Power and Conflict key quotes

"Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,"

Ozymandias: Having "survive" and "lifeless" on the same line hints that art can outlast human power, but the ruined statue shows that ultimately art cannot immortalise power.

"Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"

Ozymandias: Irony- he tells other rulers to "despair" because of the size and graneur of his "works", but in fact they should despair because their power is temporary and unimportant like his.

"Round the decay of that colossal wreck,"

Ozymandias: The ruined statue shows how human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time.

"The lone and level sands stretch far away."

Ozymandias: The desert is vast and survives far longer than the broken structure, emphasising the insignificance of the statue and of Ozymandias.

"Near where the chartered Thames does flow,"

London: Even powerful, natural features like the River Thames are under human control, and affected by the city's problems.

"Every black'ning church appalls,"

London: Seems to be angry at all forms of power- describing the church as "black'ning" could suggest that it is corrupt or tarnished by its failure to look after people it's also a grim visual image of the ugliness caused by the industrial revolution.

"Runs in blood down palace walls."

London: Might be a reference to the French Revolution- sounds like he thinks ordinary people suffer while those in the Palace are protected behind walls.

"And blights with plagues the marriage hearse."

London: Powerful language of illness and disease. Destruction is implied by "blights" and "plagues" hint at something that's uncontrollable and destined to affect a lot of people.

"It was an act of stealth and troubled pleasure,"

The prelude: The narrator knows he's doing something wrong- this is the first sign that something isn't quite right. Oxymoron hints at the narrators guilt.

"The horizon's bound, a huge peak, black and huge,"

The prelude: Dramatic language - a mountain appears on the horizon, very different language now, darker and more threatening.

"In grave and serious mood;"

The prelude: The event has had a big impact on him - "grave" means serious, but may also be a reminder of his own morality.

"Of unknown modes of being;"

The prelude: The vague language shows that the narrator doesn't understand what he's seen - he is struggling to describe it.

"Half-flush that dies along her throat':"

My last duchess: Reference to death is out of place and suspicious- it hints at the Duchess's fate.

"The bough of cherries some officious fool/ broke in the orchard for her, the white mule."

My last duchess: Enjambment- makes it sound as if he's getting carried away by his anger.

"She thanked men, - good! But thanked somehow - I know not how - as if she ranked."

My last duchess: The punctuation and repetition here creates a stuttering affect, which underlines his exasperation with her behaviour.

"Notice Neptune, though, taming a seahorse, thought a rarity."

My last duchess: He returns to the subject of his art collection, which emphasises his power and wealth. The story of his last Duchess is a subtle warning to his visitor about how he expects his next wife to behave.

"half a league, half a league, half a league onward,"

The charge of the light brigade: The rhythm sounds like galloping horses - it gives the impression that the horses are unstoppable.

"into the valley of death rode the six hundred."

The charge of the light brigade: There is a line in the Bible that says "I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ". Using biblical references makes the poem seem solemn and significant.

"Sabring the gunners there, charging an army, while all the world wonder'd:"

The charge of the light brigade: Double meaning - could mean that people marvelled at their bravery or that they wondered why they had been sent on the charge. This poem was written in 1854 in response to a newspaper article about the battle. The poem focuses on the bravery of the soldiers rather than the mistakes of military leaders.

"Honour the charge they made!/Honour the light Brigade,"

The charge of the light brigade: This command is repeated to leave the reader with the idea that they should honour the cavalry.

"far off, like a dull rumour of some other war."

Exposure: This is a biblical reference to Matthew 24:6, Jesus foretold the end of the world.

"attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey,"

Exposure: No colour - the battlefield is cold and lifeless. Grey was also the colour of German uniforms, so this aligns nature with the enemy.

"shutters and doors, all closed: on us the doors are closed, -"

Exposure: The caesura in this stanza creates a division on each line, which reflects how the men are shut out of their homes. This also reflects the soldiers concern that people back home were losing interest in their fate as the war dragged on.

"all their eyes are ice,"

Exposure: Metaphor refers to the eyes of the living and the dead men - it's a vivid description of how they've been overpowered by nature. It hints that the living men are no longer able to feel any emotion.

"we are prepared:"

Storm on the island: This is a very strong opening sentence that creates a feeling of safety. Compare it to the last line of the poem.

"blast: you know what I mean -"

Storm on the island: The narrator speaks directly to the reader in a chatty tone, making you reflect on your own experience of storms.

"and strafes invisibly. Space is a salvo. We are bombarded by the empty air."

Storm on the island: This language is normally used to describe war. The wind is compared to a fighter plane attacking the island.

"it is huge nothing that we fear."

Storm on the island: The storm is invisible - there is nothing solid there. This contrasts with the solid rock mentioned in the second line of the poem.

"suddenly he awoke and was running-"

Bayonet charge: Sounds as if he's confused, in a vulnerable state. The event seems like a nightmare, but this confirms that they are real.

"in what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations"

Bayonet charge: Emphasises the soldiers' insignificance and his lack of control of his situation. "Cold" implies that the people in charge of the war don't care about the individual soldiers.

"and crawled in a threshing circle,"

Bayonet charge: A distressing image of out-of-control movement. "Threshing circle" is an agricultural term,used to suggest that nature is affected by war.

"his terror's touchy dynamite."

Bayonet charge: The soldiers seem to have become a weapon rather than a human being. He's driven purely by his terror.

"but I blink"

Remains: The stanza ending reflects the blinking- the enjambment carries you forwards, and the horror is still there when the next stanza starts.

"and he's probably armed, possibly not"

Remains: Repetition of line 4 shows that he's replaying the event in his mind and hints at his inner turmoil.

"some distant, sun-stunned, sand-smothered land"

Remains: The violent parts of the compound adjectives , "stunned" and "smothered" show how the place is affected by war. The long line and the sibilance slow the pace and reflect the speakers lack of clear thought.

"his bloody life in my blood hands."

Remains: There could be a double meaning to "bloody" - he's talking about the mans blood, but also swearing in anger. Possible reference to Macbeth- after persuading her husband to kill king Duncan, Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and tries to wash imaginary blood from her hands. This allusion hints that the speaker has been unbalanced by his guilt, as lady Macbeth was.

"sellotape bandaged around my hand,"

Poppies: Another image of being wounded. She is emotionally wounded and he might be wounded in war.

"the gelled blackthorns of your hair."

Poppies: The "blackthorns" allude to Jesus, who wore a crown of thorns when he was crucified. This hints at the sacrifice the son may make.

"a split second and you were away, intoxicated."

Poppies: The sons excitement contrasts with his mother's sadness. However, "intoxicated" also hints at a lack of control of his life by joining the army.

"the dove pulled freely against the sky, an ornamental stitch."

Poppies: Strong visual image of something small and beautiful in a vast space- represents her son.

"Of running children in a nightmare heat"

War photographer: may be a reference to the Vietnam war photo of a girl running naked towards a camera. hints at the importance of photos as they sometimes help to end war.

"a hundred agonies in black-and-white"

War photographer: Emotive metaphor to describe his photos. Having the pictures printed seems to confirm anode solidify the suffering they show.

"they do not care"

War photographer: This is ambiguous- it could refer to the readers of the newspapers who don't care about the victims of war, or it could refer to the wider world, which is apathetic about others suffering.

"something is happening."

War photographer: Turning point (Volta) in the poem. The focus switches to the personal cost of war- he's remembering a specific death and it's impact.

"paper that lets the light/paper thinned by age or touching,"

Tissue: "Paper "begins the first two sentences in the poem, drawing the readers attention. This suggests that it's important and can perhaps drive the change that the third line alludes to.

"feel their drift,/shift"

Tissue: Rhyming "shift "and "drift "plays on the idea of movement - they appear in different places on the line as if they've been blown by the wind.

"layer over layer, luminous script over numbers over line,"

Tissue: The work of the poet mirrors the work of the architect - the poet builds layers of words and meanings, where an architect designs physical structures. Repetition of " over "reinforces the idea of layers.

"turned into your skin."

Tissue: References to creation in the previous two stanzas suggest that this could be addressed to a child. It could also be addressed to the reader, reminding us that we're all influenced by our heritage.

"Time rolls it's tanks"

The Emigrée: Time is personified as an enemy, but I can't affect the speakers memories.

"that Childs vocabulary I carried here/Every coloured molecule of it"

The Emigrée: This seems to refer to the language of her childhood - the metaphor makes the language seem bright and precious

"I comb it's hair and love it's shining eyes."

The Emigrée: There is childlike joy in this description - it sounds like child playing with a pet.

"and my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight."

The Emigrée: The poem ends on a positive note - despite the threat of death, the city is still associated with "sunlight ", just as it is at the end of the first two stanzas.

"dem tell me"

Checking out me history: Emphasises separateness of the British education system from himself. Repetition of "dem" and "me" creates a sense of "them and us".

"all dat"

Checking out me history: Dismisses British history- assumes the reader knows it.

"Napoleon/ battalion"

Checking out me history: String rhymes and broken syntax show importance of oral communication.

"I carving out me identity"

Checking out me history: Emphatic final word- sums up the main theme. He's going to use his own history to create his identity.

"full of powerful incantations"

Kamikaze: This suggests that the pilot was under some kind of spell, which hints at the influence of patriotic propaganda that Kamikaze's were exposed to. They were told that it was a great honour to die for their country.

"but half way there, she thought,"

Kamikaze: These are the daughters thoughts and explanations- the pilot has no voice and his real reasons are never heard.

"to see whose withstood longest the turbulent inrush"

Kamikaze: Enjambment and lack of punctuation in this stanza may hint that the pilot got caught up in his childhood memories.

"which had been the better way to die."

Kamikaze: The final short sentence could be a comment of the destructiveness of patriotism- the pilots family are so ashamed that they treat him as if he's dead. He may have wished that he'd fulfilled his mission- either way his story ends in a kind of death.