power and conflict

ozymandias- look on my works, ye mighty and despair!

irony shows the temporary nature of human power

ozymandias- i am ozymandias, king of kings

hubris (self confidence) and arrogance of rulers

ozymandias- the lone and level sands stretch far away

natures outlasts human power

my last duchess- my last duchess painted on the wall

possessive language shows control

my last duchess- i gave commands; then all smiles stopped together

euphemism implies murder

charge of the light brigade- theirs not to make reply theirs not to reason why their but to do and die

lack of power and obedience

charge of the light brigade- into the valley of death

biblical imagery shows inevitability of death

exposure- the merciless iced east winds that knive us

personification; nature as an enemy

exposure- but nothing happens

futility (useless) of war

bayonet charge- suddenly he awoke and was running raw

immediate danger

bayonet charge- in what cold clockwork of the stars

loss of faith and meaning

remains- probably armed, possibly not

moral uncertainty

remains- i see every round as it rips through his life

violent imagery of war

remains- his bloody life in my bloody hands

guilt and responsibility

kamikaze- a shaven head full of powerful incantations

devotion to a nation

kamikaze- he must have wondered which has been the better way to die

conflict between honour and life

storm on the island- exploding comfortably

oxymoron shows destruction power of nature

storm on the island- strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear

unseen power

london- mind-forged manacles

metaphor for oppression (limited freedom)

london- run in blood don palace walls

criticism of authority

tissue- paper that lets the light shine through

fragility of power

tissue- maps too

human attempts to control

tissue- turned into your skin

power over humans