AQA GCSE English Literature: Power and Conflict Poetry Anthology

Vocabulary flashcards covering poets, dates, titles, and key historical or character figures in the AQA Power and Conflict poetry cluster.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

English poet (1792-1822) who wrote the poem 'Ozymandias'.

Ozymandias

A poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley depicting a traveller describing the shattered, trunkless stone statue of a former king in the desert.

William Blake

English poet (1757-1827) who wrote the poem 'London'.

London

A poem by William Blake describing chartered streets, the chartered Thames, and the 'mind-forged manacles' of city residents.

William Wordsworth

English poet (1770-1850) who wrote 'Extract from, The Prelude'.

Extract from, The Prelude

An extract of a poem by William Wordsworth detailing a nocturnal boat journey on a silent lake confronting a towering black peak.

Robert Browning

English poet (1812-1889) who wrote 'My Last Duchess'.

My Last Duchess

A poem set in Ferrara by Robert Browning where a Duke reveals a portrait of his former wife painted by Frà Pandolf.

Frà Pandolf

The painter who worked busily to paint the Duchess's portrait in Browning's 'My Last Duchess'.

Claus of Innsbruck

The sculptor who cast a bronze statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse in Robert Browning's 'My Last Duchess'.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

English poet (1809-1892) who wrote 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

A poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson honoring six hundred soldiers who rode into the valley of Death during battle.

Wilfred Owen

English poet (1893-1918) who wrote 'Exposure'.

Exposure

A poem by Wilfred Owen focusing on soldiers waiting in freezing conditions while 'nothing happens'.

Seamus Heaney

Poet (1939-2013) who wrote 'Storm on the Island'.

Storm on the Island

A poem by Seamus Heaney describing island residents enduring a powerful, invisible gale.

Ted Hughes

Poet (1930-1998) who wrote 'Bayonet Charge'.

Bayonet Charge

A poem by Ted Hughes depicting a soldier running across a field in raw khaki towards a green hedge amidst gunfire.

Simon Armitage

Poet (b. 1963) who wrote 'Remains'.

Remains

A poem by Simon Armitage about a soldier suffering from lingering trauma after shooting a bank looter.

Jane Weir

Poet (b. 1963) who wrote 'Poppies'.

Poppies

A poem by Jane Weir describing a mother pinning a red poppy on her son's lapel before he leaves home for war.

Carol Ann Duffy

Poet (b. 1955) who wrote 'War Photographer'.

War Photographer

A poem by Carol Ann Duffy about a photographer developing photos in a darkroom after returning from conflict zones including Belfast, Beirut, and Phnom Penh.

Imtiaz Dharker

Poet (b. 1954) who wrote 'Tissue'.

Tissue

A poem by Imtiaz Dharker examining paper, history, maps, architecture, and human skin.

Carol Rumens

Poet (b. 1944) who wrote 'The Émigrée'.

The Émigrée

A poem by Carol Rumens depicting a speaker's persistent, bright memory of a childhood city now filled with walls and war.

John Agard

Poet (b. 1949) who wrote 'Checking Out Me History'.

Checking Out Me History

A poem by John Agard exploring black historical figures ignored by traditional colonial education.

Toussaint L'Ouverture

A figure featured in 'Checking Out Me History' as a slave with vision who defeated Napoleon's battalion in the Haitian Revolution.

Nanny de maroon

A figure featured in 'Checking Out Me History' described as a 'see-far woman' and 'fire-woman' struggling to freedom.

Mary Seacole

A figure featured in 'Checking Out Me History' who traveled from Jamaica to the Crimean War to act as a 'healing star' for wounded soldiers.

Beatrice Garland

Poet (b. 1938) who wrote 'Kamikaze'.

Kamikaze

A poem by Beatrice Garland about a Japanese pilot who aborted a suicide mission and faced lifelong exclusion by his family.