Edexcel conflict poetry

A Poison Tree: Form

A Poison Tree: Form

4 stanza's represents four elements story: setting,problem,climax and resolution.

The poem has a very simple rhyme scheme made up of rhyming couplets. This creates a regular beat and makes it sound like a nursery rhyme, which emphasises that it has a moral message.

A Poison Tree: Structure

Use of 1st person creates feeling that reader is gaining intended message from first hand experience of speaker; reader more likely to believe moral of work.
Alliteration is used throughout the poem to echo the sounds of the anger developing. For example, there is a repeated 's' sound throughout quatrain 2, which resembles the sound of the speaker hissing with anger- "I sunned it with smiles"

The first stanza introduces the moral of the poem. The following stanzas introduce and develop the extended metaphor of the tree as it grows. The final stanza also provides the poem's climax, as it's implied that the speaker's building anger has lead to the foe's death.

A Poison Tree: Contrasts

The poem uses contrasts to emphasise a moral message. The speaker compares a tome when they spoke about their anger with a time they hid it- this direct contrast shows what the consequences of repressing your emotions can be. In the second stanza, Blake contrasts "tears" with "smiles" to show that whatever the speaker did, their anger would grow- it was out of control.

A Poison Tree: Natural language

The speaker's anger is described using the metaphor of a poison tree, which they "sunned" and "water'd" with their emotions, causing it to grow naturally.

A Poison Tree: Repetition

Many of the lines in the poem begin with "And". This example of anaphora gives the impression that the speaker is trying to tell the story quickly, as well as reflecting the constant growth of the speaker's anger.

A Poison Tree: Anger

People can be angry with friends and foes. Describing anger through the metaphor of a tree shows that it is not only a natural emotion, but it is also an emotion that can easily grow out of control.

A Poison Tree: Deception

Both the speaker and their foe act deceivingly. The speaker hides their anger with insincere smiles, while the foe sneaks into the speaker's garden.

A Poison Tree: Repression

The poem suggests that negative emotions (such as anger) causes more damage if they're ignored and not spoken about.

The feeling of anger comparison

'A Poison Tree'
'Half-caste'
'The Class Game'
'Cousin Kate'

How nature is used comparison

'Exposure'
'The Prelude'
'What Were They Like?'

The Destruction of Sennacherib: Form

The poem is written in rhyming couplets- these drive the poem forward, reflecting the quick defeat of the Assyrians. The regular rhythm and anapestic metre might also remind the reader of galloping horses.

The Destruction of Sennacherib: Structure

The poem tells the story in chronological order. The first stanza describes the initial glory of the Assyrian army. However, on line 7, there's a volta- from then on, the poem describes the Assyrians' defeat.

The Destruction of Sennacherib: Appearances

Much of the imagery surrounding the Assyrian army describes their surface appearance "And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea ". The simile suggests that their strength is superficial compared to God, who is far more powerful. The physical strength of the Assyrians is contrasted with the superior but calm power of God.

The Destruction of Sennacherib: Natural imagery

The poet compares things to nature. He shows Sennacherib's violence by comparing them to a wolf: "Like a wolf on the fold" and compares the quick defeat of the Assyrians to the change of the seasons "like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown"

The Destruction of Sennacherib: Repetition

Byron uses anaphora of "and" to highlight the poem's turning point and drive the poem forward- it creates a sense of momentum and inevitability.

The Destruction of Sennacherib: Silence and stillness

For a poem about war, a lot of the language that's used creates a sense of calm. "Hath melted like snow" .This gives the poem an eerie tone, while also emphasising how God's power is effortless compared to the big displays of power by the Assyrians.

The Destruction of Sennacherib: Calm

The destruction of the Assyrian army is described as strangely calm. Byron uses adjectives with negative prefixes, like "unlifted" and "unsmote", to emphasise how passive the soldiers are.

The Destruction of Sennacherib: Loss

The army is killed, causing a massive loss of life. The final stanza shows the Assyrians' widows crying and religious idols being destroyed. This shows that all war ends in pain and destruction-"widows of ashur are loud in their wail,

The effects of conflict on a large scale comparison

'The Destruction of Sennacherib'
'The Charge of the Light Brigade'

Loss comparison

Loss in 'The Destruction of Sennacherib' and the more personal loss in 'Poppies', or the loss in 'What Were They Like?'

Extract from 'The Prelude': Form

This extract is a first-person narrative. It sounds personal and describes a turning point in the poet's life. The use of blank verse (unrhymed verse in iambic pentameter) makes it sound serious and important, and the regular rhythm makes it sound like natural speech.

Extract from 'The Prelude': Structure

There are three main sections in the extract. In the first, the tone is fairly light and carefree. There is a distinct change when the mountain appears- the tone becomes darker and more fearful. In the final section, the speaker reflects on how the experience has changed him.Entire extract is a single stanza emphasising the overwhelming power of nature. This is heightened as there is no pauses or breaks which causes the reader to feel breatheless.

Extract from 'The Prelude': Beautiful language

The extract begins with a series of pretty, pastoral images of nature, such as "glittering" and "sparkling".

Extract from 'The Prelude': Confident language

The speaker appears sure of himself at first ("my boat went heaving through the water like a swan")- almost arrogant in his view of himself and his place in the world. He gives the impression of feeling powerful. This simile enhances the contrast with the next line ("craggy steep").

Extract from 'The Prelude': Dramatic language

The initial glimpses of threatening language become more intense after the mountain appears ("towered up between me and the stars").
The speaker comes to understand how powerful nature is.

Extract from 'The Prelude': Fearful language

The speaker is far less confident at the end of the extract. He's troubled by the "huge and mighty forms" of nature he's glimpsed. The experience has a lasting, haunting effect on him.

Extract from 'The Prelude': Confidence

The speaker feels comfortable and in control to start with, but his confidence in himself and the world around him is shaken by this one event.

Extract from 'The Prelude': Fear

Nature is shown to be more powerful than a human being. The speaker is left with a feeling of awe and respect for nature, but he's also scared by it.

Extract from 'The Prelude': Reflection

The poem ends with the speaker reflecting on how he's been changed by the event. His thoughts and dreams are still troubled by what he's experienced.

Nature presented as being a very powerful and frightening force comparison

'Extract from 'The Prelude''
'Exposure'

Speaker's changed by their unique, individual experiences comparison

'Extract from 'The Prelude''
'Cousin Kate'
'War Photographer'

The Man He Killed: Structure

The cyclical structure of the poem reflects the speaker's thought processes as he replays his memories of the war. The "bar" in the final stanza links back to the "ancient inn" from the first stanza- this suggests that the speaker's post-war trauma is ongoing.

The Man He Killed: Colloquial language

Informal language and slang are used to suggest that the speaker is an ordinary, working-class man (first quatrain- "right many a nipperkin"). This contrasts with the harrowing themes of war and death.

The Man He Killed: Matter-of-fact language

The soldier uses fairly matter-of-fact, unemotional language to describe killing the man ("I killed him in his place"). This detached language contrasts with the serious message behind the poem and helps to highlight the impersonal nature of war.

The Man He Killed: Hesitant language

Repetition and caesurae are used to show that the speaker is questioning why he shot the man ("he was my foe, just so: my foe of course he was"). This is in contrast to the final paragraph, where the exclamation "Yes" suggests that he's come to a conclusion.

The Man He Killed: Guilt

It's not immediately obvious that the speaker feels guilty. However, the shift in focus between the third ("my foe...that's clear enough") and fourth stanzas ("he thought he'd 'list... off-hand like, just as I") suggests that he's having doubts about whether he was right to kill his "foe".

The Man He Killed: Irony

The soldier acknowledges that there's a sense of irony about the situation- he's killed the man who he might have been friends with in different circumstances ("you shoot a fellow down you'd treat if met where any bar is").

The Man He Killed: Tragedy

By showing the similarities between the speaker and the "foe", Hardy is making a point about the tragedy of war and how there's a sense of pointlessness to it.

The reality of conflict comparison

'The Man He Killed'
'Belfast confetti'
'The Charge of the Light Brigade'
'Exposure'

The memories of speakers affected by conflict

'The Man He Killed'
'Poppies'
'The Prelude'

Cousin Kate: Structure

The poem is in chronological order. The speaker first explains her relationship with the lord. She then tells the reader about Kate's betrayal and finally about her son with the lord. ABCB rhyme scheme maintains a stable pace, perhaps mirrors her anger towards kate, the nobleman and society.

Cousin Kate: Passive language

The lord is the subject of many sentences, while the women are the objects ("he changed me like a glove")- this shows their relative passivity. Rossetti reinforces this point by using similes to compare the women to objects, such as "like a golden knot".

Cousin Kate: Repetition

In the second stanza, Rossetti uses anaphora of "he" to describe how the lord seduced and abandoned the speaker. It is used again in the third stanza to emphasise Kate's passiveness. This reflects how, although he treated the women in similar ways, they came to different fates. "He lured me to his palace home"

Cousin Kate: Contrasts

The poem contrasts innocence and corruption throughout. This can be seen through the speaker's loss of reputation, as well as through the comparison of the speaker and her cousin Kate. The speaker also frequently contrasts Kate's happiness and success with her own failure ("the neighbours call you good and pure,/ call me an outcast thing").The speaker clearly feels a sense of injustice at the way she's been treated in comparison to Kate. She contrasts Kate's situation with her own to express her resentment.-"Spit into his face"

Cousin Kate: Bittersweet satisfaction

In the final stanza, the speaker has mixed feelings about her situation. She is still angry about how she's been treated, but she expresses a sense of satisfaction at the fact that she, unlike Kate, has provided the lord with an heir - "a gift you have not got" (metaphor). "My shame, My pride" -juxtaposition shows how she is unsure how to feel about her child

Half-caste: Form

There is no regular rhyme scheme, but rhymes and half-rhymes are used to create a sense of rhythm. The use of enjambment and a lack of standard punctuation gives the poem a sense of urgency.

Half-caste: Structure

The first half of the poem contains a series of metaphors that compare being mixed race to great art and natural weather ("yu mean when light an shadow mix in de sky is a half-caste weather").

In the second half of the poem, the speaker exaggerates the idea that he is half a person to expose the ridiculousness of the term "half-caste" ("listening to yu wid the keen half of mih ear").

The final lines invite the reader to open their mind up and reconsider any thoughts they might have had about the term "half-caste" ("I will tell yu de other half of my story").

Half-caste: Metaphor

The speaker likens being mixed race to great art that was created by mixing things ("when picasso mix red an green is a half-caste canvas"). This suggests that mixing things creates something beautiful, rather than something incomplete.

Half-caste: Dialect

By using Guyanese dialect words and creole language (a mix of English and other languages) alongside Standard English, Agard shoes how mixing things can create powerful poetry.

Half-caste: Confrontational language

The poem is addressed directly to the reader- "yu" and "I" are used a lot- this makes it conversational, but also confrontational. The speaker challenges assumptions by repeatedly saying "Explain yuself".

Half-caste: Humorous language

Despite the speaker's confrontational attitude, the poem has a humorous tone. The prefix "half-" is added before various words, such as "half-a-dream", to reveal the absurdity of the term "half-caste".

Half-caste: Anger

Confrontational language shows the speaker's anger at being called "half-caste". They think it's an offensive term and use a variety of imagery to show the reader why they shouldn't use it.

Half-caste: Sarcasm

The poem has a sarcastic tone throughout. This creates humour and adds more power to the speaker's arguments, as it provides them with intelligence and wit.

The formation of identity comparison

'Half-caste'
'The Class Game'
'No Problem'
'Catrin'

Exposure: Form

The poem is written in the present tense using the first person plural (e.g. "our", "we", "us"). This collective voice shows how the experience was shared by soldiers across the war. Each stanza has a regular rhyme scheme (ABBAC), reflecting the monotonous nature of the men's experience, but rhymes are often half rhymes (e.g. "snow" and "renew"). The rhyme scheme offers no comfort or satisfaction- the rhymes are jagged like the reality of the men''s experience and reflect their confusion and fading energy. Each stanza ends with a half-line, leaving a gap which mirror the lack of activity or hope for the men.

Exposure: Structure

The poem has eight stanzas, but there's no real progression- the last stanza ends with the same words as the first one, reflecting the monotony of life in the trenches and the absence of change.

Exposure: Questions

The poem uses rhetorical questions to ask why the men are exposed to such dreadful conditions, and whether there's any point to their suffering.

Exposure: Personification

Nature is repeatedly personified, making it seem the real enemy in the war ("mad gusts tugging on the wire"/"merciless iced east winds that knive us").

Exposure: Bleak language

The poem includes lots of bleak imagery to remind the reader of the men's pain, the awful weather and the lack of hope for the soldiers. Assonance, onomatopoeia and carefully chosen verbs add to the bleak mood and make the descriptions vivid and distressing ("sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence").

Exposure: Suffering

There are reminders of the real physical pain that the soldiers experience, as well as their exhaustion and fatigue. Even thinking about home is painful for the men as they're not welcome there ("on us the doors are closed").

Exposure: Boredom

There's a sense of frustration at their situation- they are "Worried", "Watching" and waiting, but "nothing happens" (refrain) and the men are left to contemplate their own deaths.

Exposure: Hopelessness

The soldiers are helpless against the power of nature and there is nothing they can do to change their situation. The poem offers little hope of a future for the men.

How the reality of conflict is described comparison

'Exposure'
'Belfast Confetti'

The theme of loss and suffering comparison

'Exposure'
'What Were They Like?'

The Charge of the Light Brigade: Form

This poem is narrated in the third person, making it seem like a story. The dactylic dimeter creates a fast pace, imitating the cavalry's advance and the energy of the battle. Rhyming couplets and triplets drive the poem forwards, but the momentum is broken by unrhymed lines, which could mirror the horses stumbling and soldiers falling. The overall lack of rhyme scheme hints at the chaos of war.

The Charge of the Light Brigade: Structure

The poem tells the story of the battle in chronological order, from the charge of the men in the first three stanzas, to the battle in the fourth and the retreat in the fifth. The final stanza is shorter and summarises the heroism of the brigade.

The Charge of the Light Brigade: Repetition

Repetition creates a sense of impending doom and inevitability. Repetition of "six hundred" at the end of each stanza reinforces the idea of the large numbers of men involved, with the references to them summarising the story of the battle.

The Charge of the Light Brigade: Heroic language

Adverbs like "boldly" and verbs like "charging" emphasise the men's bravery. Respectful language shows how the speaker feels the soldiers should be remembered.

The Charge of the Light Brigade: Violent language

The speaker chooses powerful verbs and adjectives to give a strong sense of the violence of the battle, and uses sounds to create a vivid, noisy, hellish setting.

The Charge of the Light Brigade: Admiration

The speaker admires the bravery and sacrifice of the men because they obeyed orders even though they knew death was likely. He thinks that the world should recognise their bravery and appreciate their sacrifice ("Noble six hundred").

The Charge of the Light Brigade: Patriotism

"Theirs but to do and die" - anophora in stanza of "theirs"
Respectful of their duty to the country, even though it was almost certain death.

The men followed the orders because of their duty to their country, and the speaker portrays them as heroes for doing this ("Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade").

The Charge of the Light Brigade: Horror

There's a suggestion that the speaker is horrified by the violence in the battle ("Back from the mouth of Hell").

The effects of conflict comparison

'The Charge of the Light Brigade'
'Poppies'
'What Were They Like?'

Catrin: Form

The poem is written in free verse- it doesn't have a regular rhyme scheme or rhythm. This makes the emotion of the poem feel authentic, as though the speaker is working through her thoughts and memories as they occur. Enjambment also helps to imitate her flowing thoughts as most lines run on without being end-stopped. It also reflects the "rope of love"- the persisting link between the pair.

Catrin: Structure

The poem is in two stanzas- the first covers the daughter's birth and the second looks at a later confrontation. The break between stanzas represents time passing and the girl growing up.

Catrin: Language about conflict

The poem represents the relationship between the mother and daughter as challenging. The birth is described as a "Fierce confrontation", and later, the mother is still "fighting" her daughter off. Their 'battle' doesn't end- they remain locked in conflict throughout. "We want, we shouted " - caesura and repeated phrasing highlights pain and struggles of birth but also how this continues as she grows up wants to have more freedom and how they want to "be two, to be ourselves"

Catrin: Loving language

The mother's deep love for her daughter is shown through the poem's metaphorical language. The "Red rope of love" binds the pair together and is present throughout the poem- it endures, like the mother's love. The phrase "heart's pool" is ambiguous, allowing it to suggest a plentiful supply of maternal love. By showing their bond to be lasting, the poem shows how strong it is. anaphora of "i can remember you" highlights how her daughters birth is an important memory showing maternal love and creates a nostalgic tone.

Catrin: Love

The poem explores the powerful love between a mother and her daughter.

Catrin: Tension

Both the mother and daughter find themselves struggling against one another at two moments in their lives. The poem also presents tension between conflicted feelings. The warmth of the mother's love is in conflict with the pain of giving birth and having to stop her daughter from skating.

Catrin: Change

The poem explores how things can change, while remaining surprisingly similar. Even though both events are years apart, they make the speaker feel the same emotions.

Fractured family relationship comparison

'Catrin'
'Cousin Kate'

The physical and emotional separation of a mother and child comparison

'Catrin'
'Poppies'

War Photographer: Form

The poem is written in free verse (it has no formal rhyme scheme or rhythm). This reveals the speaker's thoughts in a natural style and mirror their interest in the 'truth'- their words aren't 'dressed up' in rhyme. The varying stanza and line lengths also reflect the idea of frames having flexibility.

War Photographer: Structure

The poem has a cyclical structure: it begins and ends by considering how 'frames' and "boundaries" are changeable. However, while they start off as a source of "reassurance", these frames quickly become menacing as they show how easy it is to ignore suffering.

War Photographer: Contrasts

The poet uses contrasts to highlight parallels and differences. Luxurious language and imagery presents the Ascot girls and "sun-gilded", whereas the girl in the war zone is "small" and "staggering". The settings of comfortable "grass" and a "devastated street" reinforce this divide. These contrasts connect the girls while emphasising the huge difference in their experiences. Anaphora of "-as" emphasises contrasts between the 2 images. The hyphen creates a pause allowing reader to reflect

War Photographer: Emotive language

The poem contains powerful, emotive descriptions of the war zone ("shattered the stones"). The horror of this human suffering makes the reader uncomfortable and forces them to confront the truth. "Dropped her burden"

War Photographer: Positive language

Pleasant language is used to describe what society believes is the norm ("champagne giggles"). However, the positive language in the final stanza is ironic, as the reader knows what really happened ("Even in hell the human spirit triumphs over all").

War Photographer: Truth

The speaker wants society to understand the tragic truth behind what they see.

War Photographer: Ignorance

Society tends to focus on the positive side of things as opposed to how they really are.

War Photographer: Detachment

The speaker is trapped behind their camera and is unable to help the little girl. All they can do is follow, watch from a distance and record the events as they unfold.

The senselessness of war comparison

'War Photographer'
'The Man He Killed'

The difficulties in talking about war

'War Photographer'
'Belfast Confetti'
'What Were They Like?'

Belfast Confetti: Form

Irregular line lengths, incomplete sentences, caesurae and enjambment all give the poem a fragmented feel, and reflect how the speaker is struggling to think clearly. The lines appear broken, mimicking how the speaker repeatedly reaches dead ends as they attempt to flee the violence. "Dead end again."- short statement emphasised by caesura shows how he is trapped.

Belfast Confetti: Structure

The poem starts in medias res and does not reach any real conclusion. This imitates the speaker's confused memories of the event. The poem has two stanzas: the first is in the past tense and the second is in the present tense. This shift creates a sense of immediacy and shows that the confusion is still ongoing- the speaker can't come to terms with what they saw.

Belfast Confetti: Language about destruction

Imagery of fragmentation, and the frequent use of violent verbs (e.g. "burst") and adjectives (e.g. "broken") all work to reinforce the impression of devastation. "an asterisk on the map"-extended metaphor of punctuation.asterisk looks like an explosion and makes the area memorable for wrong reasons

Belfast Confetti: Language about punctuation

Punctuation usually shows structure, so by scattering punctuation words throughout the poem, the poet conveys a complete loss of control. Punctuation is almost described as a weapon (e.g. "this hyphenated line, a burst of rapid fire"), bringing terror instead of order. "

Belfast Confetti: Chaotic language

The use of unanswered questions emphasises the speakers confusion ("My name? Where am I coming from? Where am I going?"). Lists of objects make them seem overwhelmed, as though they're surrounded by noise and chaos.

Belfast Confetti: Panic

The poem describes a personal and emotional reaction to a bomb attack on Belfast. The speaker tries to explain their terror and confusion, but finds it nearly impossible to do so clearly.

Belfast Confetti: Disorientation

Physical violence and commotion distress and bewilder the speaker.

Bomb incident comparison

'Belfast Confetti'
'War photographer'