which poem? Flashcards
the narrator meets a traveller who tells him about a statue standing in the middle of the desert. its a statue of a king who ruled over past civilisation. statue has fallen down and crumbled away so that only the ruins remain
ozymandias
the narrator is describing a walk around the city. he says that everywhere he goes, the people he meets are affected by misery and despair. people in power are to blame. poem doesnt end positively
london
the extract begins on a summer evening when the narrator finds a boat tied to a tree he unties the boat and takes it out on the lake. initially the narrator seems happy and confident and he describes a beautiful scene. a mountain appears on the horizon and the narrator is afraid of its size and powr
extract from the prelude
portrait of a women. man speaks angrily of the women and seems angered by her behaviour. he tried to stop this behaviour
my last duchess
a disastrous battle between british cavalry and russian forces during the crimean war. a misunderstanding meant that they were ordered to advance into a valley surrounded by enemy soldiers. they were defenceless
charge of the light brigade
soldiers in the trenches of ww1 are awake at night, afraid of enemy attack. nature seems to be the main enemy. the men imagine returning home but the doors there are closed to them
exposure
narrator describes how a community thinks its well prepared for a coming storm
as the poem goes on their confidence starts to disappear as the storm develops. ending of the poem describes fear as the storm hits the island
storm on the island
poem focuses on a single soldiers experience of a charge towards enemy lines. it describes his thoughts and actions as he tries to stay alive. the soldiers overriding emotion and motivation is fear which has replaced the more patriotic ideals that he held before the violence began
bayonet charge
a group of soldiers shoot a man whose running away from a bank raid hes been involved in. his death has been described in graphic detail. the soldier telling the story isnt sure whether the man was armed or not. hes haunted by the mans death
remains
a mother describes her son leaving home, seemingly to join the army. the poem is about the mothers emotional reaction to her son leaving. she feels sad, lonely and scared for his safety. she describes helping him smarten his uniform ready to leave. after he leaves she goes to places that remind her of him
poppies
dark room, a photographer is developing pictures hes taken in war zones across the world. being back in england is a big contrast- its safe and calm. a photo begins to develop and the photographer remembers the death of the man and cries to his wife.final stanza focuses on the people in england who will see his photographs in their sunday papers
war photographer
the first three stanzas talk about the importance of paper as a means of recording our history. stanzas four to six focus on the paradox that paper is fragile yet it still controls our lives. the final thirteen lines look at creating things, particularly human life. life is more complex and precious than other things we create
tissue
the speaker talks about a city in a country she left as a child. she has a purely positive view about it. the city seems to be under attack and unreachable. they accuse and threaten the speaker but she still sees the old city in a positive way. the city may not be a real place.
the emigree
suicide pilot setting off on his mission. pilot turns around and doesnt complete his mission after recognising the beauty of nature and remembering his innocent childhood. pilot was shunned when he got home
kamikaze
narrator is talking about his identitt and how it links to his knowledge of history. he was taught about british history but wasnt taught about his caribbean roots. he mentions men and women from diverse backgrounds who should be celebrated. ends positively by him saying he is going to create his own identity
checking out me history
