Power & Conflict Facts/Context

Question 1

Who was Ozymandias based on?

Answer 1

Pharaoh Ramases II

Question 2

How many voices are there in Ozymandias?

Answer 2

3 - the poet, the traveller and Ozymandias.

Question 3

What was the purpose of London by William Blake?

Answer 3

To make a political statement about the power of the government the church and the royals.
It also conveys the lack of power in lower/working class.

Question 4

What does Extract from The Prelude tell us about nature?

Answer 4

That nature has more power over man and that man is made to feel small and insignificant by the natural world.

Question 5

William Wordsworth said…

Answer 5

Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; it takes it’s origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.

Question 6

How does My Last Duchess link to Ozymandias?

Answer 6

Art represents power in both poems.

Ozymandias and The Duke are both possessive egocentric characters.

Question 7

How does the Duke feel about the Duchess in My Last Duchess?

Answer 7

He is possessive over her even after her death, and that he still feels for her.
Her painting is covered by a curtain, so he can have control over who sees her.

Question 8

What is the purpose of Charge of the Light Brigade?

Answer 8

Written as a command to honour the Light Brigade. The language is simple so all people can understand it.
Poem is written in chronological order.

Question 9

When was the Crimean war? (Which the Light Brigade fought in)

Answer 9

October 1853. The poem was written just after.

Question 10

What are the main themes in Exposure?

Answer 10

Passive suffering
Violence of war and nature
The ongoing pointlessness of their suffering (shown through the repetition of “but nothing happens”)

Question 11

How is Exposure structured?

Answer 11

Chronological order.
Begins and ends at night.
In the middle, the dawn brings misery because they can see the reality of war in the sunlight.

Question 12

What is the context for Storm on the Island?

Answer 12

Stormont is a place in Ireland where political debates and decisions where made. The idea of the storm coming could be a metaphor for this. (Seamus Heaney was an Irish catholic)

Question 13

What is the structure of Bayonet Charge?

Answer 13

Chronological order. First there is fighting, then he stops and realises the urgency of his situation, then he runs.

Question 14

Which war does Bayonet Charge represent?

Answer 14

WW1

Question 15

What tone is Remains written in?

Answer 15

Conversational tone, like My Last Duchess.
“On another occasion…”
“One of my mates..”
“So we’ve hit this looter a dozen times”

Question 16

What mental disorder does the speaker seem to have as a result of his experience?

Answer 16

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which he tries to block out using drugs and alcohol. Guilt has overcome him.

Question 17

What is the form of Poppies?

Answer 17

Dramatic monologue - the speaker talks to her dead son and reminisces.

Question 18

Where is the power and conflict in Poppies?

Answer 18

Inner conflict in the mother: she wants to protect her child but she also wants him to experience the world.

Long lasting power of war and grief.

Question 19

What attack are the children fleeing in War Photographer?

Answer 19

Napalm attack in Vietnam.

Question 20

What is the main story in War Photographer?

Answer 20

That God is eternal but human life is transitory.

The photographer accepts the photos will make no difference to the conflict.

Question 21

What is the extended metaphor in Tissue?

Answer 21

Tissue/paper is an extended metaphor for life.

Question 22

Where is the power in Tissue?

Answer 22

Power of time on buildings and on human life.

Power of paper in that it can hold records and memories.

Question 23

Who is speaking in The Emigrée?

Answer 23

A woman who left her hometown as a child due to conflict.

Question 24

Where is the power and conflict in The Emigrée?

Answer 24

Power of war
Power of the woman’s memories: they are still clear in her mind.

Conflict between her memories of her hometown and her present life - she misses it.

Question 25

What does the repetition of sunlight show in The Emigrée?

Answer 25

Her happy memories of her hometown will always shine through.

Question 26

What is the story in Checking Out Me History?

Answer 26

That black history has not been fully appreciated, and that it shouldn’t be all about white history.

Question 27

Where is the power in Checking Out Me History?

Answer 27

The power is with the British, having control over which parts of history is taught.

Question 28

What is the effect of the dialect in Checking Out Me History?

Answer 28

Native dialect shows the resistance to control and how he is “carving out” his own identity by using his own form of language.

Question 29

Who is the speaker in Kamikaze?

Answer 29

The daughter of a kamikaze pilot, who abandons his mission and returns home.

Question 30

What did kamikaze pilots do?

Answer 30

They flew their planes into American ships in WW2 in order to sink them, sacrificing their lives. It was considered a brave and honourable act.

Question 31

What happens when the kamikaze pilot returns from his mission?

Answer 31

He is shunned by society and his family.
“Till gradually we too learned to be silent” (to ignore their father)
“To live as thought he never returned, that this was no longer the father we loved”