english poems

Ozymandias

“King of kings”-the king is arrogant and has firm belief in power of humans comparing himself to god

“The decay of that colossal wreck”-human achievements are insignificant compared to time

“I met a traveller from an antique land”-narrator hasn’t even seen the statue only heard about it which shows how unimportant ozymandias is now

London

“Marks”, “every”-repeated showing that the despair is unavoidable

“Black’ning church”-imagery used to show the ugliness caused by the industrial revolution and how the church is corrupt

“ Marriage hearse”-oxymoron (hearse is a vehicle which carries a coffin)marriage to death which suggests that everything has been destroyed

Prelude

“Act of stealth and troubled pleasure”-foreshadowing and oxymoron

“A huge peak, black and huge”-vocabulary has deteriorated only one syllable words

“Stars…still…so…seemed”-sibilance creates a sinister mood

The last duchess

“My last duchess painted on the wall”-he owns duchess not just her picture

“Dies along her throat”-reference to death is out of place so foreshadows duchess’s death

“Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea horse, thought a rarity”-returns to subject of art collection, emphasising his power and wealth. Warns his next duchess to behave

Charge of the light brigade

“Valley of death”-metaphor to show entrapment and exposure due to the valley, foreshadows their future deaths and related to the New Testament making it seem more significant

“Not the six hundred”- stuttering effect, making it sound as if the poet is upset

“Jaws of death”-imagery used to personify death and hell and soldiers can’t escape form it

exposure

“Merciless iced winds that knive us”-nature is personified to represent that humans have brought conflict with them everywhere, even the peaceful nature

“All their eyes are ice”-metaphor referring to the eyes of the living and dead men and that they’ve been overpowered by nature and can’t feel emotion

“Ranks on shivering ranks”-mirrors the approaching soldiers in trenches meaning that the war is against nature and the opposing soldiers

Storm on the island

“We are prepared”-they have a feeling of safety at the start which contradicts with the quote at the end “it is a huge nothing that we fear”- this shows the storm is intangible and unbeatable for the islanders

“Spits like a tame cat”-simile shows how familiar things can become frightening during the storm showing its true intensity

Bayonet charge

“A rifle numb as his smashed arm;”-simile suggests his rifle is useless and foreshadows his future injuries

“Patriotic tear”-his patriotism is leaking out of him slowly being replaced by painful reality which he is finding hard to accept as he is only letting it out in small tears

“Like a man who has jumped in the dark and runs listening between his footfalls for the reason he is still running”-simile creates an image of someone blind and irrational suggesting that there is no reason for war

Remains

“Probably armed, possibly not”-doubt which contrasts with the action of shooting the looter as he does later on

“It rips through his life”-violent metaphor contrasts with first two stanzas which were using colloquial language

“Bloody hands”-shows how he can’t handle his guilt and his hands are tainted with it