poetry 'war and conflict'

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Bayonet Charge

1 soldier goes into enemy territory. little structure represents chaos. Bizzare stream of conciousness- Blank verse (no rhythem usually in iambic)

poem describes how the battle transforms a soldier from a living thinking person into a dangerous weapon of war.

Poem tries to step inside the mind and body of a soldier carrying out one of the most terrifying acts of this or any war.

In the end all high moral justifications- king + Country becomes form of human doubt not a person but a weapon of war.

"His terrors touchy dynamite"

"threw up a yellow hare"

"his sweat heavy, stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge"

"king,hounour,human dignity, etcetera."

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The Charge Of The Light Brigade

Poem seems to be more concerned with creating national heros for a Country than mourning the dead soldiers or arguing againt un justified war.

"All in the valley of death"

"Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell"

"there's but to do and die"

"All the World wonder'd"

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Exposure

Describes the extreme measures to which he and his men were exposed for two days, dominated by words of the weather. Negative associations.

"Therefore not loath we lie out here"

"But nothing happens"

"our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knife us"

"Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army."

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Kamikaze

Father embarking on a mission that was left uncompleted. Has to become a warrior in order to spare his dignity.

all lines are regular

little punctuation

"turbulent"

"once a tuna"

"we too learned"

"he must have wondered"-structure behind it

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Storm On The Island

Describes experience of being in a cliff top cottage on an island during a storm. People are very isolated, cant do anything against the violent weather. Could also describe the conflict in northen ireland.

"Strange, it is a huge othing that we fear"

"exploding comfortably"

"This wizened Earth has never troubled us with hay, so as you see, there are no stacks or stooks that can be lost"

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War Photographer

Photographer experiencing conflict- feels he needs to show the world about what he sees and the conflict innocent people go through. Turning into inner termoil as he tries to comprehend his thoughts into words. Choice between helping or recording.

"Apriest preparing to intone a mass"

"Running children"

"contrast to tears and beers"

"Someone must"

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London

 speaker takes a walk around an area near the Thames. industrial revolution. City was corrupt. He can hear all kinds of cries, from adults and kids alike. He sees people who look awful, walking at midnight, he hears something a harlot (prostitute) cursing her infant for crying.

very structured

"Marks of weakness, marks of woe"

repetition of "in every..."

"manacles"

"But,"

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Remains

Soldier who is going through post traumatic stress disorder. Remembering the conflict he endured, how he tries to deal with his memories and evaluating one specific memory in his head.

1 stanza w/2 lines

"on another occassion"

"somebody else and somebody else"

"every round as it rips...i see..."

"except not really"

"but i bink"

hyphen

"bloody life in my bloody hands"

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Tissue

Paper dictates your social class. Life should be measured by your actions- what you do and achieve- how you invest your time on earth.

"Could alter things"

"Back of the koran"

"credit card and paper kites"

"never meant to last"

short sentences

"turned into your skin"

structure/stanzas

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Poppies

Contemporary poem. Raise awareness of wars in Iraq and Afganistan. A mothers perspective which depicts the pain and loss a mother experiences when her son leaves home to go to war.

"blockade"

"dove pulled freely"
stanza two lines 2,3,+5

cesura

"i pinned"

"blackthorns"

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My Last Duchess

Talking to a messanger, he wants to marry his daughter. Pandolf painted the picture. He then killed his wife. He was jealous, rich and powerful. the duchess is rebelious, flirtacious and attractive.

lots of hyphens

1 long stanza

iambic and rhyming couplets

"How shall i say?"

"Painted on the wall"

"officious fool" and "whie mule"

"who'd stoop to blame"

"dropping off the daylight in the west"

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Extract: from, The Prelude

Boy takes a boat and rows it out into the lake. He rows skillfully, keeping a straight course by aiming for a ridges summit. The growing size of one of the peaks unnerves him and he turns around. He leaves the boat where he found it.

natural world

"proud of his skill"

"when" and "huge peak, black and huge"

"And measured motion like a living thing,"

caesura and isolation

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Ozymandias

meets a traveller who tells him about a statue which only has the legs. inscription on the pedestal and stretches of empty desert surrounding it.

2 types of sonnet shakesperian sonnet and petrarchen sonnet

line out of place

nature will outlive man

unequal distribution of power

"nothing beside remains"

"half-sunk"

"look"

"wrinkled lip"

"antique"

"lifeless things"

"cold command"

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