Power and Conflict Poems

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  • Created by: tomquelch
  • Created on: 01-02-18 08:47

Ozymandias

Context:

Written by Shelly in a collection in 1819, it was inspired by the recent unearthing of part of a large statue of the Egyptian Pharoah, Ramesses II. The Egyptian Pharaohs like Ramesses believed themselves to be gods in mortal form and that their legacy would last forever. The reference to the stone statue is likely a direct reference to the statues and sculptures like the one which was unearthed, which the ancient Egyptians made.

Themes:

Looking at power and conflict we can imagine Ozymandias as a powerful ruler who sees himself as a ‘king of kings’, perhaps a great warrior and one of the most powerful men in the world. The poem is almost being ironic, pointing out that now all that remains is an arrogant boast on a ruined statue. Perhaps the poet feels sorry for him or is laughing at his expense. Either way it looks about the inevitable downfall of all rulers and tyrants, and how nothing, not even power, lasts forever.

Structure:

Written in a sonnet with loose iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is pairs (iams, of sounds da-dum) with 5 (pentameter, think of pent like in pentagon) in a line making 10 syllables overall. Sonnets were generally popular romantic or love poems, perhaps this being a love poem about Ozymandias, a joke about the rulers ego. Or simply to capture the romantic and exotic tone of a lost legend. The Rhyme scheme is irregular, perhaps symbolic of the broken statue itself, no longer perfect.

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London

Context:

The poem is set during a time in England where there was poverty, child labour and a horrific war with France. Women had no rights, death rates from disease and malnutrition were high and the industrial revolution has resulted in many large oppressive factories. Blake’s poems often railed against these and how London, arguably the greatest city in the world at that time, was so dirty and corrupt.

Themes:

Looking at power and conflict this is a poem which is more about the lack of power and abuse of power. The poem is set in the capital of the most powerful country in the world and yet words like ‘manacles’ suggest slavery while the soldiers sigh ‘runs in blood down palace walls’ a clear contrast between those with power and those without.

Structure:

Written in four stanzas with an regular alternate scheme. This may reflect the regular walking pace of the narrator as he walks around London. The last line in each stanza tends to deliver a powerful statement which sums up the rest of the stanza. Stanza 1 focusses on misery, Stanza 2 on peoples refusal to stand tall, Stanza 3 about the way people are sacrificed for the rich and powerful, Stanza 4 how all this poverty is corrupting everything good about family and life.

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The Prelude

Context:

William Wordsworth was a romantic poet, we don’t mean he wrote love poems, but he wrote poems about the world we live in which challenged people and the way they thought at the time. During this time ‘epic’ poems of large length were common, as were poems which looked at the world and man’s place within it. This extract is from a much larger poem, it looks at the spiritual and moral development of a man growing up.

Themes:

The poem is quite hard to relate to conflict and power. However there is a sense of conflict between man and nature where nature is eventually shown to be more powerful in the end.

Structure:

Written as part of a much larger piece. This section is 44 lines in blank verse (no real structure). The work is in iambic pentameter to give it a consistent pace. As the poem progresses the journey the poet is on becomes rougher and words like ‘and’ are repeated to give it a breathless pace and feel.

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My Last Duchess

Context:

Robert Browning was a poet in the 19th century. The son of a wealthy bank clerk, he didn't fit in as much in London society, he left the country and went to Italy to marry fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett because of her over protective father. The poem is loosely based on the Duke of Ferrara and is written from his perspective, talking to a messenger about arranging his next marriage. The assumption being that he was dissatisfied with his former wife and had her killed.

Themes:

The idea of Power and Conflict is shown in the way the speaker (the Duke of Ferrara) is showing off his power and also suggesting the control he had over the Duchess’s life. There is also conflict between who he presents or wants himself to be and who he really is as a character.

Structure:

The poem is an example of dramatic monologue (a speech given by one character). It uses a large number of pauses (caesuras) in the poem along with lines that flow into one another (enjambment) in order to try and capture the tone of the speaker talking away to the messenger and adding in tangents (small opinions and asides). The poem uses rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter this reflects the style of romantic poets at the time, despite how this poem is much more sinister and dark. It is another façade for the Duke of Ferrara’s character. You will note he is the only character that speaks despite the fact he is talking to someone, he never lets them speak.

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Charge of the Light Brigade

Context:

The Crimean war saw British troops fighting in Russia. At this time, while there were basic guns and cannons, people would still also fight or horses, to rush in and attack before they could reload or stop them. However the light brigade were very lightly equipped, more for scouting or attacking from the back or sides rather than charging straight in. During a battle, a miscommunication sent the light brigade charging head first into the cannons of the other side, it was a huge catastrophe and many died. It showed to the British that even mistakes can happen. The men were respected for following orders, even though they knew they may be wrong. Some however have criticised the way they blindly followed orders. Lord Tennyson was the poet who was asked to write about their glorious sacrifice. 

Themes:

The poem is about war, life and death, sacrifice and folly. It naturally links to conflict and is effective at showing peoples views on war of the time. The poem also contains a lot of reference to biblical/religious ideas as well as bravery and fear.

Structure:

Written in dimeter and dactylic. Basically that means there are two (di-) stresses in each line, that means two beats or syllables which you read with a bit more force. The syllables after are then unstressed. So when there are six syllables you would read it ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three. The drop in stress is perhaps to show the sudden charge and then collapse, or the sound of horses galloping. The poem is divided into 6 stanzas and uses a lot of repetition. Some of this is to show the different stages of the battle but also give it a structure. It has a very military rhyme and can be similar to the sound of marching drums of horse hooves. This is used to reflect the military nature of the conflict in the poem.

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Exposure

Context:

The war itself was often criticised because of a huge loss of life for very little gain. During the Somme over 60,000 British soldiers died in one day, and in all they only gained 6 miles by the end of the war. Owen’s poems were often angry that the soldiers were in muddy dangerous trenches while the generals behind the lines were living in comfort. Owen’s poems tried to show the truth of conditions to people back home. He was no against fighting, but was angry about the conditions soldiers had to live with in order to do so.

Themes:

The poem itself is based on war and so links to conflict. The poem itself is about the weather and conditions of living in the trenches rather than any fighting. It is more a poem about the conflict between man and nature. This is extremely relevant because man has created machines that can launch explosive shells for miles and destroy the landscape, and yet, nature can still do more harm than any of it.

Structure:

The poem uses a large amount of ellipses, caesuras and repetition to create an on-going sense of waiting and boredom. The poem is made of eight stanzas with a consistent use of a half line to end. This reinforces the sense of stasis or sameness throughout the poem that nothing is happening. There is use of para-rhyme showing words which appear to rhyme yet sound wrong when read to create the sense of unsettledness in the poem the soldiers are feeling. Owen also uses a huge amount of onomatopoeia and alliteration in the poem to emphasise the atmosphere and the sound of weather.

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Storm on the Island

Context:

Seamus Heaney was a poet in Ireland, he grew up in a farming community and many of his poems were about very normal and homely subjects. He uses a large number of agricultural and natural images in his work as metaphors for human nature.. The poem is set around a story of a small isolated cottage near the sea in a storm and the exposure to the elements.

Themes:

The poem looks at the conflict between nature and man and peoples fear of the weather. However the poet also points out that the fears are really rather small in the grand scheme. There is also a hint of war and conflict in the way the weather is described with “bombardment” and “salvo”.

Structure:

The poem is in blank verse with 19 lines. There are 5 feet (10 syllables) in each line. The verses are unrhymed and it gives it a very conversational tone. This is added to by the use of asides ‘you know what I mean’. The poem is in present tense to suggest the storm is occurring at the time. The poem uses a great deal of enjambment to help add to the conversational tone. 

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Bayonet Charge

Context:

The poem is about a nameless soldier going over the top in the trenches. Soldiers would have bayonets attached to the end of their rifles and would use them to stab enemy soldiers. The nameless soldier in the poem seems to become more a weapon than a man, rushing toward the enemy. It is not clear at the end whether he dies but there is definitely a change in him. His actions are very raw and primal, much like an animal, suddenly pausing, preparing to react. The poet, Ted Hughes, was a former RAF serviceman and includes a great amount of natural and historical ideas in his poems and he often looks at man’s impact on nature

Themes:

The poem clearly is set around conflict in that it is a soldier rushing out of the trenches on the attack. However the poem also looks at ideas like transformation, humanity and nature (in the form of the yellow hare and green hedge). In the poem the solider is almost more machine or animal than human and this is reflected in the power themed words used to describe him.

Structure:

There are three stanzas and the work is largely blank verse with no set structure. In part the different lines help show the pace of the charge, sometimes fast, sometimes stumbling. Towards the end it picks up speed, perhaps as he approaches his destination or doom. The poet uses a lot of enjambment and caesuras to give a bizarre and erratic speed to the poem. This helps again give a structure to the speed of the charge but also the confusion and intensity of the battle with explosions and gunfire as well as the jumbled thoughts of the soldier.

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Remains

Context:

Post traumatic stress and mental illness is very common in soldiers who struggle to come to terms with some part of their duty, normally a horrific memory of killing or being in danger which gives them nightmares and panic attacks as well as depression and sometimes suicidal tendencies. Simon Armitage is a famous UK poet who is known for being very direct in his work. His recent poems have looked at the experiences of war and soldiers.

Themes:

The poem is originally set in a warzone and naturally looks at conflict in a direct way. However it also looks heavily at the after effects of conflict and the long term effects it has on the people involved. Power is partly shown in this as well, firstly the soldiers power over life and death but later the power over their own memory and experiences. Mental health and morality are also key in this.

Structure:

 The poem is written in 8 stanzas, the last of which is a couplet which leaves the poem on a dramatic end note. It does not rhyme and the poem is a monologue, using very conversational asides and syntax to structure the sentences into a very conversational tone “end of story, not really”. There is also a lot of enjambment and caesura used to emphasises the natural speech patterns of the speaker. Another key factor in this poem is the use of colloquialism (slang) and personal pronouns to give it a sense of realism, “One of my mates,”.

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Poppies

Context:

The poem looks at a mother of a son who has grown up and gone to war. The poem contains many clues that this is a more modern conflict, however the poem ends at the memorial, suggesting the son died at war or has at least not yet returned home and is now missed by the mother who fears the worst.

Themes:

The poem looks partially at conflict because of the nature of the son going to war, however it looks at conflict more from the perspective of those it leaves behind and the emotions of families. It is a behind the scenes view of conflict rather than addressing the conflict itself. There is also a level of conflict in the mothers emotions, pride, fear, sadness.

Structure:

Written as a monologue in 4 stanzas and no rhyme scheme. The stanzas are structured along events in the life of mother and child. 1st the mother looks back at remembrance day and the idea of the poppy which has helped trigger the memory. 2nd the mother talks about helping her son get ready and seeing him off. 3rd the poem explores the emptiness that is left in his absence, finally the mother feels drawn to a war memorial bringing the story back to where it started, yet now with no son around. The suggestion of the dove being that he has died. The poem uses a lot of enjambment and familiar nouns to enhance the idea of natural tone and the mothers voice.

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War Photographer

Context:

The poem is also looking at the contrast between the war zones and safety of being back home and the way people just do not understand the truth, after all a single photo cannot show everything. War photographers do a very dangerous job, many are killed and injured as they must get in harms way to get the photos they are after.

Themes:

The poem looks at conflict in the sense that he has taken photos of war and fighting. However there is also conflict between the warzone and ‘Rural England’, the poet is trying to emphasise how out of touch people are about the truth of war, as well as how it is more a business or bit of gossip rather than life changing and destructive.

Structure:

Written in 4 stanzas the poem features rhyming couplets interspaced with non rhyming lines. The regular structure can represent the order he is giving to the chaos in his photos, perhaps also the almost mechanical process he is going through and putting that distance between himself and the context. The poem is written as a narrative, leading us through the act of the photographer processing his photos, this again helps create a sense of detachment or even cynicism about what this action reflects, that people suffer and lose lives and the end result to us is a few pictures chosen for the newspapers.

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Tissue

Context:

The poem is written from the point of view of someone today looking out at the conflict and troubles of the modern world; destruction, war and politics, money and wealth as well as issues like terrorism and identity. The poem remarks how nothing is meant to last, that it would be better not to hold too tightly to that and instead we should be willing to let go and pass things on in their time to be remade. In short, that the world would be better if it shared more qualities with ‘tissue’

Themes:

The poem looks at conflict in terms of destruction and politics particularly, it hints that we make our own conflict by holding on too tight to power and control and actually the need to relax and remember we are all human.

Structure:

 The poem is written as an on-going monologue with some internal rhyme through the poem (though with no real pattern to it). It uses enjambment to create a very human and calm tone. The poem starts looking at the joy of simple things like well used paper and wonders what the world would be like if it had the same qualities. The final part of the poem is both hopeful and a warning. Against pride but in favour of growth and acceptance.

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The Emigree

Context:

Emigree relates to the word emigrate, the idea that a person goes and settles in another country, sometimes not feeling welcome to return. The poet bases many of the ideas on modern examples of emigration from countries like Russia or the Middle East where people are fleeing corruption and tyranny, or those countries change in their absence to some from of dictatorship.

Themes:

The poem has a deep sense of conflict in terms of emotions and memory, the poet is torn between her childhood memory and her adult understanding. This also reflects in the form of the city itself today which has become a hostile totalitarian place. The concept of a city can be a metaphor for memories and growth in general, progression from childhood to maturity.

Structure:

A large amount of imagery is used within the poem to try and capture the concept of the city, including personification, though much of this is deliberately vague. The poem does not have a particularly consistent structure or any use of rhyme, this perhaps encapsulate the still uncertain understanding of the speaker about her city, this is further enhanced by some of the unusual and unnatural links between ideas and choice of metaphors. The poem uses enjambment to create a flowing pace to the work of a narrative speaker.

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Checking Out Me History

Context:

The poem looks through the voice and experiences of the poet at our understanding of identity through history. We look at how history is taught and the conflict between fact and truths which is sometimes obscured by race or gender. The poem gives examples of powerful black figures from history, often involved in conflicts themselves in one way or another. Noticeably the poet emphasises how we often celebrate our national or cultural history, without looking at the history and culture of those we were in conflict with.

Themes:

Racial identity and history are important to the poem and the poet writes with a phonetic style to capture their voice and create tone emphasising his Caribbean origins. Conflict occurs when we see the contrast with what we are taught and what we are not, the nature of the characters and history involved being ‘conflict’ and the conflict of the victor (whom we remember) and those we don't. The poet is also at conflict with ‘dem’ or with fact and fiction to emphasise the conflict in his own identity.

Structure:

Written in irregular rhyme and with short mixed enjambment in verses the work creates the tone of a man speaking out and angry/ frustrated. It also however captures the accent and rhythm of the Caribbean ethnicity of the poet and the parts of the work in italic are almost song like with a rhythm that seems to suggest stories passed down in song or to a beat. This is done to emphasise that not just the history, but the way it is passed on is very much a part of the poets identity and draws on his own Caribbean background, at conflict with the repetitive names and dates he was apparently being taught at English schools.

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Kamikaze

Context:

The poem is written both from a narrator and the daughter of the pilot. The narrator explains the events, almost translating the story, while the speaker gives a first person account of how they excluded her father. The poet questions at the end which death would have been better, to die as a kamikaze pilot young or to grow old with a family who shut you out.

Themes:

The poem is set in a time and topic of conflict, however the real conflict is between the rules of a society ‘honour’ in Japanese culture, and the will to survive and return to a family. The conflict is particularly profound because there appears to be no right answer and the pilot dies, one way or another, in the eyes of his family, if not in body, the poem explores the futility of trying to avoid your own fate/destiny

Structure:

The consistent structure uses quite regular syllable patterns drifting up and down in length, this gives the poem a tone of nostalgia, but also the rhythm of the waves which can represent a helplessness, that things will happen, whatever you do, he will still ‘die’ in one way or another. The use of asides and calm rural language juxtaposes the setting of war, giving the poem a much more personal scope on a major event.

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