Power and Conflict Poetry, Power and Conflict Poetry

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land

Ozymandias

whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Ozymandias

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

Ozymandias

Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

London

charter'd

London

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

London

In every cry of every Man

London

And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse

My Last Duchess

(since none puts by

The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)

My Last Duchess

Even had you skill/In speech - (which I have not)

My Last Duchess

as if she ranked

My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name

With anybody's gift.

Storm on the Island

We are prepared: we build our houses squat

Storm on the Island

you know what I mean - leaves and branches

Can raise a chorus in a gale

Storm on the Island

spits like a tame cat

Turned savage.

Bayonet Charge

rolls like a flame / And crawls in a threshing circle

Bayonet Charge

'King, honour, human dignity etcetera'

drop like luxuries

Bayonet Charge

Bullets smacking the belly out of the air

Exposure

merciless iced east winds that knive

us...

Exposure

But nothing happens. (repeated consistently in 1st stanza)

Exposure

Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army

Remains

On another occasion

Remains

probably armed, possibly not

Remains

he's here in my head when I close my eyes

Remains

his bloody life in my bloody hands.

War Photographer

spools of suffering

War Photographer

a half-formed ghost

War Photographer

A hundred agonies in black and white

War Photographer

blood stained into foreign dust.

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat

One summer evening (led by her)

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat

Small circles glittering idly in the moon

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat

my boat

Went heaving through the Water like a swan

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat

Towered up between me and the stars

Kamikaze

full of powerful incantations

Kamikaze

enough fuel for a one-way

journey into history

Kamikaze

fishing boats

strung out like bunting/ arcing in swathes

Kamikaze

my mother never spoke again/nor did she meet his eyes

Tissue

This is what could alter things

Tissue

place layer over layer, luminous

Tissue

and never wish to build again with brick

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Forward, the Light Brigade!

Charge for the guns!

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Cannon in front of them

Volleyed and thundered

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Flashed all their sabres bare,

Flashed as they turned in air

The Charge of the Light Brigade

When can their glory fade?

Poppies

I pinned one onto your lapel

Spasm of red

Poppies

The world over flowing like a treasure chest

Poppies

Released a song bird from its cage

Poppies

A single dove flew from the pear tree

Checking Out Me History

Dem tell me

Dem tell me

Wha dem want to tell me

Checking Out Me History

Bandage up me eye with me own history

Blind me to me own identity

Checking Out Me History

Dem tell me bout de man who discover de balloon

and de cow who jump over de moon

Dem tell me bout de dish ran away with the spoon

but dem never tell me bout Nanny de maroon

Ozymandias by ...

Percy Bysshe Shelley

The narrator meets a traveller...

tells him about a statue in the desert

Statue is of a King and ...

His face is proud and arrogantly boasts about how powerful he is.

However the statue has fallen down ...

and crumbled away so that now only ruins remain

Ozymandias - Pride

Theme - The ruler was proud of what he'd achieved. He called for other rulers to admire him.

Ozymandias - Arrogance

The ruler believed he was the powerful ruler - nobody could compete with him. He was better

Ozymandias - Time

Human civilisations and achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time.

Ozymandias - Pride quote

"look on my works, ye mighty..."

Ozymandias - Arrogance quote

"King of Kings"

Ozymandias - Time quote

"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck"

London by ...

William Blake

The narrator is describing....

a walk around London

He says everywhere he goes...

... the people are affected by misery and despair

This misery is relentless and ...

no can escape it - not even the young and the innocent

People in power (like the Church, the monarchy and wealthy landowners) seem to be...

behind the problems, and do nothing to help the people in need.

London - Anger

Emotive language and repetition show the anger at the situation

London - Hopelessness

They appear hopeless because they are trapped in their own attitudes and not able to help themselves

London - Anger quote

"In every cry of every man, In every infant's cry of fear..."

London - Hopelessness quote

"The mind-forged manacles I hear"

My Last Duchess

by Robert Browning

The Duke proudly points out a portrait of...

His former wife (The duchess) to a visitor

The Duke was angered by...

the Duchess's behaviour - she was friendly towards everyone, and treated him like everyone else.

The Duke stopped...

the Duchess's flirtatious behaviour, strongly hinting that he had her murdered.

At the end the Duke is arranging...

his next marriage

My Last Duchess - Pride

(Theme) The Duke is very proud of his possessions and status.

My Last Duchess - Jealously

(Theme) The Duke couldn't stand the way the Duchess treated him the same as everyone else.

My Last Duchess - Power

The Duke enjoys the control he has over the painting, however he didn't have the same control over his ex-wife.

My Last Duchess - Pride Quote

"My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name"

My Last Duchess - Jealously Quote

"She looked on, and her looks went everywhere."

My Last Duchess - Power Quote

"I gave commands ; Then all smiles stopped together."

Storm on the Island by

Seamus Heaney

The narrator describes how a community thinks...

it's well prepared for a coming storm

As the poem goes on, their confidence starts to disappear as...

the storm develops.

The ending of the poem describes...

the fear as the storm hits the island.

Storm on the island - Safety

(Theme) The first part of the poem shows that the community feel safe, and prepared for the storm

Storm on the Island - Fear

(Theme) This sense of security soon changes to fear, as familiar things change and become frightening.

Storm on the Island - Helplessness

The people can't do anything about their fear except wait for the storm to finish. Nature is presented as a powerful, relentless force.

Storm on the Island - Safety Quote

"We are prepared: we build our houses squat,"

Storm on the Island -Fear Quote

"It is a huge nothing that we fear."

Storm on the Island - Helplessness Quote

"strafes invisibly...we are bombarded by the empty air."

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat

by William Wordsworth

The narrator finds a boat...

... and steals it.

Initially the narrator seems happy and confident...

... however a mountain appears on the horizon and the narrator is afraid of its size and power

He turns the boat around and goes home, but ...

... his view of nature has changed forever.

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat - Confidence

(Theme) The narrator feels comfortable and in control to start with, but confidence in himself and world around him is shaken by one event.

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat - Fear

(Theme) Nature is shown to be more powerful than a human being.

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat - Reflection

(Theme) The poem ends with the narrator reflecting on how he's been changed by the event.

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat - Confidence Quote

"Within a rocky cave, its usual home / Straight I unloosed her chain..."

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat - Fear Quote

"And growing in still in stature the grim shape / Towered up between me and the stars..."

The Prelude: Stealing the Boat - Reflection Quote

"...moved slowly through my mind/ By day, and were a trouble to my dreams."