to have opposite meanings.

The oxymoron “marriage hearse” in Blake’s ‘London’ reveals that he views marriage as death.

Question 15

Tier 3- Language/Structure

Juxtaposition

Answer 15

Placing two elements/ideas near each other, often to show contrast.

Percy Shelley juxtaposes the idea of a powerful ruler and his forgotten memory in ‘Ozymandias’.

Question 16

Tier 3- Language

Metaphor

Answer 16

A direct comparison of two unrelated things, typically by stating that one thing is another.

Heaney uses an extended metaphor to describe the storm as a military attack.

Question 17

Tier 3- Language

Tone

Answer 17

The attitude conveyed by the narrator’s word choice in a story.

Blake uses an angry tone in the poem ‘London’ to convey his contempt with society.

Question 18

Tier 3- Form

Dramatic monologue

Answer 18

A poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person.

‘My Last Duchess’ is written in the form of a dramatic monologue which provides readers with a direct insight into his thoughts and motivations.

Question 19

Tier 3- Language

Possessive pronoun

Answer 19

A pronoun used to express ownership or possession e.g. ‘mine’ or ‘hers’

The possessive pronouns highlight the Duke’s narcissism and pride.

Question 20

Tier 3- Structure

Rhyming couplet

Answer 20

Two lines of rhyming poetry.

In ‘My Last Duchess’, the rhyming couplets could represent the Duke’s desire for control.

Question 21

Tier 3- Language

Assonance

Answer 21

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in words or syllables that occur close together.

In ‘Storm on the Island’, the assonance intensifies through the poem as the storm gets worse.

Question 22

Tier 3- Language

Semantic field

Answer 22

A group of words related to a common idea or theme.

Blake uses a semantic field of pain to expose the suffering in society.

Question 23

Tier 3- Language

Imagery

Answer 23

Visually descriptive language.

In ‘Tissue’, imagery of paper is used to explore ideas about solidity and certainty, change and impermanence, fragility and power.

Question 24

Tier 3- Structure

Volta

Answer 24

A shift that marks the change of a thought or argument in a poem.

After the volta in ‘The Prelude’, nature becomes more threatening and starts to overwhelm the speaker.

Question 25

Tier 3- Structure

Reported speech

Answer 25

A sentence that reports the content of another utterance without directly quoting it in speech marks.

Shelley uses reported speech in ‘Ozymandias’ to further distance the reader from the leader’s memory.

Question 26

Tier 3- Form

Lyric

Answer 26

A short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions and feelings.

‘London’ is a lyric from Blake’s poetry collection ‘Songs of Experience’.

Question 26

Tier 3- Form

Sonnet

Answer 26

A fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter, typically about love.

The sonnet form emphasises Ozymandias’ self-love.

Question 27

Tier 3- Structure

Ellipsis

Answer 27

A punctuation mark consisting of a series of three dots representing a pause or omission of information.

In ‘The Émigrée’ ellipsis adds to the sense of the past being remembered.

Question 28

Tier 3- Structure

Stanza

Answer 28

A group of lines in a poem; a verse.

Certain stanzas in ‘Checking Out Me History’ are italicised to draw attention to the Black history omitted from white British education.

Question 29

Tier 3- Language

Dialect

Answer 29

A particular form of a language that is used by a specific region or social group.

John Agard uses a Caribbean dialect “lick back”, and phonetic spelling “dem… dat” which reflects the Caribbean accent, to create a clear character voice.

Question 30

Tier 3- Structure

Anaphora

Answer 30

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Blake uses anaphora, “in every/in every/in every” to convey his belief that all of mankind are controlled.