English AQA Power and Conflict Poems

“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone”

Ozymandias

-describing the remains of a once-great statue, symbolizing the inevitable decline of power and human achievement

-sense of immensity/ grand scale of human ambition and the fleeting nature of glory.

“Half sunk, a shattered visage lies”

Ozymandias

-a broken face of the statue, reflecting the decay of power and the impermanence of human accomplishments

-buried beneath sand

-implies Ozymandias is mostly forgotten, as is his empire

-broken into small pieces

—>decay over time

—> result of violence

-shows how human power is not immortal and eventually succumbs to time and nature

“sneer of cold command”

Ozymandias

-scornful look of authority and arrogance, highlighting the ruler's disdain for those beneath him and the transient nature of power-represents the arrogance of Ozymandias, showcasing his belief in his own supremacy

this phrase encapsulates the theme of hubris and the eventual downfall of tyrants

-hard alliteration —> severity and power of the ruler, emphasizing his oppressive nature and the emptiness of his legacy

-sculptor has power over how the statue appears —> he has power and authority over Ozymandias's image, immortalizing his arrogance.

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

Ozymandias

-this line showcases the arrogance and hubris of Ozymandias, as he challenges other rulers to admire his vast empire, which has now fallen into ruin

-it highlights the irony of his boastful proclamation in contrast to the desolation surrounding the remnants of his power

-reference to God —> shows Ozymandias as having the power and worship of a god —> ironic —> a god’s power is immortal, Ozymandias and his empire are not it emphasizes the fleeting nature of human achievement and the inevitable decline of all empires it emphasizes the futility of pride and the transience of power, as his once-great empire is now reduced to ruins, illustrating the inevitable decay of all human endeavors

“Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, bondless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Ozymandias

-the inevitable end of human power as it does not last forever against the power of nature and time, emphasizing the totality of Ozymandias’ downfall

-no one is left to worship/remember Ozymandias as his memory is erased by time and nature

-alliteration —> emphasises the emptiness of the desert

-contrasting tone —> lonely/ empty/ powerless/ depressing

“And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.”

London

-metaphor/ anaphora/ repetition

-impact of the harshness experienced by the people, revealing the struggles of the people who live in London

-their faces show their suffering and vulnerability, portraying a society weighed down by it’s struggles and challenges

-general misery experienced by the people

-the marks are more than physical, but rather spiritually and mentally, impacting and infecting the lives of all the people and weighing them down

-many look tired, unhappy and resigned, reflecting the dark and oppressive inhumanity of the hellscape in which they are trapped in

“The mind-forged manacles I hear”

London

-the idea that societal norms and oppressive systems restrict our potential, preventing the people from breaking free as well as stopping their imagination and creativity

-represents the limitations and mental barriers we put on ourselves that stop the people’s dreams, aspirations, freedom

-restrains are not external but rather their minds, showing the psychological and emotional restraints one can put on themselves in order to follow the expectations and regulations of their society, leading to them preventing their own happiness

-metaphor —>reveals how people are oppressed and trapped by their own thoughts

“Every black’ning church appalls”

London

-those who have power (the church/ the monarchy/ the government) are seldom to be trusted

-adjective—> religion doesn’t help the most vulnerable and the church’s reputation has been tarnished by it’s wrong-doings

“And the hapless soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down palace walls.”

London

-onomatopoeia emphasises the horror and brutality of a broken society

-criticism of those in power who are abusing the people they are supposed to protect in order to win battles, however they are ignoring the people’s suffering and need for a better life

-people who have power over others always tend to abuse or, at the very least, ignore the weak and vulnerable

-those who are suffering feel tired from the constant neglect they receive as they are seen as pawns for the monarchy/government/church who only care about them as long as they are useful

“And blights with plagues the marriage hearse”

London

-refers to rich men who sleep with prostitutes, get an STD and then give it to their wife, leading to her death

-carries immense weight

-symbolises every union/ the cycle of every marriage

-surreal juxtaposition suggests that even things that should be good and pure are corrupted

-metaphorical of a woman being forced into a marriage she does not want, leading to her feeling misery and depression as she despises the life she has been forced to live —> she will die unhappy from abuse suffered from husband/ childbirth/ old age

“an act if stealth
And troubled pleasure,”

Extract from, The Prelude

-both a pleasurable and unpleasable experience

“That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall.
Looking as if she were alive.”

My Last Duchess

-the first line starts in first person and reveals that the Duke is taking to someone about his last wife (the Duchess)

-the pronoun emphasises ideas of ownership and possessiveness from the Duke, suggesting he has an obsessive control over the Duchess

-implies she is dead

-although she has no voice and is no longer alive, she still dominates the Duke’s thoughts

“(since none puts by
The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)”

My Last Duchess

-implies the Duke has an obsessive control over the Duchess, even after her death

-a very significant, perhaps sinister, aspect of this poem is contained within this parenthesis as the reader learns that the painting is covered by a ‘curtain’ which only the Duke is allowed to open which is significant as, as he later explains, during her lifetime he could not control who she interacted with and made her happy but now his way of controlling her is by covering the portrait with a curtain

-this controlling behaviour is sinister and makes the audience wonder if he was involved in her death, maybe covering the painting as a symptom of guilt

“Sir, ‘twas not
Her husband’s presence only, called that spot
Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek”

My Last Duchess

-the Duke describes that he wasn’t the only man who could lead to the Duchess having a ‘spot of joy’ (blushing) on her cheek, which insinuates that other men flirted with and aroused the Duchess as ‘blushing’ is associated with flirting and shyness. This hints at the Duke’s unfaithful, slutty perception of her – in this day and age reason enough for him to get rid of her

“She had
A heart - how shall I say? - too soon made glad,
Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er
She looked on, and her looks went everywhere”

My Last Duchess

-Duke is dissatisfied with his wife because she was too easily pleased, too cheerful

-the parenthesis implies the Duke is choosing his words carefully, possibly implying he is changing the way in which the Duchess is perceived

-Duke is jealous and distrustful of her —> possessive/ judgemental/ controlling

-this phrase very much reiterates his previous complaints that she is overly impressed and entertained, especially by men

-the rhetorical question is also very significant as it is an example of euphemistic language which is an attempt by the Duke to hide his controlling nature and disdain towards her and convey indecision about him which lessens the emotion in the words and his speech

“My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name”

My Last Duchess

-By marrying her, the Duchess has adopted the surname of the Duke and the Duke describes this and the honour and respect that goes with his long-standing, high-class family as a gift to her that she should be grateful and in his debt for. However, the Duke is again frustrated by how she doesn’t ‘rank’ what he views to be the ultimate gift above everything else. We also learn that status and respect are very important qualities for the Duke.

-he is proud of his title and therefore sees it as the ultimate gift for any person and should therefore be looked up to and respected, especially by the Duchess

“and if she let
Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set
Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse,
-E’en then would be some stooping; and I choose
Never to stoop.”

My Last Duchess

-stoop—> bend or lower oneself

-the Duke is arrogant and proud

-assonance—> repeated vowel sound

-the Duke is so proud that even criticising his wife would have been beneath him—> he believes she shouldn’t need to be reminded how to behave

“I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together.”

My Last Duchess

-Duke had his wife ‘silenced’ (could be interpreted as killed), implying his controlling attitude towards his partner and his belief that he should be the primary focus of his wife and if that doesn’t happen then he will kill her and replace her with a wife would does idolise and respect him (in his opinion)

-awkward sibilance

—> uncomfortable to say —> suggests an awkward atmosphere and tone as the Duke heavily implies he had his previous wife killed

—>conveys his wickedness as the ‘s’ sound could be associated with his secrecy

-caesura —> cut line as wife is cut out of life/ killed —> like the end of her life

-the brutal image signifies the end of her life and her happiness, showing how the Duke abused his power over her and destroyed her happiness

-confirms that the Duke did indeed kill as it has been suggested throughout the poem

-he ‘gave commands’ which portrays the Duke’s power over people, as someone who is cold and cynical but also his cowardice as he hid behind the actions of those he instructed

“though his fair daughter’s self, as I avowed,
At starting, is my object.”

My Last Duchess

-dehumanising the women (his future wife), already enforcing his control over her before they are married —> only sees women as possessions

-his marriage to this woman is his goal and purpose

-his attitude towards his future wife hasn’t changed from his attitude towards his last wife, possibly implying that those with power who have never been challenged will never feel a need to change and will never see themselves ass the one in the wrong

-suggests the Duke will become even more controlling of his future wife as he has seen the outcome of being lenient with the Last Duchess

“Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward”

“a shaven head
full of powerful incantations
and enough fuel for a one-way
journey into history”

Kamikaze

-the man was prepared to die, showing his dedication and commitment to his country and its people by fulfilling his duty as a Kamikaze pilot

- the incantations suggest that he has been brainwashed by propaganda to believe his sacrifice is heroic —> under the spell of heroism, hinting at the influence of patriotic propaganda that kamikazes would have been exposed to

-paints an image of a Japanese military culture using symbols such as ‘shaven head’ and ‘samurai sword’ (mentioned in the line above the quote’, moving away from the Western ideas that would usually dominate the media

-shows the pilot’s destiny to die during his final, suicidal mission, but also how he will be honoured and viewed with glory following the Japanese tradition of death rather than defeat

“he must have looked far down
at the little fishing boats
strung out like bunting
on a green-blue translucent sea”

Kamikaze

-the bunting is linked to partying, festivals and celebration which juxtaposing to what was really happening

-sees nature as something beautiful/ tranquil/ vibrant leading to him realising that life was worth living and that the serenity of nature, in particular, was too good to leave behind, even if it meant disobeying his country’s orders and the subsequent consequences

“the dark shoals of fishes
flashing silver as their bellies
swivelled towards the sun”

Kamikaze

-alliteration of ‘f’ and ‘s’ are similar to the sound of water gently knocking at the edge of the boat, reminding the pilot of when he has been fishing

-silver bellies reflect the bottom of the boat, showing the two sides of the pilot’s decisions

-shows the greatness and omnipotence of nature

-shoals signify unity which links to the fond memories the pilot has from when he was younger

-silver is associated with wealth and elegance

-sunlight symbolic of power and vitality, providing life to humanity and life as we know it and also providing life to the pilot, aiding him in his future decision to live rather than die

“built cairns of pearl-grey pebbles
to see whose withstood longest
the turbulent inrush of breakers
bringing their father’s boat safe
-yes, grandfather’s boat- safe”

Kamikaze

-metaphorically, the way in which the ‘turbulent inrush of breakers’ crash upon and knock them down on the shore is symbolic of the fragility of a person’s legacy after they die, hence questions the honour supposedly assigned to someone who dies for their country in Japanese culture

-the woman is imagining some of what her father, the pilot, would have been thinking as he remembers his youth and the happy memories he has with it which contrast from the emotions he might have been feeling at that point

-the memories of his childhood and his family support him in his decision as he questions the cultural justification of his death

-the repetition of ‘safe’ emphasises the pilot’s shifting motivation to ensure his own safety by aborting his suicide mission

“a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous”

Kamikaze

-the tuna is a metaphor for the prowess of nature

-the tuna’s dangerous nature is symbolic of how beautiful and yet unforgiving the world is and can be as the people in it have forced the pilot to make the decision between life and death

“my mother never spoke again
in his presence, nor did she meet his eyes
and the neighbours too, they treated him
as though he no longer existed”

Kamikaze

-the pilot’s wife (the speaker’s mother) refused to speak to him, rather than be happy and relieved he is alive like we might originally think

-shows the shame and embarrassment felt by the pilot and also those in his community at his lack of commitment to die for his country, linking to Japanese culture

-it tells us that he did return home and made the decision not to die

-the pilot is being rejected from the community he had once been a part of, seen as an outcast and a failure

-a tragic irony is created as people are treating him as though he had died and that his decision to survive was selfish

“only we children still chattered and laughed/
till gradually we too learned
to be silent, to live as though
he had never returned”

Kamikaze

-shows how the children are still innocent and still accept the pilot despite what he has done as they do not yet understand societal traditions

-suggests that children have a more humane outlook on life, not understanding or judging people for some things that others would see as wrong

-as the children grow older, they learn the societal traditions that they are expected to follow and therefore they too start shutting the pilot out for not following expectations

“that this
was no longer the father we loved.”

Kamikaze

- the woman no longer seeing the pilot as her father due to him not dying for their country is a devastating note to draw the poem to a close and demonstrates the harsh manifestation of Japanese culture

-shows the dramatic and harsh results of one’s actions in a country that is extremely patriotic and traditions that result in some being rejected from the society they had once been a part of

“he must have wondered
which had been the better way to die.”

Kamikaze

-reflection on the choices made by the pilot and whether suicide and respect would have been the better alternative to a life of rejection endured by the pilot after he aborted his mission

-the conclusion leaves the reader wondering about the significance of social acceptance and cultural values in someone’s life and whether they are more important than life

“Paper lets the light
shine through, this
is what could alter things.”

Tissue

-explore the impact of light on humanity, one way being the effect of sunlight, as well as daytime vs night time, has on the human mind

-the impact of God/ religion on mankind as light symbolises God across literature and religion

“paper thinned by age or touching”

Tissue

-paper thins and becomes weathered by age, as does human skin as it wrinkles

-is a link between different types of tissue, such as paper and skin, and how the impacts of time have similar effects on them, showing how all types of tissue are similar

“the back of the Koran”

Tissue

-the Koran, or Quran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed to be a revelation from God

-links the ideas of light as the divine symbol and how life is a gift from God

-shows the importance of tissue, as it can control the most important pieces of knowledge and yet be fragile and easily damaged

“where a hand
has written the names and histories
who was born to whom
the height and weight, who
died where and how, on which sepia date”

Tissue

-shows the importance of tissue as it acts as a documentation of every life that has ever existed and gives an insight into them as people in a way that, even after their deaths, can be read and learnt about by future generations who have never met them, building a bridge between centuries of people that would have otherwise be severed with time

“pages smoothed and stroked and turned
transparent with attention”

Tissue

-repetition of ‘and’ emphasises the extent to which the paper had been handled, worn away by those who had touched it over time

-the alliteration of ‘s’ creates a careful softness to the interaction between the person who has handled the paper and the paper, representing the care and affection that humanity should, according to religious scriptures, share with one another

-by referring to the paper as being ‘transparent’, it emphasises how even the purest intentions can have negative consequences, leading to the destruction of something good

“if buildings were paper, I might
feel their drift, see how easily
they fall away on a sigh, a shift
in the direction of the wind”

Tissue

-the speaker is commentating on the fragility of human life, how the human body is made up of things so small, its delicate makeup parallels the fragility of buildings made from paper

-it shows how humanity is at the mercy of external forces and the omnipotent natural world which they are unable to control or prevent

“Maps too. The sun shines through
their borderlines”

Tissue

-the ‘borderlines’ represent the division between regions and countries which differ in numerous different ways, however the sun shining through shows how there can still be unity amidst these differences

-it emphasises how maybe paper is not as powerful as first thought, as the lines written on maps cannot prevent nature from breaking through, showing the lack of strength experienced by humanity in comparison to nature’s strength

“might fly our lives like paper kites”

Tissue

-illustrates the control that money has over people, comparing its power to the grasp a person has on a flying kite, as a person has influence over whether or not the kite flies, however once they let go they have no control over it

-the kite is a metaphor for humanity, and the person holding it a financial obligation, with the wind allowing the kite to fly signifies the continued presence and power of mother nature, even as society develops

“with living tissue, raise a structure
never meant to last”

Tissue

-describes how God’s creation of humanity (‘living tissue’) was never meant to last, referring to the morality of the human race and how fleeting an individual’s existence is in the universe, creating a humbling message that mankind feels influential, however their impact and impression on the universe is negligible

“turned into your skin.”

Tissue

-the isolated final line reveals the deeper meaning of the poem as an extended metaphor for humanity

-the direct address creates a personal tone, highlighting that the messages in the poem apply to the reader

-the full stop creates a sense of finality, mirroring death and the mortality of mankind

“and one of them legs it up the road,
probably armed, possibly not.”

Remains

-the speaker’s uncertainty portrays him in an unskilled light, along with the conversational tone, emphasises the humanity of those at war

-the caesura slows the pace of the narrative, reflecting the soldier’s delayed and unsure reaction as he isn’t sure whether his actions are going to be right or not

“well myself and somebody else and somebody else
are all of the same mind,
so all three of us open fire.”

Remains

-the repetition of ‘and’ conveys the speaker’s desire to emphasise that he was not alone and therefore not solely responsible for his actions

-it can be inferred that this is an attempt to remove the guilt that the soldier carries with him

-the unison with which the soldiers think and act emphasises their prolonged involvement in war as they lose any individuality they once had, as well as their humanity, as they are conditioned to violence and see no alternative

“and I swear,

I see every round as it rips through his life-”

Remains

-the enjambment between the last line of the previous stanza and this line hastens the poem’s pace, reflecting the rapid motion of the bullets and also the quick, instinctual reaction of the soldiers

the brutal imagery of the man’s final moments express the suffering he would have been experiencing

-the alliteration of ‘r’ reflect the sound of the bullets ripping through the man’s body

“and he’s there on the ground, sort of inside out,

pain itself, the image of agony”

Remains

-the speaker graphically describes the mangled body of the man, creating a violent image to convey the brutality of war to which the speaker seems to become numb to

-the soldier recognises the pain he has inflicted on the deceased man, realising the brutality in which the man had died

“One of my mates goes by
and tosses his guts back into his body.
Then he’s carted off in the back of a lorry.”

Remains

-the words used to describe the soldiers handling the body of the man paints a carefree, nonchalant image

-dismissing the life that has been ended, getting rid of him as though he was rubbish

-seems to be the end of the story, just as it is the end of the man’s life

“his blood shadow stayed on the street”

Remains

poems im gonna do
—> Checking out me history
—>the emigree
—>remains
—>war photographer
—>poppies
—>storm on the island
—bayonet charge