Lit P1 Poetry AO1 Revision

If- Author and Context

Rudyard Kipling, who was born in British India; british imperialism

If- Purpose

Contextually a father talking to his son encouraging himself to conduct himself the right way

Prayer Before Birth Author and Context

Louis MacNeice, written during WW2

Prayer Before Birth Purpose

Expressing fears and pleas for protection and guidance before entering the world of an unborn child.

Blessing Author and Context

Imitiaz Dharker, who based the poem on her observations of Dharavi, a poor neighborhood in Mumbai, India

Blessing Purpose

Exploring the harsh living conditions of people living in poverty such as in the slums of India and how water is like fortune to them

Search For My Tongue Author and Context

Sujata Bhatt, who immigrated from India to the United States, writes about the struggle to maintain her Gujarati heritage while adapting to a new culture.

Search For My Tongue Purpose

Shows the importance of language in shaping our identity, and highlights the challenges one faces maintaining their own culture in a foreign environment.

Half-past two Author

U A Fanthorpe

Half-past two Purpose

To explore the contrasting ways adults and children perceive time, particularly in the context of a child's punishment and their limited understanding of abstract time and criticize the education system.

Piano Author and Context

D H Lawrence, who writes about his memories of his childhood and his yearning to go back

Purpose of Piano

To explore the powerful connection between music, memory, and nostalgia, particularly in relation to childhood experiences - how an adult yearns to become a child again free of the challenges of the world and under the protection of a mother again

Hide and Seek Author

Vernon Scannell

Hide and Seek Purpose

Game of Hide and Seek used as an extended metaphor for the lack of control over life

Sonnet 116 Author

William Shakespeare

Sonnet 116 Purpose

To highlight the constancy of true love and its role at being an eternal guiding force of a relationship

La Belle Dame Sans Merci Author

John Keats

La Belle Dame Sans Merci Purpose

Explores the destructive nature of love and the blurred lines between reality and imagination

Poem and Thirty Nine Author and Context

Alice Walker, who praises and also mourns over the death over his father and how he shaped her life today

Poem At Thirty Nine Purpose

To explore the profound impact of a father's influence on a daughter's life, specifically as she navigates the transition from young adulthood to middle age

War Photographer Author

Carol Ann Duffy

War Photographer Purpose

To expose the stark reality of war and to challenge the reader's apathy towards the suffering of others

The Tyger Author and Context

William Blake, who questions why God would create evil

The Tyger Purpose

To explore what kind of God created the dangerous animal like a Tiger

My Last Duchess Author

Robert Browning

My Last Duchess Purpose

To expose the Duke of Ferrara's controlling and possessive nature, revealing his abuse of power over women and his vanity

Half-caste Author and Context

John Agard, to voice against the racism he faced

Half-caste Purpose

To explore multiple race issues faced by black and mixed race people living in the United Kingdom

Do not go gentle into that good night author and context

Dylan Thomas, who lived through WW2 and struggles to deal with the reality of his dying father (semi-autobiographical)

Do not go gentle into that good night Purpose

To celebrate the vibrancy of life and to inspire defiance in the face of death.

Remember Author and Context

Christina Rossetti, who often makes romatic poems with the theme of loss and death

Remember Purpose

To convey the speaker's desire for remembrance after death while also acknowledging the possibility of forgetting and the lover's need to move on with their life