Poems overview

London - William Blake - FULL STUDY

Oppression, inequality, corruption, power of institutions, suffering.

Context - Written in 1794, during the Industrial Revolution. Blake, a Romantic poet, was critical of the Church + state, highlighting societal injustices.

“I wander through each chartered street” - Repetition of “chartered” emphasises the control + ownership imposed on natural elements, reflecting societal constraints.

“Mind-forged manacles” - Metaphor for psychological oppression, suggesting that people’s minds - shackled by societal norms + instituitons.

“Every black’ning church appalls” - Imagery + juxtaposition criticises the Church’s failure to address social issues, w/ “black’ning” implying moral decay.

“And blights with plagues the marriage hearse” - Oxymoron combining “marriage” + “hearse” symbolises the destruction of innocence + the intertwining of life + death due to societal corruption.

Structure - Four quatrains w/ an ABAB rhyme scheme. The regularity mirrors the monotonous + oppressive atmosphere of the city.

The Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred, Lord Tennyson - FULL STUDY

Patriotism, bravery, the futility of war, obedience.

Context - Published in 1854, it recounts the Crimean War’s Battle of Balaclava, where a miscommunication led to a disastrous cavalry charge.

“Into the valley of Death” - Biblical allusion to Psalm 23, emphasising the soldiers’ bravery in the face of certain death.

“Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die” - Repetition + rhyme highlight the unquestioning obedience expected of soliders.

“Cannon to right of them, / Cannon to left of them, / Cannon in front of them” - Anaphora + triplet create a sense of entrapment + the overwhelming odds faced.

“Honour the Light Brigade / Noble six hundred!” - Imperative + epithet glorify the soldiers’ courage despite the blunder.

Structure - Six stanzas reflecting the 600 soliders. The dactylic dimeter mimics the rhythm of galloping horses, enhancing the poem’s pace + urgency.

Exposure - Wilfred Owen - FULL STUDY

Suffering, the futility of war, nature’s hostility, despair.

Context - Written during World War I, Owen aimed to depict the harsh realities of trench warfare, countering romanticised notions of war.

“Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us…” - Personification of the wind as a merciless attacker, emphasising nature’s cruelty.

“But nothing happens.” - Refrain highlighting the monotony (repetitive routine) + psychological torment of waiting in the trenches.

“Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence.” - Sibilance mimics the sound of bullets, creating an auditory image of the battlefield.

“For love of God seems dying.” - Ambiguity suggesting a loss of faith amidst the horrors of war.

Structure - Eight stanzas w/ a consistent ABBAC rhyme scheme. The repetitive structure mirrors the endless cyle of suffering.

Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney - FULL STUDY

Nature’s power, isolation, fear, human vulnerability.

Context - Reflects on the experiences of islanders facing storms, possibly alluding to the political unrest in Northern Ireland.

“We are prepared: we build our houses squat” - Declarative tone shows confidence, which is later undermined.

“Spits like a tame cat / Turned savage” - Simile illustrating nature’s unpredictability + potential for violence.

“We are bombarded by the empty air” - Metaphor + oxymoron conveying the invisible yet overwhelming force of the storm.

“Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear” - Paradox emphasising the intangible nature of fear.

Structure - One continuous stanza in blank verse, reflecting the relentless + unstructured nature of the storm.

Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes - FULL STUDY

Fear, confusion, the dehumanising effects of war.

Context - Though Hughes didn’t serve in WWI, he draws on historical accounts to depict a soldier’s experience during a bayonet charge.

“Suddenly he awoke and was running” - In media res opening plunges the reader into immediate action - disorientating.

“Bullets smacking the belly out of the air” - Personification + violent imagery convey the chaos of battle. Brutality, violence of conflict - powerful, vicious - air itself, as a natural element is attacked + wounded.

“Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest,” - patriotism leaving his body and heart, disappointing / futile.

“His sweat heavy,” - body isn’t to his advantage - dehumanising - machine-like

Structure -

4 regular stanzas w/ a tight rhyme scheme → reflects the photographer’s attempt to impose order on war’s chaos.

Enjambment → shows overflowing emotions + memories.

Cyclical structure → suggests the endless, repetitive nature of his work + the public’s apathy.

3 irregular stanzas w/ no set rhyme scheme → reflects the chaos of battle.

Starts in media res → throws reader into action like the soldier.

Enjambment, caesura, uneven line lengths → mirror the soldier’s panic, confusion, + loss of control.

Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley - FULL STUDY

Power, pride, the transient nature of human achievements, nature’s supremacy.

Context - Written in 1818, Shelley, a Romantic poet, critiques the ephemeral nature of political power, possibly referencing the decline of empires like Ancient Egypt.

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” - Irony: The boastful inscription contrasts w/ the ruined statue, highlighting the impermanence of human power.

“Nothing beside remians.” - Caesura emphasises the desolation surrounding the statue, reinforcing the theme of decay.

“The lone and level sands stretch far away.” - Alliteration + imagery depict the vastness of nature, outlasting human endeavors.

Structure - A sonnet w/ a disrupted rhyme scheme, reflecting the broken nature of Ozymandias’s legacy.

Extract from The Prelude - William Wordsworth - FULL STUDY

Nature’s power, personal growth, the sublime.

Context - An autobiographical poem from the Romantic era, emphasising the profound impact of nature on the human psyche.

“A huge peak, black and huge” - Repetition + dark imagery convey the overwhelming presence of nature.

“Troubled pleasure” - Oxymoron reflects the complex emotions evoked by nature’s grandeur.

“And were a trouble to my dreams” - Personification indicates the lasting psychological impact of the experience.

Structure - Blank verse in iambic pentameter mirrors natural speech, allowing for introspective reflection.

My Last Duchess - Robert Browning - FULL STUDY

Power, control, jealousy, art as a means of possession.

Context: A dramatic monologue from the Victorian era, inspired by the Duke of Ferrara’s rumoured involvement in his wife’s death.

“I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.” - Euphemism suggests the Duke’s sinister actions to control his wife.

“Notice Neptune, though, / Taming a sea-horse” - Metaphor for the Duke’s desire to dominate.

“That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall” - Possessive pronoun indicates ownership, reducing his wife to an object.

Structure - A single stanza in iambic pentameter w/ enjambment reflects the Duke’s controlling + uninterrupted speech.

Remains - Simon Armitage - FULL STUDY

Guilt, trauma, the psychological effects of war.

Context: Based on a soldier’s account from the Iraq War, highlighting the lasting impact of conflict.

“His bloody life in my bloody hands.” - Repetition + metaphor allude to guilt + possible PTSD.

“Probably armed, possibly not.” - Uncertainty reflects the moral ambiguity faced by soldiers.

“The drink and the drugs won’t flush him out” - Colloquial lamguage emphasises the struggle to forget traumatic experiences.

Structure - Free verse w/ enjambment mirrors the disjointed thoughts of someone reliving trauma.

Poppies - Jane Weir - FULL STUDY

Loss, memory, the personal cost of war.

Context: Written from a mother’s perspective, reflecting on her son’s departure to war, intertwining personal grief w/ public remembrance.

“I pinned one onto your lapel” - Symbolism of the poppy as both a remembrance + a farewell.

“The world overflowing like a treasure chest” - Simile conveys the son’s eagerness to explore, contrasting w/ the mother’s apprehension.

“I listened, hoping to fear / your playground voice catching on the wind” - Imagery + longing depicts the mother’s yearning for her son’s return.

Structure - Free verse w/ varying stanza lengths reflects the unpredictable nature of grief.

War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy - FULL STUDY

Conflict, the role of media, detachment, the horrors of war.

Context: Explores the challenges faced by war photographers in conveying the realities of conflict to a detached audience.

“Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows” - Metaphor for the photographs, juxtaposing chaos w/ order.

“A hundred agonies in black + white” - Contrast between the vivid pain captured + the monochrome presentation.

“The reader’s eyeballs prick / with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers” - Irony highlights the fleeting nature of public.

Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker - FULL STUDY

Fragility of human power, identity + culture, nature vs human constructs, transience + spirituality.

Context: Dharker is a British-Pakistani poet, the poem reflects her interest in faith, place, + human structures. Written in a modern, free verse style.

“Paper that lets the light shine through” - Metaphor in “paper”, shows that paper is fragile as in we are fragile in the face of the “light” which is also a metaphor for the truth, or for God. It also suggests that we need openness, not control.

“Maps too. The sun shines through / their borderlines” - Juxtaposition in the natural light vs human borders, shows that nature breaks man-made visions.

“Might fly our lives like paper kites” - Similie - lives are controlled by fragile systems (e.g. money), suggests that this illusion of control.

Structure - Free verse, enjambment → lack of control, flowing like paper. Irregular stanzas → reflects fragility. Final one-line stanza → human identity is the real power.

The Émigrée - Carol Rumens - FULL STUDY

Identity + memory, displacement + conflict, power of language + imagination.

Context: Not about one specific place - universal story of exile. Reflects the experiences of people forced to flee home.

“There once was a country…” - Fairy-tale opening → nostalgic, idealised. The memory is romanticised.

“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants” - Personification, the home is diseased (corrupted with politics), but still loved.

“My city hides behind me” - Metaphor, she still protects her homeland in memory, shows role reversal in which she defends her country.

“They accuse me of being dark in their free city” - Contrast in dark vs free → rejection, racism, isolation.

Structure - 3 stanzas, increasing tension. Ends w/ defiant tone and repeats the image of the city → obsession, memory.

Checking Out Me History - John Agard - FULL STUDY

Power of identity + heritage, rejection of colonial education, resistance + empowerment.

Context: Guyanese-British poet, the poem challenges the Eurocentric curriculum taught in schools.

“Dem tell me / Dem tell me / Wha dem want to tell me” - Repetition + phonetic spelling shows anger and rebellion therefore critiquing biased education.

“Blind me to me own identity” - Metaphor shows forced ignorance and erasure of history.

“Nanny de maroon” / “Mary Seacole” - Historical references, celebrating black female resistance to show that the poem overall is resisting european power. Naming them is empowering and lyrical rhythm, which hooks the reader while influencing them.

"I carving out me identity” - Metaphor, reclaims history, active + forceful. The final line gives personal power.

Structure - Dual strucure: British history in a mocking tone vs real heroes in a passionate tone. Italicised sections celebrate black history. The irregular grammar and spelling become a resistance to white norms.

Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland - FULL STUDY

Patriotism vs personal conscience, shame + honour, family + memory, the power of choice.

Context: Kamikaze plots = Japanese suicide missions in WWII. Garland explores what happens if one disobeys that expectation.

“A shaven head full of powerful incantations” - Imagery of ritualistic, brainwashed patriotism and so highlighting pressure on soldiers.

“Little fishing boats / strung out like bunting” - Similie gives a joyful, peaceful image of life which contrasts w/ war which is a reminder of what he’d lose.

“He must have wondered / which had been the better way to die” - Ambiguity, physically alive but socially dead. The final line gives emotional impact.

Structure - Narrative poem, shifts from 3rd to 1st person. Free verse + enjambment → natural, internal conflict. No punctuation in final stanza = emotional blur.