poetry anthology

remains opening

Armitage writes Remains as a dramatic monlogue with present particles such as; ‘legs it’ and ‘tosses’ in order to give a sense of it being an account from a memory in a flashback which is shown to be a symptom of PTSD. This links back to the creation of the poem which featured in the doccumentary on the impact of war on soldiers returning home in order to raise awareness of PTSD

• psychological consequences are due to guilt which is heightened through the motif of blood

on another occasion….
- remains

.. we get sent out

1. opens in media res: confusion of reader mirrors the confusion of the soldiers that aren’t emotionally prepared for what happens next

2. Armitage makes a socitetal comment perhaps suggesting that they are launched into situations they dont funlly understand

3. “we get sent out”: reality soliders have to deal with on a day to day basis - expected to be repeatedly exposed to suffering and not get any help

myself and somebody else…
- remains

… and somebody else

1. repition: attemps to alleviate his repsonsibility and shift the blame

   • trying to ignore his guilt = expectations of soldiers

2. speaker attempts to syntactically dominante the stanza with other people to minimise his own role

probably armed…
- remains

… possibly not

1. probably comes first as it provides justification

2. anaphora of this phrase is shown later in the poem to emphasies how he is wracked with guilt form his immoral action

his bloody life…
- remains

… in my bloody hands

1. adj bloody: makes a pun to describe the violent gruesome nature of his death

2. personal prn: no collective responsibility, he is to blame

3. reference to LM: allusion hints that the speaker has been unbalanced by guilt just as LM was

tosses his guts back into his body…
- remains

… then he’s carried off in a lorry

1. verb: connotes lack of respect as if the body is a piece of a rubbish, suggests that it is an involuntary action and something they’re used to

2. gruesome imagery: body has no value, conflict has caused devaluation of human life

poppies opening

Weir utilises the dramatic monologue to set a tone of remembrance to highlight the cyclic nature of war and how it will always end in death. This is heightened the usage of a free verse to create an impression of the poem being an outpouring emotion to convey the writers lack of control in response to her sons death

• psychological consequences of conflict are due to guilt and loss, highlighted by the elegy which starts with remembrance; “three days before armistice sunday” - temporal deixis establishes sombre tone

smoothed down your shirts…

• poppies

… upturned collar

1. domestic motherly image; any day could be the last

hoping to hear your…

• poppies

… playground voice in the wind

1. alliteration: echoes the way she’s straining to hear him

2. only voice remains, contradicitng the repeated direct address where he doesn’t respond

the gelled black…

• poppies

… thorns of your hair

1. allusion to Jesus: who wore a crown of thorns when he as sacrificed, hinting to the sacrifice the son may make

i was..

• poppies

… brave

1. asserting bravery subverts the idea that it’s only those who go off to war who are brave

storm on the island opening

Heaney was a northern irish catholic poet who created sitm in a collection called: “Death of the Naturalist” in which focused on the Aran Islands and how nature shows it’s power there. Heaney utilises the form of a dramatic monologue paired with colloquialisms to create a one way conversation in order to reflect the powerless position of the islanders

• shows nature as powerfully aggressive + inescapable

• cyclical structure: storm is never ending and they have to learn to live with it and endure it as nature will always overpower the insufficient power of humans

blows full…

• sitm

… blast

1. plosives: sense of aggression, suggests nature is attacking the island

spits like a tame cat…

• sitm

… turned savage

1. simile: mistaken belief they have tamed nature, then the ‘cat’ turns on it’s owner

2. islanders never owned nature as it was always more powerful than them

can raise..

• sitm

… a tragic chorus

1. in a greek tragedy a “chorus” comments on and explains events

   • having no trees to act as a chorus suggests the islanders are left on their own to face the storm

wind dives..

• sitm

… and strafes invisibly

1. lang usually used to describe a war: wind is compared to a fighter plane attacking the islands

exposure opening

Exposure was written in 1917 whilst Owen was fighting in the trenches during WW1 which creates an authentic first person narrative. At this time, war was romanticised to the point it gained a mythical status and to die in war, fighting for your country, was seen as the greatest achievement a man could commit. Owen dispelled ‘the old lie’ by exposing the reality of war which is emphasised through the regular rhyme scheme reflecting the monotonous nature if the men’s experience.

• anaphora of “but nothing happens” paired with the cyclical structure suggests the futility of war against the relentless conditions of nature

merciless iced east winds…

• exposure

that knive us…

1. adj merciless: relentless

2. ellipsis: emphasise waiting + boredom of soldiers

   • slows the pace to force the reader to experience the same frustration as soldiers due to their suffering being stretched out of time

3. metaphorical phrase: nature personified and seems to be attacking them, creates a sinister tone

like a dull rumour

• exposure

… some other war

1. biblical reference: Matthew 24:6 - where Jesus foretells the end of the world, “you will hear of wars and rumours of wars”

2. soldiers feel like their end is near as they fight to survive which is emphasised in “for love of god seems dying”

   • lack of religiously imposed morality highlighting the cruelty of war

all their eyes…

• exposure

… are ice

1. metaphor: refers to the eyes of the living + the dead men

   • vivid description of how they’re being overpowered by nature, living men are no longer able to feel emotion

sudden successive flights…

• exposure

…of bullets streak the silence

1. sibilance: positions nature as the enemy

2. sibilant constants: mirror the sound of gunfire showing the reader that the snow is the real threat as it slices through the air as bullets

ozymandias opening

this poem engages in the issues of power and conflict through Ozymandias, who’s work was forgotten in time despite his tyrannical reign, signifying that power will not last forever. Shelley utilises the petrarchan and shakespearean sonnets in order to emphasise Ozymandias’ love for himself which is heightened through his hubris and admiration for himself

• irregular rhyme scheme; lack of control

ozymandias context

Shelley was a radical and romantic poet who wanted to end the oppression of ordinary people and promote social justice. During the enlightenment, writers would centre their work on the beauty of nature with an appreciation of the sublime whilst criticising the institutions of power through poetry which is accessible to all

Rameses II, was an egyptian pharaoh who was believed to be the pharaoh involved in Moses’ exodus, and was later defeated by the 12 tribes of Israel and used the throne name ‘Ozymandias’. It was also thought that Shelley was making implicit links between Rameses and George III who both led violent but powerful reigns

my name is ozymandias,

king of kings…

1. caesura: encourages reader to revel in his presence

2. reference to revelations 19:16 where Jesus is also described as the king of kings: views himself as omnipotent and above all, even God

wrinkled lip..

• ozymandias

.. and sneer of cold command

1. wrinkled lip: imagery of someone grimacing in disgust showing his disregard for his subjects, viewing them as inferior

   • antipathy is paired with immense power which enables him to exploit those he rules without empathy: shelley uses this to show the danger of an individual having unlimited power

2. sneer: mocking tone shows he is heartless and emphaises his immense self superiority and arrogance

3. alliteration: reflective of Shelley’s own anti violence stance

shattered..

• ozymandias

… visage

1. creates a sense of irony: king who believed in his own power and superiority has now been forgotten and destroyed by time leaving only a visage that had been intended to show he was unforgettable

lone and level sands…

• ozymandias

… stretch far away

1. lone: isolated - statue is all that remains

2. level: monotonous + featureless - no sign of legacy

3. sands: literal sands - covered by his statue

   • figurative sands of time’ - have covered over Ozymandias’ memory

4. far away: insignificant + unrecognisable: his pursuits were in vain

London opening

Blake was a romantic poet who held strong radical and political views which he utilised to create London which stemmed from a collection of poems called ‘songs of experience’. This collection exposed the corruption and suffering of the developing world and especially in London where the industrial revolution was overtaking

Through the dramatic monologue, Blake explores the theme of authoritarian abuses of power to spur a change in society whilst sympathising with those that have been hurt by socities inequalities formed by the; government, monarch and church. Ulitmately, he suggests that there is huge wealth disparity affecting England which is contrasted by the simplistic structure of 4 regular stanzas following an alternating rhyme scheme