Power and Conflict Poems - Exam Notes

Exam Preparation: Power and Conflict Poems

Overview

  • English Literature Paper 2: 2 hours 15 minutes.
  • Power and Conflict section: 45-minute slot.
  • Question worth 30 marks, assessing AO1, AO2, and AO3.

Assessment Objectives (AOs)

AO1: Point, Task, Reference, and Quotes
  • Focus on making a clear point and addressing the question's task.
  • Use appropriate references and quotations from the poems as evidence.
  • Three quotes to revise and use in the exam.
AO2: Language, Structure, and Form
  • Analyze the effects of language, including language devices.
  • Examine structural devices such as:
    • Caesura: Punctuation within a line, not at the end.
    • Enjambment: A line of poetry continues to the next line with no punctuation.
    • Volta: The shift or turning point in the poem.
  • Identify and categorize the form of each poem:
    • Narrative: Tells a story.
    • Epic: About an event.
    • Sonnet: 14-line poem, often about love (romantic or otherwise).
    • Free Verse: No set rules, stanza length, or line structure.
    • Dramatic Monologue: One character speaking in first person.
    • Five forms to care about: narrative, epic, free verse, sonnet and dramatic monologue.
AO3: Context
  • Understand the context of each poem, including:
    • Historical background.
    • Social context (e.g., patriarchy).
    • Philosophical ideas (e.g., religion).

Exam Question Structure

  • 45-minute question.
  • Plan for 5-7 minutes.
  • Write three paragraphs, comparing two poems in each.
  • Comparisons can be similarities or differences.

Paragraph Structure: Ping Pong

  • Paragraph 1: Compare points from both poems.
  • Paragraph 2: Compare points from both poems.
  • Paragraph 3: Compare points from both poems.

Poem Analysis

Ozymandias
  • Summary: The poem reflects on the transient nature of power and the ultimate triumph of nature over human ambition.
  • Form: Sonnet about self-love and love of power.
  • Structure: Volta at "Nothing beside remains."
  • Quotes:
    • "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings": Hyperbole, symbolism, juxtaposition (challenging God).
    • "Shattered visage lies": The adjective "shattered" emphasizes the irreparable state of Ozymandias' legacy due to nature's power over time.
    • "Nothing beside remains": Caesura emphasizes that no matter how powerful you are nature will always win.
  • Context: Freud and the Id, patriarchy.
London
  • Summary: The poem portrays a bleak view of London, highlighting the suffering and oppression of its inhabitants.
  • Form: Narrative poem telling the other side of story when it comes to London.
  • Structure: Enjambment in "The hapless soldier's sigh runs in blood down palace walls" emphasizes the continuous flow of blood and responsibility of the monarchy.
  • Quotes:
    • "Marks of weakness, marks of woe": Repetition emphasizes that everyone is suffering and controlled in London.
    • "Mind-forged manacles": Metaphor suggesting that people's minds are controlled, not physically chained.
    • "Hapless soldier's sigh runs in blood down palace walls": Enjambment emphasizes the blood pouring. Symbolism of the palace walls.
  • Context: The British Empire.
Extract from The Prelude
  • Summary: The poem recounts an event where the speaker steals a boat and experiences a shift from joy to fear due to nature's overwhelming presence.
  • Form: Epic poem; an event of nature putting man in its place.
  • Structure: Volta when "a huge peak, black and huge" appears.
  • Quotes:
    • "Led by her": Personification of nature.
    • "Troubled pleasure": Oxymoron representing the speaker's awareness of wrongdoing.
    • "Nothing remained, no pleasant images": PTSD from the boat stealing event that has completely changed him and his perspective.
  • Context: PTSD, danger of following desires, Freud and the Id.
My Last Duchess
  • Summary: The poem is a dramatic monologue where the Duke reveals his controlling nature and possible role in his last Duchess's demise.
  • Form: Dramatic monologue; biased point of view from the Duke.
  • Structure: Juxtaposition.
  • Quotes:
    • "Since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you but I": Juxtaposition emphasizes the Duke's perceived control versus her actual control over his thoughts. Enjambment conveys her never-ending control.
    • "She liked whate'er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere": Hyperbole indicating how the wife was a "pervert" according to the Duke.
    • "I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together": Sibilance creates a sinister feel. Caesura emphasizes the unplanned pause of his wife's life.
  • Context: Patriarchy.
Charge of the Light Brigade
  • Summary: The poem describes a military charge based on a misinterpretation and ensuing death of many people, highlighting themes and propaganda
  • Form: Epic poem about a war, a battle
  • Structure: juxtaposition
  • Quotes:
    • "Into the valley of Death": Symbolism, foreshadowing.
    • "Not to make reply, not to reason why, but to do and die": Anaphora juxtaposes this quote. Powerful but sad quote.
    • "Horse and Heros fell": Juxtaposition.
  • Context: Propaganda. Soldiers compared to Zombies.
Exposure
  • Summary: The poem looks at a group of soldiers waiting for war to begin which is happening through nature
  • Form: Narrative poem showing men's personal stories.
  • Quotes:
    • "Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us": Personification, sibilance, enjambment. Destroyed by nature not dodging bullets.
    • "Mad gusts tugging on the wire": Verb "tugging", personification.
    • "But nothing Happens": JUxtaposition. So much happened yet programmed to understand that you don't moved and you waited.
Storm on the Island
  • Summary: The poem focuses on you can never prepare for war if there are things that are out of your control.
  • Form: Epic Poem showing the events in Northern Ireland
  • Quotes:
    • "Huge nothing we fear": Juxtaposition between confidence at beginning and confusion. Question mark.
    • "Listen to the thing you fear": Personification, foreshadows their downfall
    • "Sit tight": In the volta. helpless, can you do anything?
Bayonet Charge
  • Summary: The poem focuses on a soldier waking up in the middle of battle realizing what is happening is the result of a lie
  • Form: Narrative, Man having a realization.
  • Quotes:
    • "bullets smacking the belly out of the air,": Metaphor, how the soldier is an amateur
    • "Jumped up in the dark and runs.": simile to darkness which symbolizes one's eyes is blinded from the truth
    • "King, Honor, Human Dignity": Voulta. Luxuries are being dropped implying waking and understanding
Remains
  • Summary: Poem starts with a soldier being at war and ends with the person having PTSD
  • Form: Narrative
  • Quotes:
    • "See every round rips through his life": hyperbole is that they can see day light/ Juxtaposition says hey hit him a dozen times
    • " Blink, sleep and dream": simantic field.
    • "Bloody life on my bloody hands": Cicylitic structure. Killing stuck
poppies
  • Summary: Mom is remembering her fallen son, is the victims of victim of wars
  • Form: epic
  • Quotes:
    • "Graze my nose against tip of your nose,": symbolism + Verb, what she used to have back
    • "was brave as I walked you to the front door": flash back and adjective of the moment
    • "dove pulled, freely into the line": Volta.
War Photographer
  • Summary: the war photographer is the perfect poem showing the victims, after the victims.
  • Form: Narrative, it tells story of war photographer
  • Quotes:
    • "hands do not tremble, though seem to now".: juxtaposition, emotion now showing.
    • "Stranger's features faintly stat to twist" verb, foreshadowing.
    • "hundred agonies in lack and white": metaphor, it stands for pain.
  • Other: The editor only using 5 or 6 photos for the magazine/ Sunday supplement.
Tissue
  • Summary: tissue is metaphor. It means life.
  • Form:
  • Quotes:
    • "Maps to": Caesura.
    • "Fly kites": Simile.
    • "Liviing tissues to raise structure":
Emigree
  • Summary: the poem focuses on someone not being bale to change and in denial about her home country.
  • Form: Epic, there is the event of war.
  • Quotes:
    • "the worst news I receive break my original view": Juxtaposition, emphasis as gone on along the road
    • "hollow doll spills a grammar": similes
    • "you accuse me absence? they circle me":
Checking Out Me History
  • Summary: poem focuses on problems with educational system. Blindfolded because never taught the correct stuff
  • Form: Free Verse.
  • Quotes:
    • "Dem tell me": Repetition
    • "Bandage up me eye with history": Juxtaposition. hide crime. Blind and not to know
    • "Carving out identity": macbeth is carving out space this permanent. Now claiming the power that was once took.
Kamikaze
  • Summary: what looks like propaganda but someone realizes last moment and make the deicison to not to do it. and then the wife, neighbors don't recognize
  • Form: Epic.
  • Quotes:
    • " Head full of powerful incantations.": verbal
    • "Remember how he and brothers:": noun- brorthers = family
    • "Learned to be side": Voulta

How to compare poems

  • 1. Point: War is presented as a product of propaganda
  • 2. Reference: Baynet
  • 3. technique, analysis and evaluation
  • 4. Effect once you have done that, add similarity (Kamikaze) or on the other hands (contrast)