Conflict Flashcards
All 143 cards in this deck
Who wrote ‘A Poison Tree’?
William Blake, a Romantic poet, in 1794.
Which collection is ‘A Poison Tree’ from?
Songs of Experience (1794).
What was Blake’s draft title for ‘A Poison Tree’?
Christian Forbearance.
What is the form of ‘A Poison Tree’?
Four quatrains of rhyming couplets.
In ‘A Poison Tree’, what happens when the speaker tells his friend he is angry?
“my wrath did end”
What extended metaphor runs through ‘A Poison Tree’?
The speaker’s anger grows like a tree.
What fruit does the tree bear in ‘A Poison Tree’?
“an apple bright”, echoing the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
How is the foe found at the end of ‘A Poison Tree’?
Dead, “outstretched beneath the tree”.
What are the main themes of ‘A Poison Tree’?
Anger, deceit and revenge.
Who wrote ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’?
Lord Byron, a Romantic poet, in 1815.
Which collection is ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’ from?
Hebrew Melodies (1815).
Who was Sennacherib?
A king of Assyria.
Which story is ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’ based on?
The Bible’s account of the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem (2 Kings 19).
What is the metre of ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’?
Anapaestic tetrameter, like galloping hooves.
What is the form of ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’?
Six quatrains in rhyming couplets.
Complete the opening simile of ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’: “The Assyrian came down …”
“… like the wolf on the fold”
In ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’, who kills the Assyrian army in the night?
“the Angel of Death”
Which simile in stanza 2 of ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’ contrasts the army alive and dead?
Leaves of the forest in Summer, then when Autumn has blown.
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 ‘The Man He Killed’?
Thomas Hardy, in 1902.
Which collection is ‘The Man He Killed’ from?
Time’s Laughingstocks (1909).
Which war was ending when Hardy wrote ‘The Man He Killed’?
The Second Boer War (1899–1902).
Who is the speaker of ‘The Man He Killed’?
An ordinary soldier remembering a man he shot in battle.
What is the form of ‘The Man He Killed’?
Five quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme, all in speech marks.
What is a “nipperkin”, in ‘The Man He Killed’?
A small measure of alcohol.
Which device shows the speaker hesitating in “because— / Because he was my foe”?
Repetition and a dash.
In ‘The Man He Killed’, why does the speaker think the other man enlisted?
He was out of work and had sold his traps, just like the speaker.
What does the speaker call war at the end of ‘The Man He Killed’?
“quaint and curious war is!”
Who wrote ‘Cousin Kate’?
Christina Rossetti, in 1862.
Which collection is ‘Cousin Kate’ from?
Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862).
Who is the speaker of ‘Cousin Kate’?
A “cottage maiden” seduced and then abandoned by a great lord.
Whom does the lord marry in ‘Cousin Kate’?
The speaker’s cousin Kate.
What is the form of ‘Cousin Kate’?
Six eight-line stanzas; every second line rhymes.
Complete the similes from ‘Cousin Kate’: “He wore me like a silken knot, / He changed me like …”
“… a glove”
What do the neighbours call the speaker in ‘Cousin Kate’?
“an outcast thing”
What “gift” does the speaker have that Kate lacks?
Her son, the lord’s only child.
Where did Christina Rossetti work as a volunteer?
At a refuge for “fallen women” in Highgate, London.
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 ‘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 ‘Half-Caste’?
John Agard, born in Guyana in 1949.
When did John Agard move to Britain?
In 1977.
Who is the speaker of ‘Half-Caste’ talking to?
Someone who calls him half-caste.
In the opening lines of ‘Half-Caste’, what position is the speaker standing in?
“standing on one leg”
Which demand is repeated through ‘Half-Caste’?
“Explain yuself” / “wha yu mean”
Which painter, mixing red and green, appears in ‘Half-Caste’?
Picasso.
Which composer appears in ‘Half-Caste’?
Tchaikovsky, mixing black and white piano keys.
What kind of language is ‘Half-Caste’ written in?
Caribbean Creole spelling mixed with Standard English, with little punctuation.
What are the main themes of ‘Half-Caste’?
Identity, race and prejudice.
Who wrote ‘Catrin’?
Gillian Clarke, a Welsh poet born in 1937.
Which national role did Gillian Clarke hold from 2008 to 2016?
National Poet of Wales.
Who is Catrin?
Gillian Clarke’s daughter, whom the poem addresses.
What is the form of ‘Catrin’?
Two stanzas of free verse.
What moment does the first stanza of ‘Catrin’ remember?
Catrin’s birth, in a hospital room.
What does the daughter ask in the second stanza of ‘Catrin’?
To “skate / In the dark” for one more hour.
Which metaphor for the umbilical cord appears in ‘Catrin’?
“Red rope of love”
What are the main themes of ‘Catrin’?
Mother–daughter conflict, love and independence.
Who wrote the Conflict poem ‘War Photographer’?
Carole Satyamurti (1939–2019), a British poet and sociologist.
Which Indian epic did Carole Satyamurti retell in English verse?
The Mahabharata (2015).
Who is the speaker of Satyamurti’s ‘War Photographer’?
A war photographer, speaking in the first person.
What is the form of Satyamurti’s ‘War Photographer’?
Free verse, with no rhyme.
Which peacetime photograph is remembered in Satyamurti’s ‘War Photographer’?
Girls at Ascot, drinking champagne.
Whom does the photographer follow in Satyamurti’s ‘War Photographer’?
A small girl carrying a baby along a devastated street.
What are the main themes of Satyamurti’s ‘War Photographer’?
Whether photographs tell the truth about war, and the ethics of recording suffering.
Who wrote ‘Belfast Confetti’?
Ciaran Carson (1948–2019), a poet from Belfast.
Which collection is ‘Belfast Confetti’ from?
The Irish for No (1987).
What was Ciaran Carson’s first language?
Irish.
What event is ‘Belfast Confetti’ about?
A riot and bomb in Belfast during the Troubles.
In ‘Belfast Confetti’, what is the confetti?
Nuts, bolts, nails and car-keys used as shrapnel.
Which extended metaphor runs through ‘Belfast Confetti’?
Punctuation marks for weapons and explosions.
Complete the opening of ‘Belfast Confetti’: “Suddenly as the riot squad moved in, it was …”
“… raining exclamation marks”
Which Belfast streets in ‘Belfast Confetti’ have names from the Crimean War?
Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman and Odessa Street.
Which image ends ‘Belfast Confetti’?
“A fusillade of question-marks”, as the riot squad questions him.
Who wrote ‘The Class Game’?
Mary Casey.
Who is the speaker of ‘The Class Game’?
A proud working-class woman challenging a middle-class listener.
What is the form of ‘The Class Game’?
Rhyming couplets.
Which device is repeated throughout ‘The Class Game’?
Rhetorical questions about how her class can be told.
What does the colloquial word “corpy” mean in ‘The Class Game’?
A council house (a corporation house).
What are the main themes of ‘The Class Game’?
Social class, prejudice and pride.
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 ‘No Problem’?
Benjamin Zephaniah (1958–2023), a Birmingham-born poet of Jamaican heritage.
When was ‘No Problem’ published?
In 1996.
What kind of poet was Benjamin Zephaniah?
A dub and performance poet.
What honour did Benjamin Zephaniah refuse in 2003?
An OBE.
Which refrain runs through ‘No Problem’?
“I am not de problem”
What kind of language is ‘No Problem’ written in?
Phonetic spellings of Jamaican-British speech.
Which stereotype does the speaker of ‘No Problem’ reject?
Being branded athletic when he is academic.
Which metaphor in ‘No Problem’ means being stereotyped?
Being put in a “pigeon hole”.
What are the main themes of ‘No Problem’?
Racism, stereotyping and identity.
Who wrote ‘What Were They Like?’?
Denise Levertov (1923–1997), born in England, later a US citizen.
When was ‘What Were They Like?’ published?
In 1967, in The Sorrow Dance.
Which war is ‘What Were They Like?’ about?
The Vietnam War, and the US bombing of Vietnam.
Which cause did Denise Levertov campaign for?
Against the Vietnam War.
What is the structure of ‘What Were They Like?’?
Six numbered questions, then six numbered answers.
Who speaks in ‘What Were They Like?’?
A questioner and a respondent who calls him Sir.
Complete the answer from ‘What Were They Like?’: “Sir, their light hearts …”
“… turned to stone.”
Which short sentence ends ‘What Were They Like?’?
“It is silent now.”
What are the main themes of ‘What Were They Like?’?
The destruction of a culture, loss and memory.
Name two Conflict poems about soldiers in battle.
‘Exposure’ and ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’.
Which Conflict poem shares a battle name with a street in ‘Belfast Confetti’?
‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ (Balaclava, Crimean War).
Name two Conflict poems spoken by a mother to her child.
‘Catrin’ and ‘Poppies’.
Name two Conflict poems in which nature is a threat to people.
‘Exposure’ and ‘Extract from The Prelude’.
Name two Conflict poems about racial identity and prejudice.
‘Half-Caste’ and ‘No Problem’.
Name two Conflict poems about social class.
‘The Class Game’ and ‘Cousin Kate’.
Which three Conflict poems use spellings of spoken dialect?
‘Half-Caste’, ‘No Problem’ and ‘The Class Game’.
Name two Conflict poems about bitterness towards one person.
‘A Poison Tree’ and ‘Cousin Kate’.
Name two Conflict poems about civilians caught up in war.
‘What Were They Like?’ and ‘War Photographer’.
Name two Conflict poems about the sudden destruction of an army.
‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’ and ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’.
Name three Conflict poems with a repeated refrain.
‘Exposure’, ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘No Problem’.
Which three Romantic poets are in the Conflict collection?
Blake, Byron and Wordsworth.
Name two Conflict poems spoken by ordinary soldiers.
‘The Man He Killed’ and ‘Exposure’.