poetry

• The Manhunt title


  Manhunt suggests the wife is searching for her husband she once had
• The Manhunt perspective


  Soldiers wife
• The Manhunts context


  - Bosnian war (late 20th century)

  - written in 21st century

  - Armitage spoke to others about their story's - first hand
• The Manhunts structure


  - 2-line stanzas-regular structure

  - rhyming couplets scattered throughout the-not constant-like the husband

  - enjambment
• What does The Manhunts layout represent?

  the layout of the poem on the page resembles a scar
• The Manhunt - 'only then'

  Anaphora - part of process, more to come, step by step
• The Manhunt - 'frozen river'

  "frozen river" is a metaphor for his facial scar and the word "frozen" implies he is numb
• The Manhunt - 'porcelain collar-bone'

  - metaphor

  - soldier is fragile and easily damaged
• The Manhunt - 'handle and hold'

  - these verbs show how the wife is patient and caring, shows her love for her husband
• The Manhunt - 'feel the hurt of his grazed heart.'

  - could be metaphorical or realistic - bullet grazed his heart - emotionally damaged

  - full stops shows us that this part of the journey is done
• The Manhunt - 'unexploded mine'

  Metaphor for his trauma, he may explode/breakdown any time, damage isn't yet done, PTSD, 'mine' is personified
• Sonnet 43 author, date and title

  Elizabeth Barret Browning 1850, title suggests a traditional love poem
• Sonnet 43 context

  EBB was married to Robert Browning despite her being six years older which was frowned upon at the time, so she wrote this poem to her fiance to show the importance of true love against arranged marriage which was common at the time
• Sonnet 43 form


  Written in traditional sonnet form with 14 lines which shows whilst EBB rejects the norms of love at the time she also appreciates some traditional aspects of love
• Sonnet 43 - "the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach"

  Shows EBB has immeasurable love for Robert, the enjambent between the lines shows her love carries on and has no end, also links to the idea of transcendental love that continues after death
• Sonnet 43 - "I love thee freely"

  Adverb shows that it is not a forced marriage and the idea of choosing who to love is freeing for the soul, repetition of "I love thee" enforces the idea
• Sonnet 43 - "breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life"

  Triplet shows that love is not always perfect and can involve ups and downs as show by the tears, but lasts a lifetime
• London author, date


  William Blake 1794
• London context

  Blake was a romantic poet who criticised the industrialisation of London and valued nature over city life, this was a first hand account of life in London
• London form


  Four lines to each stanza with an end stop at each, shows uniform and set structure like industrialisation where everything is set and "charter'd"
• London - "In every infant's cry of fear"

  The repetition of "in every" shows that misery is widespread throughout London and the cry of the infants shows loss of childhood innocence which is particularly important to romantic poets
• London - "mind-forg'd manacles"


  Suggests that people are entrapped and imprisoned by those in power in society as they are wearing 'manacles' that are a type of chain to prevent movement. However, it implies that imprisonment is metaphorical and in their minds as the chains are 'mind-forg'd' which suggests the way they think has been controlled to make them think they are not free.
• London - "hapless Soldier's sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls"


  Criticism of both war and institution that exploit people using violent imagery of blood
• London - "blights with plagues the Marriage hearse"

  metaphor for the funeral of marriage, showing that in this society all love is destroyed with plagues (STDs) and marriage is ruined due to the youthful harlot
• The Solider context

  Rupert Brooke never experienced war before he died. Positive view on war. WW1.
• The Soldier form


  - sonnet form, shows Brooke's love and admiration for his country so much so that he is willing to die for it.
• The soldier - "If I should die, think only this of me"

  - uncertainty, however it's okay because he'll be dying for his country

  - optimistic as it states 'if' I should die in contrast to other poems that state death is much more certain in war.
• The soldier - "England bore, shaped, made aware"

  Our country is our creator and a duty is owed to protect it, so going to war is the right thing to do. Personification of England paints her as a mothering figure which we owe and love.
• The soldier - "In hearts at peace, under an English heaven"


  - emphasis of English heaven suggests that it is better than others

  - realistically no hearts are at peace because for others it's just death
• She walks in Beauty author, date and title

  Lord Byron 1815, walking in beauty suggests beauty follows her and everything she does is beautiful
• She walks in beauty context

  Byron was a romantic poem who valued nature, shown in this poem. It was inspired by Byron seeing a beautiful women so is a very personal response.
• She walks in beauty form

  3 stanzas with a regular rhyming scheme which shows the consistency and perfectness of the women. The use of enjambent shows how the poetic voice cannot pause as they need to express how beautiful the women is.
• She walks in beauty - "like the night/Of cloudless climes and starry skies"

  alliteration draws the reader's attention, climes, skies and enjambent imply her beauty has not limit. The idea of cloudless shows she is clear and unpolluted, implying purity and innocence.
• She walks in beauty - "One shade the more, one ray the less"

  Antithesis between shade/ray and more/less highlights the confusion in the poetic voice's mind as he struggles to describe the women as her beauty is beyond words. It also shows her as the perfect balance between light and dark.
• She walks in beauty - 'So soft, so calm, yet eloquent'

  Triplet describes how the women is not just beautiful but also good natured, gentle and well spoken. Caesura implies the overwhelming effect she has.
• Living Space author, date and title

  Imtiaz Dharker 1997, the title suggests that it is not a home and purely just a place to exist
• Living space context


  The poems describe the slums of Mumbai and the poem is used to spread awareness that the media often hide, especially around poverty.
• Living space form


  The irregular structure, caesura and enjambent show the dangerous and inconsistent structure of the slums
• Living space - "There are just not enough straight lines."

  Shows that life in the slums are not straight forward, life is challenging living in such awful conditions
• Living space - 'Nails clutch at open seams'

  Personification shows the nails are struggling to hold on, but are desperate to keep the place together.