Relationships Flashcards
All 140 cards in this deck
Who wrote ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, and when?
John Keats, in 1819.
Which literary movement did Keats belong to?
Romanticism.
How and when did Keats die?
Of tuberculosis, in Rome in 1821, aged 25.
What does the title ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ mean?
The beautiful lady without pity.
What form is ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’?
A ballad: twelve quatrains, each with a short fourth line.
Who speaks the first three stanzas of ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’?
An unnamed questioner, asking the knight what is wrong.
Who tells the story in the rest of ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’?
The knight-at-arms, describing the lady he met in the meads.
In ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, whom does the knight see in his dream?
Pale kings, princes and warriors, who warn that the lady has him “in thrall”.
Which line ends both the first and the last stanza of ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’?
“And no birds sing.”
What type of character is the lady in ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’?
A femme fatale: a beautiful woman who enchants and destroys men.
Who wrote ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’, and when was it published?
Joanna Baillie, in her Poems of 1790.
Who was Joanna Baillie?
A Scottish poet and playwright (1762–1851).
Who is the speaker of ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’?
A young boy talking to his ill grandfather.
In ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’, what does the child call his grandfather?
“dad”, short for “Grand-dad”.
What is the form of ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’?
Eight six-line stanzas in rhyming couplets, each ending with a shorter line.
In ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’, what did the grandfather’s stick used to be?
The child’s pretend horse: “Your knobbed stick (that was my horse)”.
In ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’, what will the family do while the grandfather sleeps?
“doff our shoes and softly tread”.
Which two stories does the child offer to tell in ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’?
A fox raiding a hen-roost, and men “all clad in coats of mail”.
What is the last line of ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’?
“You do not hear me, dad.”
What are the main themes of ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’?
Love between generations, old age, illness and approaching death.
Who wrote ‘She Walks in Beauty’, and when?
Lord Byron; written in June 1814, published in Hebrew Melodies (1815).
Who is thought to have inspired ‘She Walks in Beauty’?
Anne Wilmot-Horton, wife of Byron’s cousin, seen wearing black mourning dress.
Which literary movement did Byron belong to?
Romanticism.
What is the form of ‘She Walks in Beauty’?
Three six-line stanzas in iambic tetrameter, rhyming ABABAB.
Complete the opening simile of ‘She Walks in Beauty’: “She walks in Beauty, like the night / …”
“… Of cloudless climes and starry skies”.
Which pair of opposites is balanced in the woman’s looks in ‘She Walks in Beauty’?
Dark and bright: “all that’s best of dark and bright”.
What does the last stanza of ‘She Walks in Beauty’ praise?
Her inner goodness: “A mind at peace with all below”.
What is the last line of ‘She Walks in Beauty’?
“A heart whose love is innocent!”
What are the main themes of ‘She Walks in Beauty’?
Beauty, admiration, and inner goodness matching outward looks.
Who wrote ‘A Complaint’, and when?
William Wordsworth; written in 1806, published in 1807.
Who is ‘A Complaint’ probably about?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Wordsworth’s close friend.
What prompted ‘A Complaint’?
A change in the manner of a friend towards Wordsworth.
Which book did Wordsworth and Coleridge publish together in 1798?
Lyrical Ballads.
What is the form of ‘A Complaint’?
Three six-line stanzas rhyming ABABCC, in iambic tetrameter.
What is the first line of ‘A Complaint’?
“There is a change—and I am poor;”
In ‘A Complaint’, what was the friend’s love like in the past?
A fountain at the speaker’s “fond heart’s door”.
In ‘A Complaint’, what has the friend’s love become?
“A comfortless and hidden well.”
Which word ends both the first and the last line of ‘A Complaint’?
“poor”.
What are the main themes of ‘A Complaint’?
Change, the loss of affection, and uncertainty.
Who wrote ‘Neutral Tones’, and when?
Thomas Hardy; written in 1867, published in Wessex Poems (1898).
Besides poetry, what is Thomas Hardy famous for writing?
Novels, such as Tess of the d’Urbervilles.
Who is the speaker of ‘Neutral Tones’?
A man addressing a former lover, remembering the day their love ended.
Where and when is ‘Neutral Tones’ set?
By a pond on a winter day.
What is the form of ‘Neutral Tones’?
Four quatrains rhyming ABBA.
In ‘Neutral Tones’, what colour are the sun and the leaves?
The sun is “white”; the leaves are “gray”.
Complete the quotation from ‘Neutral Tones’: “The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing / …”
“… Alive enough to have strength to die”.
Which simile describes the lover’s grin in ‘Neutral Tones’?
“Like an ominous bird a-wing”.
Which stanza of ‘Neutral Tones’ repeats the pond, sun, tree and leaves, making the poem cyclical?
The last (fourth) stanza.
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 ‘Sonnet 43’, and when was it published?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850).
To whom is ‘Sonnet 43’ addressed?
Robert Browning, whom she married in 1846.
Why did Elizabeth Barrett marry Robert Browning in secret?
Her father forbade his children to marry.
Where did Elizabeth and Robert Browning live after their marriage?
Italy, mainly Florence.
What form is ‘Sonnet 43’?
A Petrarchan sonnet: an octave and a sestet in iambic pentameter.
What is the first line of ‘Sonnet 43’?
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
Which phrase is repeated throughout ‘Sonnet 43’?
“I love thee” (anaphora).
Complete the quotation from ‘Sonnet 43’: “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / …”
“… My soul can reach”.
What is the last line of ‘Sonnet 43’?
“I shall but love thee better after death.”
Who wrote ‘1st Date – She’ and ‘1st Date – He’?
Wendy Cope.
What is Wendy Cope best known for?
Witty, comic poems, often parodies.
How are ‘1st Date – She’ and ‘1st Date – He’ linked?
They describe the same first date, first from her view, then his.
Where does the date take place in ‘1st Date – She’ and ‘1st Date – He’?
At a classical music concert.
What is the first line of ‘1st Date – She’?
“I said I liked classical music.”
Which device links ‘1st Date – She’ and ‘1st Date – He’?
Dramatic irony: the reader knows what each is secretly thinking.
What are the main themes of ‘1st Date – She’ and ‘1st Date – He’?
Nerves, pretending, and misunderstanding at the start of a romance.
Who wrote ‘Valentine’, and in which collection?
Carol Ann Duffy, in Mean Time (1993).
Which post did Carol Ann Duffy hold from 2009 to 2019?
Poet Laureate, the first woman to hold it.
What gift does the speaker give in ‘Valentine’?
An onion.
What is the first line of ‘Valentine’?
“Not a red rose or a satin heart.”
Which metaphor describes the onion in ‘Valentine’?
“It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.”
Which device runs through the whole of ‘Valentine’?
An extended metaphor: the onion stands for love.
What is the form of ‘Valentine’?
Free verse, with irregular stanzas and some one-word lines.
Which one-word line in ‘Valentine’ warns of love’s danger?
“Lethal.”
What are the main themes of ‘Valentine’?
Honest rather than clichéd love, and love’s pain and possessiveness.
Who wrote ‘One Flesh’?
Elizabeth Jennings (1926–2001).
What was Elizabeth Jennings’s religion?
She was a devout Roman Catholic.
Who is ‘One Flesh’ about?
The speaker’s elderly parents.
Where does the title ‘One Flesh’ come from?
The Bible, which says a husband and wife become one flesh.
What is the first line of ‘One Flesh’?
“Lying apart now, each in a separate bed,”
What is the form of ‘One Flesh’?
Three six-line stanzas with regular rhyme.
What is the last line of ‘One Flesh’?
“Whose fire from which I came, has now grown cold?”
What are the main themes of ‘One Flesh’?
Ageing, distance in a long marriage, and a child’s view of parents.
Who wrote ‘I Wanna Be Yours’?
John Cooper Clarke, a performance poet from Salford.
What nickname is John Cooper Clarke known by?
The punk poet, or the Bard of Salford.
Which band turned ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ into a song in 2013?
Arctic Monkeys, on the album AM.
What is the refrain of ‘I Wanna Be Yours’?
“I wanna be yours”.
What does the speaker compare himself to in ‘I Wanna Be Yours’?
Everyday household objects, such as a vacuum cleaner and a coffee pot.
Complete the quotation from ‘I Wanna Be Yours’: “let me be your ford cortina / …”
“… i will never rust”.
What is the style of ‘I Wanna Be Yours’?
Colloquial (“wanna”), with strong rhymes, written to be performed.
What are the main themes of ‘I Wanna Be Yours’?
Devotion, and wanting to be useful to a lover.
Who wrote ‘Love’s Dog’?
Jen Hadfield.
Which collection is ‘Love’s Dog’ from?
Nigh-No-Place (2008).
Which prize did Nigh-No-Place win?
The T. S. Eliot Prize.
Where does Jen Hadfield live?
Shetland, in Scotland.
How do the lines of ‘Love’s Dog’ begin?
They alternate between “What I love about love” and “What I hate about love”.
What is the main theme of ‘Love’s Dog’?
The contradictions of love: its pleasures and its pains.
Who wrote ‘Nettles’?
Vernon Scannell (1922–2007).
What war did Vernon Scannell fight in?
The Second World War, as a soldier.
Who is hurt in ‘Nettles’?
The speaker’s three-year-old son.
What is the first line of ‘Nettles’?
“My son aged three fell in the nettle bed.”
Which extended metaphor runs through ‘Nettles’?
Military imagery: the nettles are an army.
Which phrase in ‘Nettles’ turns the nettles into soldiers?
“That regiment of spite behind the shed”.
What does the father do to the nettles in ‘Nettles’?
Slashes them down with a billhook and burns them.
What is the last line of ‘Nettles’?
“My son would often feel sharp wounds again.”
What is the main theme of ‘Nettles’?
A parent’s wish to protect a child, and its limits.
Who wrote ‘The Manhunt’, and in which collection?
Simon Armitage, in The Not Dead (2008).
What was The Not Dead written for?
A Channel 4 film about ex-soldiers living with the trauma of war.
Who is the speaker of ‘The Manhunt’?
Laura Beddoes, wife of Eddie, a soldier injured as a peacekeeper in Bosnia.
Which post has Simon Armitage held since 2019?
Poet Laureate.
What is the form of ‘The Manhunt’?
Mostly couplets with half-rhymes, ending on a single line.
Which metaphor describes the husband’s scar in ‘The Manhunt’?
“the frozen river which ran through his face”.
Which metaphor describes the husband’s mental wound in ‘The Manhunt’?
“the unexploded mine / buried deep in his mind”.
What is the last line of ‘The Manhunt’?
“then, and only then, did I come close.”
What are the main themes of ‘The Manhunt’?
The effect of war trauma on a marriage; patience and closeness.
Who wrote ‘My Father Would Not Show Us’?
Ingrid de Kok.
Which country is Ingrid de Kok from?
South Africa.
What event is at the centre of ‘My Father Would Not Show Us’?
The death of the speaker’s father.
What are the main themes of ‘My Father Would Not Show Us’?
Grief, and the emotional distance between a father and his children.
Name two Relationships poems about a parent and child.
‘Nettles’ and ‘My Father Would Not Show Us’.
Which Relationships poem is about a child and a grandparent?
‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’.
Name two Relationships poems about old age.
‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’ and ‘One Flesh’.
Name two Relationships poems about love that has ended or cooled.
‘Neutral Tones’ and ‘A Complaint’.
Name two Relationships poems in which one partner holds power over the other.
‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’.
Name two Relationships poems that reject romantic clichés.
‘Valentine’ and ‘I Wanna Be Yours’.
Name two Relationships poems that praise a loved one through a list.
‘Sonnet 43’ and ‘I Wanna Be Yours’.
Name two Relationships poems that admire a woman’s beauty.
‘She Walks in Beauty’ and ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’.
Name two Relationships poems that use military imagery.
‘Nettles’ and ‘The Manhunt’.
Name two Relationships poems written in rhyming couplets.
‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘A Child to his Sick Grandfather’.
Name two Relationships poems that end where they began.
‘Neutral Tones’ and ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’.
Which two poets in the Relationships collection were married to each other?
Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Which three Relationships poets were Romantic poets?
Keats, Byron and Wordsworth.
Which three Relationships poets have been Poet Laureate?
Wordsworth, Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage.