THEMES

Question 1

THEME: Nature

Answer 1

• Storm on the Island
  Emphasises the conflict between man and nature.
• The Prelude
  At first he is at one with nature and it is peaceful, however when he tries to take control, nature challenges him until he backs down.
• Exposure
  Describes the weather as an attacking army with regular personification.

Question 2

THEME: Pride / Glory

Answer 2

• Ozymandias
  Ozymandias’s power and glory only lasted a short time before it was worn away.
• My Last Duchess
  Speaker is proud and arrogant however we see his own insecurities through his monologue.
• Charge of the Light Brigade
  Celebrates the glory and honour of the Light Brigade, while showing the conflict with hellish images of darkness and war which decimate them.
• London
  London, the supposed capital of the world is shown as a dark, twisted place of misery brought on by the abuse of power.

Question 3

THEME: Inner Conflict

Answer 3

• Poppies
  Conflict between the idea of pride that her son is going off to war and flying the next, but her sadness and anxiety when he does not return.
• Kamikaze
  The pilot is torn between duty and the wish to live.
• War Photographer
  The photographer undergoes horrific violence and sees real horror, yet when he returns home these things are reduced to novelty.

Question 4

THEME: Past / Identity

Answer 4

• Emigrée
  The memories of her home are childish and happy, and as a result she struggles to accept what she knows is happening there now.
• Checking Out Me History
  The speaker is taught a history at school which he feels no connection with.
• Tissue
  The poet looks at how we hold on too tight to many things like money, borders and power and contrasts this with a world where things are made of tissue, carefully treasured but never made to last.