poems

• Bayonet charge

  Compare to remains

  Summary: soldier runs with rifle and becomes confused & pauses when he sees an injured hare. He sees the impact of war then resumes charge. Poets father served in war--> emotionally paralysed

  Form/structure: erratic structure in terms of rhythm and line length-->mirrors soldiers movement. Repetition of 'running': desperation, away or towards enemy

  Caesura line 15: soldier pausing

  
  

  'suddenly he awoke and was running'

  'stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge'

  'cold clockwork'
• Remains

  soldier shoots someone for 1st time who could be innocent, poem explores the effect of this (ptsd drugs etc)(more soldiers die from ptsd than combat).wants to bring awareness to mental & physical illness soldiers face after war.

  F/S: repetition of ideas-->shows speakers mind going over events. Enjambment shows memory is constantly repeating, no escape 'but i blink' 'and he bursts again'
• why do bayonet charge and remains compare


  both explore personal impact of conflict

  remains is psychological consequences of a soldiers actions

  BC: immediate struggle experiences by soldier during battle
• why do Storm on the island and the emigree compare


  both address power of nature & place

  sol: destructive power

  Em: emphasises enduring emotional connection to speakers homeland
• Storm on the Island


  Well equipped island and houses are hit by a storm and are unprotected. Wind is compared to gunfire and is eventually described as nothing

  -->describes storm and political chaos in Ireland

  F/S: volta (shift in tone) 'but no'- emphasises power and danger of nature. Repetition emphasises how alone they are. Shifts between literal and metaphorical storm

  QUOTES
• The emigree

  compare to: Storm on island

  person is forced to emigrate from home as a young child and is remembering her city and wanting to go back

  F/S:1st person narrative- personal experience but poem is non specific so inclusive. Conversational language- create bond between speaker and reader. Ellipses-create space for recollection and memory

  Quotes
• Why do war photographer and poppies compare


  domestic impact of war

  w.p focuses on national indifference, contrasts haunting memories of war in photos with the readers reaction-desensitized, distant, short as they're in a safe place

  Poppies focuses on personal grief, emotions and views of those indirectly affected by war
• War photographer


  a war photographer is developing photos and remembering the context of them. He realises only a few will be published and will only react for a moment before continuing with their lives

  F/S: cyclical structure-nothing changes, repetitive life

  context: one photo doesn't show everything, w.p has dangerous job with physical and psychological damage

  'running child in a nightmare heat' reference to photo of 9 year old naked Vietnamese girl running in pain from bomb

  quotes
• Poppies

  speaker, a mother, is remembering her sons childhood before he left for war. She visits his bedroom and a churchyard to help her remember him.

  F/S: 10 syllables per line-->control without rigidity, creates sense of natural speech

  context: poem is part of a response to conflict in afghanistan and iraq inquiry in 2009-also applies to modern and past conflicts doesnt mention one specifically

  quotes
• why do kamikaze and prelude compare


  both explore how humans think they're all powerful but ultimately it's nature that is truly powerful
• The prelude

  Boy rows out in a stolen boat then sees a mountain and gets scared so turns back and realises the dangers of the world

  F/S: 1st person- hear his voice

  quotes
• Kamikaze

  woman's father left on a kamikaze mission but didn't complete it. She explains to her children why she thinks he returned and his thoughts. When he returned the community isolated him

  F/S: 6 lines per stanza- tight control of military and society

  context: there was immense social pressure on the pilots, concept of honour and shame was a motivating factor in Japan

  QUOTES
• why do London and checking out me history compare


  both challenge the institutions that define and confine identity.

  COMH critiques education system. London critiques oppressive nature of government and religion
• London

  Speaker wanders through London and observes the lack of freedom, child workers, prostitutes and the pitiful state of London

  F/S: 1st person narrative, personal account, dramatic monologue

  Context: Poet against industrial revolution and London being controlled by powerful people and having no freedom. His tone reflects his unhappiness and dissatisfaction

  QUOTES
• Checking out me history

  Speaker explains what he has been taught as history and nursery rhymes but that he feels ignorant of his own identity. he ends by declaring he will find out about his history for himself

  F/S: irregular structure-->going against what he's been taught

  quotes
• Why do ozymandias and my last duchess compare


  both explore how humans think they're all powerful symbolised through art but ultimately this sense of power is revealed to be an illusion
• ozymandias

  a speaker meets a traveller who found a statue of ozymandias which was crumbled yet ozymandias was powerful

  F/S: 2nd person- ozymandias is now insignificant

  context: he was a egyptian pharoah, poet born into rich family and disliked how rich had power over poor

  quotes
• my last duchess

  duke is looking at a portrait of his last wife and describing her and how she deserved death. we discover how she was treated

  F/S: rhyming couplets- duke having to appear in control- his control over the duchess

  context: poem written when women lacked rights, couldn't vote, were legal property of husbands, incapable of rational thoughts

  quotes
• why do tissue and ozymandias compare


  both explore how humans try to control and exert power but ultimately its nature that is truly powerful
• tissue

  talks about how much we trust paper/ tissue despite its fragility. Tissue is a metaphor for human life and nature has power over a fragile tissue

  F/S: enjambment- illustrate freedom or fragility of human power. defies restriction, natural power cant be defined/restricted

  quotes
• why do charge o flight brigade and exposure compare


  both explore how soldiers are worthy of great honour, but war involves pointless suffering
• charge of light brigade

  600 soldiers rode into valley of opposition and many were killed and are being honoured/remembered.

  F/S: broken rhyme-chaos, falling horses

  context: the Crimean war, between russia and britain, British cavalry decision was misunderstood and soldiers charged into fire of russian cannons

  quotes
• exposure

  describes harsh conditions in trenches and shows that nothing happens, questioning the aim of war. Exposure to war and impacts, exposed to weather and conditions and reality of war

  F/S: elipses...waiting...doesnt build to anything. repetition: emphasises monotonous lack of action

  context: war was seen as glorious, soldiers faught in all ocnditions and got illnesses, poet hospitalised due to PTSD and died a week before war ended