Power & Conflict Flashcards
All 146 cards in this deck
Who wrote ‘Ozymandias’?
Percy Bysshe Shelley, a Romantic poet.
When and where was ‘Ozymandias’ first published?
In The Examiner, in January 1818.
What form is ‘Ozymandias’?
A sonnet: 14 lines of iambic pentameter.
Which Egyptian pharaoh was known to the Greeks as Ozymandias?
Ramesses II.
Who describes the ruined statue to the speaker in ‘Ozymandias’?
A traveller from an antique land, so the story is second-hand.
Complete the quotation from ‘Ozymandias’: “Look on my works, ye Mighty, …”
“… and despair!” The words on the statue’s pedestal.
Which phrase in ‘Ozymandias’ describes the statue’s arrogant expression?
“sneer of cold command”
Which device is “The lone and level sands stretch far away” in ‘Ozymandias’?
Alliteration, like “boundless and bare” in the line before.
What are the main themes of ‘Ozymandias’?
The limits of human power, pride, and the power of time and nature.
Who wrote ‘London’, and when?
William Blake, in 1794.
Which collection is ‘London’ from?
Songs of Experience (1794).
What is the form of ‘London’?
Four quatrains, rhyming ABAB.
Who is the speaker of ‘London’, and what is he doing?
A first-person speaker wandering the streets of London.
Which word does Blake use for both the streets and the Thames in ‘London’?
“chartered”: mapped out and controlled by law or ownership.
Complete the quotation from ‘London’: “The mind-forged …”
“… manacles I hear”
Which two institutions does ‘London’ link to suffering in stanza 3?
The Church (“blackening church”) and the monarchy (“palace-walls”).
Which oxymoron ends ‘London’?
“marriage hearse”
What are the main themes of ‘London’?
The abuse of power by Church and state, and the suffering of the poor.
Who wrote The Prelude?
William Wordsworth, a Romantic poet.
When was The Prelude published?
In 1850, just after Wordsworth’s death.
What form is the extract from The Prelude?
Blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter.
What does the boy do at the start of the extract from The Prelude?
Takes a boat tied to a willow tree and rows out on a lake at night.
In The Prelude, who is “her” in “One summer evening (led by her)”?
Nature.
Which oxymoron describes stealing the boat in The Prelude?
“troubled pleasure”
What rises up from behind the ridge in The Prelude?
A mountain peak, “black and huge”.
Which device presents the mountain as alive when it “Strode after me”?
Personification.
What are the main themes of the extract from The Prelude?
The power of nature, fear, guilt and memory.
Who wrote ‘My Last Duchess’, and when?
Robert Browning, in 1842 (Dramatic Lyrics).
What form is ‘My Last Duchess’?
A dramatic monologue.
What rhyme and metre does ‘My Last Duchess’ use?
Rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter, with heavy enjambment.
Who is the speaker of ‘My Last Duchess’?
The Duke of Ferrara.
Whom is the Duke speaking to in ‘My Last Duchess’?
An envoy of a Count, whose daughter the Duke plans to marry.
Which real duke is the speaker of ‘My Last Duchess’ based on?
Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, whose young first wife died in 1561.
What hangs in front of the portrait in ‘My Last Duchess’?
A curtain, which only the Duke draws back.
Complete the quotation from ‘My Last Duchess’: “I gave commands; / Then all …”
“… smiles stopped together.”
What are the main themes of ‘My Last Duchess’?
Power, control, pride and jealousy.
Who wrote ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’?
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in 1854.
What official post did Tennyson hold when he wrote ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’?
Poet Laureate (from 1850).
Which battle is ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ about?
The Battle of Balaclava, in the Crimean War (25 October 1854).
What is the metre of “Half a league, half a league”?
Dactylic dimeter, like the beat of galloping hooves.
How many stanzas does ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ have?
Six, of different lengths.
Complete the quotation from ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’: “Theirs not to make reply, / Theirs not to …”
“… reason why”
In ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, what did “the soldier” know as they charged?
“Some one had blunder’d”.
Which two personified places do the soldiers ride into in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’?
The “jaws of Death” and the “mouth of Hell”.
What are the main themes of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’?
Heroism, duty, obedience and honour.
Who wrote ‘Exposure’?
Wilfred Owen, a First World War soldier-poet. It was published in 1920, after his death.
When did Wilfred Owen die?
On 4 November 1918, a week before the Armistice.
What is the structure of ‘Exposure’?
Eight stanzas of five lines, each ending with a short line.
What kind of rhyme does ‘Exposure’ use, as in “knife us” and “nervous”?
Pararhyme (half-rhyme).
Which refrain ends four stanzas of ‘Exposure’?
“But nothing happens.”
Who is the speaker of ‘Exposure’?
Soldiers in the trenches on a freezing night, speaking as “we”.
Complete the quotation from ‘Exposure’: “Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that …”
“… knife us”
Which device is “Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence”?
Sibilance.
What are the main themes of ‘Exposure’?
Nature as the enemy, the futility of war, and suffering.
Who wrote ‘Storm on the Island’?
Seamus Heaney, in Death of a Naturalist (1966), his first collection.
Where was Seamus Heaney from?
Northern Ireland (County Derry). He won the Nobel Prize in 1995.
What is the form of ‘Storm on the Island’?
One stanza of 19 lines of blank verse.
Who is the speaker of ‘Storm on the Island’?
An islander, speaking for the community as “we”.
What do the islanders do to prepare in the first line of ‘Storm on the Island’?
“we build our houses squat”
Which extended metaphor describes the storm in ‘Storm on the Island’?
A military one: the wind attacks like an air raid.
Which paradox ends ‘Storm on the Island’?
“a huge nothing that we fear”
Which political pun is often read in the title ‘Storm on the Island’?
Stormont, the Northern Ireland parliament.
What are the main themes of ‘Storm on the Island’?
The power of nature, and fear.
Who wrote ‘Bayonet Charge’?
Ted Hughes, in The Hawk in the Rain (1957), his first collection.
In which war did Ted Hughes’ father fight, including at Gallipoli?
The First World War.
When was Ted Hughes Poet Laureate?
From 1984 to 1998.
What is the form of ‘Bayonet Charge’?
Three stanzas of free verse, with heavy enjambment.
Who is the subject of ‘Bayonet Charge’?
A First World War soldier charging across a field, described in the third person.
How does ‘Bayonet Charge’ begin?
In medias res: “Suddenly he awoke and was running”.
Which animal does the soldier see in ‘Bayonet Charge’?
A yellow hare, injured and thrashing.
Which ideals does the soldier drop as he runs in ‘Bayonet Charge’?
“King, honour, human dignity, etcetera”
What are the main themes of ‘Bayonet Charge’?
The reality of war, fear, and doubts about patriotism.
Who wrote ‘Remains’?
Simon Armitage, in The Not Dead (2008), based on soldiers’ own accounts.
Since when has Simon Armitage been Poet Laureate?
2019.
Who is the speaker of ‘Remains’?
A soldier who shot a looter while serving in Iraq.
What form is ‘Remains’?
A dramatic monologue: seven quatrains and a final couplet.
What kind of language does the speaker of ‘Remains’ use?
Colloquial speech and soldiers’ slang.
How do the soldiers describe the looter in ‘Remains’?
“probably armed, possibly not”
What are the final words of ‘Remains’?
“his bloody life in my bloody hands”
Which condition does the speaker of ‘Remains’ show signs of?
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
What are the main themes of ‘Remains’?
Guilt, memory and the trauma of conflict.
Who wrote ‘Poppies’?
Jane Weir, in 2009.
Who asked Jane Weir to write a poem about conflict in 2009?
Carol Ann Duffy, then Poet Laureate.
Besides poetry, what is Jane Weir’s other career?
Textile designer.
Who is the speaker of ‘Poppies’?
A mother whose son has left home to join the army.
What is the form of ‘Poppies’?
Four stanzas of free verse.
What are the opening words of ‘Poppies’?
“Three days before Armistice Sunday”
Which childhood game does the mother remember in ‘Poppies’?
Rubbing noses: “play at being Eskimos”.
Which type of imagery runs through ‘Poppies’?
Textiles and sewing.
Where does the mother go at the end of ‘Poppies’?
To a war memorial.
What are the main themes of ‘Poppies’?
Loss, grief, memory and a parent’s fear.
Who wrote ‘War Photographer’?
Carol Ann Duffy, in Standing Female Nude (1985).
Whose friendship inspired ‘War Photographer’?
War photographers Don McCullin and Philip Jones Griffiths.
What is the form of ‘War Photographer’?
Four six-line stanzas, rhyming ABBCDD.
Who is the subject of ‘War Photographer’, and where is he?
A photographer developing his films in his darkroom in England.
Which phrase describes the rolls of film in the darkroom in ‘War Photographer’?
“spools of suffering set out in ordered rows”
In ‘War Photographer’, what is the darkroom compared to?
A church, with the photographer as a priest.
Which Bible quotation ends the first stanza of ‘War Photographer’?
“All flesh is grass”, from the Book of Isaiah.
Which three war zones are listed in stanza 1 of ‘War Photographer’?
Belfast, Beirut and Phnom Penh.
What are the main themes of ‘War Photographer’?
The suffering of war, and the public’s indifference to it.
Who wrote ‘Tissue’?
Imtiaz Dharker, in The Terrorist at My Table (2006).
Where was Imtiaz Dharker born, and where did she grow up?
Born in Pakistan; grew up in Glasgow.
What is the form of ‘Tissue’?
Short unrhymed stanzas of free verse, ending on a single line.
What are the opening words of ‘Tissue’?
“Paper that lets the light”
Which extended metaphor runs through ‘Tissue’?
Paper as human life and skin.
In ‘Tissue’, where are a family’s names and histories written?
In the back of the Koran.
Which kinds of paper does ‘Tissue’ describe?
Holy books, maps, receipts, and buildings imagined as paper.
What are the final words of ‘Tissue’?
“turned into your skin”
What are the main themes of ‘Tissue’?
The fragility of human power, and identity.
Who wrote ‘The Emigree’?
Carol Rumens, in 1993.
Who is the speaker of ‘The Emigree’?
An emigree: a woman who left her country as a child and cannot return.
What are the opening words of ‘The Emigree’?
“There once was a country”, like a fairy tale.
Is the speaker’s country named in ‘The Emigree’?
No, it is never named.
Which compound word describes the speaker’s memory of her country in ‘The Emigree’?
“sunlight-clear”
Which type of imagery runs through ‘The Emigree’?
Light and sunlight.
Which device presents the city as a companion in ‘The Emigree’?
Personification.
What is the form of ‘The Emigree’?
Three stanzas of free verse.
What are the main themes of ‘The Emigree’?
Memory, identity, exile and conflict.
Who wrote ‘Kamikaze’?
Beatrice Garland.
What were kamikaze pilots?
Japanese pilots in the Second World War who flew suicide missions.
What are the opening words of ‘Kamikaze’?
“Her father embarked at sunrise”
Whose memories tell the pilot’s story in ‘Kamikaze’?
His daughter’s.
What does the pilot do in ‘Kamikaze’?
He turns back from his mission and returns home.
What does the pilot see below him that makes him turn back in ‘Kamikaze’?
Fishing boats and the sea, which recall his childhood.
How do the pilot’s family and neighbours treat him when he returns?
They shun him and act as though he no longer exists.
How does the narrative voice change in ‘Kamikaze’?
From the third person to the daughter’s first-person voice.
What are the final words of ‘Kamikaze’?
“which had been the better way to die”
What are the main themes of ‘Kamikaze’?
Duty, honour, shame and family.
Who wrote ‘Checking Out Me History’?
John Agard.
Where and when was John Agard born?
In Guyana, in 1949. He moved to Britain in 1977.
What language does ‘Checking Out Me History’ use?
Caribbean Creole, spelt phonetically.
Which refrain repeats through ‘Checking Out Me History’?
“Dem tell me”
How are the stanzas of ‘Checking Out Me History’ arranged?
Stanzas on British history alternate with italic stanzas on black historical figures.
Which four black historical figures does ‘Checking Out Me History’ celebrate?
Toussaint L’Ouverture, Nanny de Maroon, Shaka and Mary Seacole.
Who was Toussaint L’Ouverture?
Leader of the slave revolt in Haiti.
What are the final words of ‘Checking Out Me History’?
“I carving out me identity”
What are the main themes of ‘Checking Out Me History’?
Identity, cultural heritage, and who controls history.
How many poems are in the Power & Conflict cluster?
15.
Name two Power & Conflict poems about proud, powerful rulers.
Ozymandias and My Last Duchess.
Name three Power & Conflict poems where nature is more powerful than people.
Storm on the Island, Exposure and The Prelude.
Name two Power & Conflict poems about the effects of war on soldiers’ minds.
Remains and Exposure.
Name two Power & Conflict poems about soldiers charging into battle.
The Charge of the Light Brigade and Bayonet Charge.
Name three Power & Conflict poems that show conflict through someone who is not a soldier.
Poppies, War Photographer and Kamikaze.
Name two Power & Conflict poems about identity and where you come from.
Checking Out Me History and The Emigree.
Name three Power & Conflict poems where memory haunts the speaker.
Remains, The Emigree and The Prelude.
Which five Power & Conflict poets have been Poet Laureate?
Wordsworth, Tennyson, Hughes, Duffy and Armitage.