Poetry English

Exposure 1

"merciless iced winds that knive us” violent imagery shows nature is the true enemy over opposition, verb ‘knive’ suggets the weather is personally attacking the soldiers. Context: Owen was a soldier- writing from personal experience, challenges ideas of glory in war

Exposure 2

“our brains ache” collective word used suggests the solders feel like they are together in the suffering. Word ‘ache’ suggests the phycological damage caused by WW1 conflics,

Context: quote reflects shell shock that soldiers would experience in war + harsh conditions in trenches

Exposure 3

“but nothing happens” repetition + cyclical structure shows repetitiveness of conflict, shows endless waiting of trench warfare. Context: boredom=form of torture

Exposure 4

“we turn back to our dying” use of collective words, death is inevitable in conflict,

Context: Criticism of poor leadership in WW1 - waste of lives

Kamikaze 1

“a one-way journey into history”- ‘history’ suggests honour + propaganda glorifying death in war”

Context- WW2 Japanese soldiers where trained to sacrifice themselves: kamikaze pilots

Kamikaze 2

“little fishing boats strung out like bunting” use of peaceful celebratory imagery- contrasts with mission+symbol of life and home

Context: nature and peace disrupting indoctrination

Kamikaze 3

“green-blue translucent sea” - uses sensory imagery- shows that the fighter pilot is a person and reminds him of what he will lose

Context: emphasises difficulty of decision and shows peronal identity is more important than national duty

Kamikaze 4

“which had been the better way to die” - creates ambiguity signifying social rejection= living death

Context- shame culture + dishonour affects entire family

Bayonet Charge 1

“suddenly he was awoke and running”- uses in media res, showing chaos of war and lack of control soldiers have.

Context: reflects trauma of soldiers in ww1

Bayonet Charge 2

“bullets smacking the belly out the air” uses violent imagery- shows war destroys nature as well as people

Context- modern warfare is presented as unnatural

Bayonet Charge 3

“patriotic tear.. sweating like molten iron” Juxtaposition used to show how patriotism melts away under pressure- suggests pain soldiers go through + true meaning of patriotism

Context: crisicising romantic war ideals

Bayonet charge 4

“Cold clockwork of the stars and the nations” alliteration of harsh sound suggests war is a mechanical conflict/lack of personal pride in fighting and beyond individual control

Context- Criticising the government for controlling the conflict.

Remains 1

“Probably armed, possibly not” caesura shows hesitation, shows how war blurs right and wrong

Remains 2

“I see every round as it rips through his life” violent imagery shows his memory of war is inescapable and vivid, 'rips’ shows brutality and destruction. Use of present tense shows he is still experiencing PTSD

Remains 3

“End of story, except not really” - Colloquial tone makes message more understandable, short sentence after comma shows event is not over mentally

Remains 4

“Sort of inside out” - dehumanising language as inside out is typically used to describe clothing, shows how soldiers are treated like objects, showing how their lives are taken as worthless.

My last Duchess 1

“I gave commands, then all smiles stopped together” - Euphemism + Sibilance suggests that he had the Duchess killed, Calm tone suggests he has too much power

My last duchess 2

Neptune ‘taming a sea horse’Neptune is a powerful god of the sea, taming a small animal creates irony, word “taming” shows how the duke wanted to control the duchess, end the poem with the idea of possession

My last Duchess 3

“She thanked men, -good! but thanked somehow.. I know not how” caesura shows bitterness and obsession, shows how even basic, demonstrates his patriarchal attitudes

My last duchess 4

“My gift of a nine hundred years old name” - Show he has pride in his status, values reputation more than relationships, shows arrogance

Ozymandias 1

“Look upon ye works ye mighty and dispair!” - Imperative shows arrogance, mighty suggests he is more powerful than other rulers

Ozymandias 2

“King of kings” - biblical reference suggests he views himself as being god-like, creates irony as he cannot control time

Ozymandias 3

“The lone and level sands stretch far away” sibilance to create an idea of endless movement of time, ‘lone’ suggests how his legacy was forgotten.

Ozymandias 4

“Sneer of cold command” - Alliteration of harsh sound shows the harshness of his rule, cold contrasts the dessert setting, showing how cruel of a leader he was