English Lit poem Quotes

Manhunt- Fragility 1, fragile materials

“Porcelain” and “Silk” indicate Eddie's fragility, both mental and physical

Manhunt - Fragility 2 “foetus”

“The foetus of metal beneath his chest” suggests that Eddie and Laura will be forever changed by his injuries

Manhunt- Fragility 3 or War 1 “unexploded”

“A sweating unexploded mine buried deep within his mind” suggesting that he could explode at any moment, he has been mentally changed by his time on the battlefield

Manhunt- War 2, mechanical imagery

“Hinge”, “Rudder” and “Rungs” suggest that Eddie is seen as a machine by the army, and they are ready to discard him when he is broken

Manhunt- War 3 injuries

“Grazed heart” “punctured lung” and “broken ribs” indicate the physical damage to Eddie caused by war

Manhunt- Love 1 “passionate”

“After passionate nights and intimate days” suggests that while his return was good, the good times were minimal and their relationship has changed

Manhunt- Love 2 “only”

“Only then would he let me…” things that would be ordinarily trivial in a long term relationship have been made difficult. They have to rebuild their relationship as a result of Eddie being changed by his PTSD

Manhunt- Love 3 medical imagery

“Mind and Attend” Laura feels her role has shifted to Eddie's caretaker rather than his partner

Manhunt - Love 4 mental health damage

“His grazed heart” literal and metaphorical. Their relationship has been affected by his physical injuries

Manhunt- Love 5 “close”

“Only then did I come close” took a long time to regain an understanding of her partner

The Soldier - Death 1 “die”

“If I should die…” presents death as an inevitability, but an acceptable one

The Soldier - Death 2 “heaven”

“Under an English heaven” suggests that death is necessary to achieve his patriotic view of perfection.

The Soldier - War 1 “dust”

“Richer dust concealed” sees England as better than anywhere else. His patriotic justification for war

The Soldier - War 2 patriotism

“English heaven” indicates that he sees England as better, as a patriotic justification for war

Living space - Fragility 1 and Society 1 “leans”

“The whole structure leans dangerously towards the miraculous” suggests the fragility of the situation these people are in, but also how their resolve is miraculous

Living space - Fragility 2 “wired”

“And even dared to place these eggs in a wired basket” suggests the fragility of these people's hopes, and how likely they are to break

Living Space - society 2 “problem:

“there are just not enough straight lines. That is the problem” represents society's view on these people and their situation. Place to mock people who believe this

Living space - society 3 “nails”

“Nails clutch at open seams” personifies people's struggle for security and stability

Death of a Naturalist - nature 1 and childhood 1 listing

“Bluebottles” “Dragonflies” “Spotted butterflies” and “Frogspawn” all show a childlike excitement in their listing, exhibiting the speaker’s love of nature

Death of a Naturalist - childhood 2, childish vocab

“Daddy” “mammy” “jampotfuls” childish vocab shows speaker's innocence

Death of a Naturalist - nature 2 “bass”

“Thick with a bass chorus” speaker overwhelmed by nature, so they alienate it

Death of a Naturalist - childhood 3 “turned”

“I sickened, turned, and ran” suggests the loss of innocence in the speakers near perfect world from earlier in the poem, but also a childish fear

Death of a Naturalist- nature 3, warlike

“Cocked” “pulsed” “threats” “mud grenades” violent imagery, suggests nature is attacking or lashing out at the speaker

Death of a Naturalist - nature 4 “kings”

“The great slime kings” indicates nature holds power over the speaker

Death of a Naturalist - childhood 4 “clutch”

“The spawn would clutch it” love is lost to fear. The speaker’s childhood passion has faded

Hawk Roosting - power 1 “on top”

“I sit on top of the wood, my eyes closed” physical position suggests power, possessive pronoun suggests control over the poem, eyes closed suggests confidence

Hawk Roosting - death 1 “rehearse”

“Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills” death is commonplace and meaningless to the hawk

Hawk Roosting - Power 2 and Nature 1 “convenience”

“The convenience of high trees!” see nature to it's advantage

Hawk Roosting - Power 3 and Nature 2 “advantage”

“The air's buoyancy and the sun's ray are of advantage to me” sees nature as supporting it and help it

Hawk Roosting - Power 4 “inspection”

“And the earth's face upwards for my inspection” the hawk sees the world to serve it

Hawk Roosting - Power 6 “creation”

“It took the whole of creation to produce my foot” imagery akin to a God. Hawk sees itself as equal to a God

Hawk Roosting - Death 2 and Power 7 “allotment”

“The allotment of death” controls death. Suggests power over and control of death

Hawk Roosting - Time 1 and Power 8 “permitted”

“My eye has permitted no change” suggest that he believes he has power to overcome time

Hawk Roosting - Time 2 “keep”

“I am going to keep things like this” - suggests time is something to be overcome, not inevitable.

To Autumn - Nature 1, somantic field of abundance

“Fruitfullness” “fruit” “apples” “gourd” “hazel shells” all suggest plenty and abundance

To Autumn - nature 2, somantic field of positivity

“Bless” “ripeness” “sweet” ”nature amd this time of year” positive and celebratory, shows the speakers love for this

To Autumn - Nature 3, “o'erbrimm”

“For summer has o'erbrimm their clammy cells” cells has connotations of prison, indicating that summer could be seen as a prison by the poet

To Autumn - Nature 4 “friend”

“Close bosom friend” suggests that summer and Autumn work together and can be seen as allies or friends

To Autumn - Loss 1 and Nature 5, somantic field of grief

“Wailful” “mourn” “dying” “dies” suggests that the speaker is sad that Autumn is fading, seeing it almost akin to a death

To Autumn - Loss 2 and Nature 6, “gnats”

“The wailful choir of small gnats mourn” suggests that nature itself is upset that Autumn is fading

Afternoons - Time 1, “fading”

“Summer is fading” indicates the passage of time, little mention to this, almost as if it is just another summer in the monotony of the mother's lives

Afternoons - time 2, “hollows”

“In the hollows of afternoons” indicates that time is passing in empty, meaningless ways

Afternoons - childhood 1, “free”

“Setting free their children” suggests that the children are free compared to their mothers

Afternoons - love 1 “television”

“Our wedding, lying near the television” their wedding is as meaningless and ordinary as the tv

Afternoons - love 2, “behind”

“Behind them, at intervals, stand husbands skilled in trades” behind them indicate that the husbands are looking supportive but are really of no help

Afternoons - Love 3 and childhood 2 “school”

“(But the lovers are all in school)” suggests that true love is simply a childlike fantasy

Afternoons - time 3 “side”

“Something is pushing them to the side of their own lives” suggests that over time the mother’s have become less relevant to their own lives

Afternoons - time 4 “thickened”

“Their beauty has thickened” with their freedom, the mothers’ beauty has faded

Ozymandias - Power 1 and time 1 “shattered”

“Half sunk, a shattered visage lies” this quote suggests that even the most powerful people's influence fades over time

Ozymandias - Power 2 “sneer”

“Sneer of cold command” indicates that power makes you careless

Ozymandias - time 2 and power 3 “remains”

“Nothing besides remains” shows that time destroys all of our human structures of power and status

Ozymandias - Power 4 “despair”

“Look on my works ye mighty and despair!” shows that Ozymandias believed himself and his legacy to be immortal

Sonnet 43 “thee”

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways” opening of the poem. Sets focus on the speaker’s love for the recipient. Use of “thee” creates a stereotyped romantic tone.

Sonnet 43, “Height”

“Depth and Breadth and Height” use of syndetic listing shows the intensity of the speaker’s love for the recipient, but also creates a playful tone

Sonnet 43, “love”

“I love thee” repeat throughout the poem, mostly in anaphora, showing and playful and obsessive nature to the speaker's love

Sonnet 43 “sun”

“By sun and candlelight” shows that the speaker’s love resonates despite the time of day; she is always thinking about her husband

Sonnet 43, good and bad

“Old griefs” “smiles, tears” shows that the speaker loves their partner despite hardship or sadness

Sonnet 43, “death”

“If God chose, I shall love thee better after death” breaks the marriage vow of “til death do us part”, and one ups it. Their love is so powerful, it can overcome the inevitability of death

Valentine, “rose"

“Not a red rose or a satin heart” shows the speakers disdain for these stereotyped gifts. Suggests that she sees them as of little value. Mocking of the idea of valentines day, suggesting that it is over commercialised

Valentine, lexical set of violence

“Grief”, “fierce”, “lethal”, and “knife” shows that love is dangerous, and a commitment through good and bad. The speaker acknowledges that love can hurt

Valentine, “blind”

“It will blind you with tears, like a lover” another acknowledgement that love hurts, and isn't simple or easy

Valentine, “truthful”

“I am trying to be truthful” continues the idea that other attitudes to love are disingenuous, and lack substance

Valentine, blunt language

“Take it” speaker addresses the recipient simply, showing an intimate relationship with them.

Valentine, “platinum”

“Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring, if you like” shows a casual, but caring nature to the speaker and recipient's love.

She walks in beauty, “night”

“Like the night of cloudless climes and starry skys” describes his love like the night, which is unusual for a positive description. Suggests a mystique to her beauty.

She walks in beauty, “gaudy”

“Which heaven to gaudy day denies” suggests the woman is indescribable compared to day, which she outshines completely; She provides something the day cannot.

She walks in Beauty, “Shade”

“One shade the more, one ray the less” the 50/50 line split between light and dark, emphasises that the woman's beauty is all encompassing

She walks in Beauty, “grace”

“Nameless grace” suggests that the woman's beauty is indescribable

She walks in Beauty, “brow”

“And on that cheek, and o’er that brow” describes physical traits, suggesting a superficial attraction to this woman

She walks in Beauty, “below”

“A mind at peace with all below, a heart whose love is innocent” suggests, despite only knowing her from a distance, that she is pure mentally, purely based on her physical traits

Cozy Apologia, “anything”

“I could pick anything and think of you” shows the intensity of the speaker’s love extends even to the mundane

Cozy Apologia, Knight imagery

“Chain mail” “silver stirrups” And “dappled mare” depict the partner as a knight in shining armour stereotype, showing how she views him as the perfect partner

Cozy Apologia, somantic field of pointlessness

“Worthless boys” “kiss you senseless” “thin as licorice” all suggest that she sees her old partners as worthless compared to her current one. Sees them each as childish.

Cozy Apologia, “twin”

“(twin desks, computers, hardwood floors)” the couple does everything together, even work.

Cozy Apologia, “divine”

“We're content, but fall short of the divine” shows a realistic depiction of romance, especially considering their circumstances, during a hurricane

Cozy Apologia, “stolen”

“I fill this stolen time with you” ends poem with the most important part of it. Creates cyclical structure with start if the poem, which begins with “I”

London, “marks”

“And mark in every face I meet, marks of weakness, marks of woe” shifts the poem’s focus from descriptive to critical. Blake begins to address his belief.

London, repetition

“In every” repeated in anaphora to emphasise how all encompassing the damage caused by the monarchy and industrial revolution is

London, “manacles”

“Mind forged manacles” shows that Blake believes that the suffering is a construct of society, and that they could break free if they wished.

London, “appalls”

“Every blackening church appalls” suggests that the church has become corrupt and is now part of the problem. Connect to context - Blake was a Christian, but did not practice organised religion.

London, “hearse”

“Blights with plagues the marriage hearse” juxtaposition of marriage hearse, suggests that even the happy times come with bad.

Dulce et Decorum est, “beggars”

“Bent double, like old beggars under sacks” young men sent to war have been crippled by the combat, to the point of seeming to have aged

Dulce et Decorum est, “gas”

“Gas! gas! quick boys! - an ecstasy of fumbling” marks a change of pace in the poem, from slow, trudging, to faster and more action based

Dulce et Decorum est, “sea”

“As under a green sea, I saw him drowning” shows the visceral and violent reality of war, behind the propaganda this poem stands to criticise

Dulce et Decorum est, “choking”

“Guttering, choking, drowning” the use of listing shows an extreme panic in the speaker.

Dulce et Decorum est, “bitter”

“Obcene as cancer, bitter as the cud” shows the speaker’s violent dislike of warfare, and its consequences

Dulce et Decorum est, “lie”

“The old lie, Dulce et Decorum est, pro patria mori” translates to “it is sweet and right to die for one's country” and is the message the poet wishes to judge, in order to oppose wartime propaganda

Prelude, “heeded”

“I heeded not the summons”

Prelude, “rapture”

“It was a time of rapture”

Prelude, “alien”

“The alien sound of melancholy”

Prelude, “orange”

“The orange sky of the evening died away”

Prelude, “blaz'd”

“The cottage windows through the firelight blaz'd”

Prelude, somantic field of free movement

“Hiss'd” “wheel'd” “untired”

Prelude, “din”

“Not a voice was idle with the din”

Mametz wood, war “years”

“For years afterwards the farmers found them”

Mametz Wood, war, “wasted”

“The wasted young”

Mametz Wood, Fragility, “shoulder”

“The china plate of a shoulder blade”

Mametz Wood, fragility, “skull”

“The broken bird's egg of a skull”

Mametz Wood, war, “walk”

“They were told to walk, not run”

Mametz Wood, war, “wound”

“Like a would working a foreign body to the surface of the skin” suggests war to have injured the earth. Effects long lasting