Poetry

• I met a traveller


  ... from an antique land ~ OZYMANDIAS

  
  

  Ironic distance

  How far removed ozy's fame is from now to when he was "king of kings"

  "Antique"- desire to have power as old as history, out of touch quality contrasts to modern audience

  Sense distance = to get us to move away from this
• Wrinkled lip, and


  Sneer of cold command - ozy

  
  

  alliteration- "c"= how cold rulers are (how power corrupts)

  Lack of connection between ruler and his people

  "Sneer" rulers are conceited

  "Wrinkled"—> age, how time> power doesn't make ozy immortal (erroneous)
• My name is


  Ozymandias, king of kings - ozy

  
  

  Hubris since it comes after the crumbling descriptions

  "of kings"- superlative, aware of heirarchy

  thought himself as a God-like figure as it was a title given to Jesus and his power could remain forever.

  Direct speech- how he wanted to be seen
• Round the decay/


  Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away- ozy

  
  

  enjambment- nature continuing

  Colossus (context)- allusion to enormous destroyed statue that was never found, even huge symbols of power get destroyed over time, many references to it over history = power art (story-telling makes it live on)

  half rhyme

  Unsettling= ephemeral

  symbolic of the broken statue itself, no longer perfect.

  
  

  "Colossal wreck"- oxymoron of what ozy wanted it to be and the reality of human endeavour

  neglected, broken statue is an allegory of dictators and their temporary relevance

  "Boundless and bare"- plosive alliteration—> power of nature contrasts.

  "Boundless" nature's power is limitless, ominous

  "Bare" all erased- equality

  pharaoh's statue + symbol of power suffocated by the desert to "B + B sands".
• That's my last duchess painted on the wall, /


  Looking as if she were alive. I call" - MLD

  = rhythmic couplets= controlling the form

  Creating the illusion of wholeness, but acc no equality

  = style of romantic poets at the time, despite how this poem is much more sinister and dark.

  = façade for the Duke of Ferrara's character

  seems rehearsed

  dangers of patriarchal society men have so much power= emotional numbness, murder= play-like

  enhance the musicality of a poem—> draw readers deeper into the narrative / links to art, for pleasure —> manipulative ??

  Opens as dramatic monologue

  No speech from other person even tho its a conversation= egotistical

  Enjambment= can't stop talking

  
  

  "Last"- allusion to death, implies he's married more than one she's only the 'latest'

  "Painted on the wall"- frescos (had to be painted before the plaster dried, pra pandolf worked "busily a day")—> urgency in duke, painted quickly as she's going to get killed quickly... importance of art= life, = callousness

  "My" possession,

  "Duchess"- only cares about title, objectification (never named)
• As if she ranked/ my gift

  Of a nine hundred year old name/ with anybody's gift - MLD

  
  

  She doesn't value social status, instead likes "cherries" and "white mule" (natural things)—> his dislikes natural things, he's cold + likes inanimate things

  he thinks she is disrespecting his social status (she is rejecting patriarchy), he deigns to comment on this

  hints at the underlying vulnerability of the Duke as he was reliant on women / other people's opinions to make him feel powerful and desirable.

  "Anybody"- juxtaposition
• "Disgusts"


  MLD- only emotion named- emotional detachment
• But who passed without/ Much the same smile?


  This grew; I gave commands;/ than all smiles stopped together -MLD

  
  

  caesura- (after together)= anger / ending her life

  "Same smile"- her smiles to him have to have diff

  "Passed"-

  even though she carries so much importance, she is still only temporary

  He doesn't spend time w her —> possession

  Euphemism for death—> callous humour, she died smiling

  How sudden it was ("stopped together")

  = ruling classes are heartless, only care abt wealth, no feeling for women / common man
• Notice Neptune, though,


  taming a sea-horse"- MLD

  
  

  Metaphor- appreciation for Neptune (god) exposes duke in his own mind= pompous, he has power over life and death

  Another piece of art, moves on quickly (collection=collection of wives)

  Equates his wife's value to this (no emotional attachment, only his bruised ego)

  "Taming sea-horse" =. Last duchess and counts daughter,

  "tame"- patriarchal expectation that women= passive, obedient

  small, delicate creature compared to the vast, volatile sea= symbolises the exertion of control over something insignificant / less powerful.

  =Duke's desire for dominance over every aspect of her behavior

  = highlighting the imbalance of power and the patriarchal mindset prevalent in the society, also has conquered on a subconscious level, depicted in the poem.
• (Led by her)


  The prelude

  
  

  in brackets -shows his confidence and trivialisation of nature's power since he sees nature's influence as secondary

  "Her" - personification

  allusion to Mother Nature, it is responsible for nurturing an entire planet = its superior power.

  He sees her as a human, his equal? Underestimating nature .. pride

  suggesting the speaker is not in control of his actions and in a way elevates blame from him
• To reach a chosen


  Point - the p

  
  

  "Chosen"- Nature Deceived him into a sense of control, but instead serves as where nature would humble him

  Confidence

  only when mankind tries to work against nature that it becomes arduous and turns against man

  = Industrial Revolution
• Strode


  after me - the p

  
  

  Personification- mountain appears to be moving and can attack the speaker, showing the danger of nature and how it cannot be prevented

  // the power is in the speakers imagination that makes nature seem like such a huge threat —> shows how nature can also inspire man's intellect and physical being ("led by her")

  "Strode"- heavy, intimidating presence

  Mountain has intent - wanted to reveal itself. now has turned against him
• No familiar shapes /


  Remained, no pleasant images [...] no colours of green fields"— the p

  
  

  enjambment (shape—> remained)- power of nature

  Impression of nature is lingering

  His thoughts are disjointed

  Prevent reader from pausing- poem feel endless/immense— like nature

  Continuous negatives = this encounter with nature made things all nature lose its original beauty- nature can also influence human's passions
• We are


  Prepared- SOTI

  
  

  Basic word choice and minimal syllables= confidence, sounds like a fact

  "We" (plural pronoun)

  Present islanders as a community against nature, suggests they see nature in a negative light

  Hints they have harmed nature before

  Bold, assertive tone

  Present tense shows how conflict, tension and preparation against nature are continuously part of life on this island

  Military language; battle

  Also betrays their fear; they've adapted their whole lives to the purpose of resisting nature
• Spits like a tame cat/


  Turned savage - SOTI

  
  

  nature rebelling

  "Tame" to "Turned" enjambment =unexpected, it was always more powerful, it is underestimated by humans

  "Savage" primitive = critiquing how humans think they are so civilised and how a "savage cat" (uncivilised) can defeat them anyway.

  = power of nature
• Exploding


  comfortably- SOTI

  
  

  juxtaposition, perhaps doesn't want to admit their fear? (Mental Resistance as they can't do any more physical resistance "just sit tight")

  Military language -> Northern Ireland troubles?

  Ireland and island are almost homophones
• Strange it is a


  Huge nothing that we fear - SOTI

  
  

  • tone of irony in "strange" â€"> criticising the troubles, they are both Christian's (?)

  • // the storm is, really, "nothing" and "empty" but is still able to wreak havoc and induce fear. This is evident in the oxymoron between "huge" and "nothing" showing how man underestimate the true force of nature

  ◦ The confident tone throughout could show the resilience of man however.
• Paper that


  lets the light shine through- tissue

  
  

  starts looking at the joy of simple things like well used paper and wonders what the world would be like if it had the same qualities.

  "Light" motif

  Hope, made by nature, doesn't abide by human "borderlines"

  religious but also symbol of life (appeals to all groups- forming connections)
• let the daylight break /*


  through capitals and monoliths"- tissue

  
  

  "break" requires effort, we need to try to make this happen

  // Need to put a abrupt stop to this artificial importance

  Nature can overcome these human boundaries
• "Maps too"- tissue


  borders of countries (divides due to religion, culture, politics)

  "Too"- fragile like tissue too, these divides r a construct we have invented

  critiques patriotism, nationalism, and materialism

  Significant of humanity's progress across time
• And what was paid by credit card

  Might fly our lives like paper kites

  
  

  influence of money and wealth on society, it controls us

  Adult responsibilities (which are compounded due to societal expectations, unnatural) contrast with naive fun and freedom of children

  But paper is easily removed by wind (nature which doesn't abide by human "borderlines", making all efforts to control nature as fragile as paper.
• Thinned to be Transparent/


  Thinned to be Transparent/ turned into your skin"

  
  

  
  

  allegory, direct address, readers need to consider their own actions

  "Turn"- Volta, her demanding acceptance

  where quatrain pattern breaks, inc significant of this message .

  "Skin"- forms connection by...

  identity (skin) is unique but

  humanity since we all have skin

  Can still be cut, but strength in fragility if we connect

  "Transparent" Ask for EQUALITY (see through the skin)
• I wander through each chartered street,


  / near where each chartered thames does flow" - London

  
  

  Streets are mapped- Blake's complaining about urbanisation

  Charted- everything is owned by institutions / the wealthy

  These streets restrict peoples freedoms

  cities are inherently corrupt.

  "I wander"

  Argues we can be free and "wander" if we look at London critically like him
• the hapless soldier's sigh


  / Runs in blood down palace walls- London

  
  

  French Revolution is v likely to happen in E

  Criticising the monarchy, it is so corrupt that society may rise up against it
• Mind forged


  Manacles - London

  
  

  Written in quatrains with each line punctuated at its end

  Political poem he writes it in a simple poem for children, very memorable so chooses this form

  // mimics their constrained lives and thoughts —> "manacles quote"

  
  

  alliteration- to be memorable

  Metaphor - "manacles"- slavery

  lack of power and abuse of power even in "London"

  "mind-forged"

  Criticising how hierarchy only works because people believe in it- its a social construct manipulated by upper classes to wield power over the vulnerable

  "Mind"- we can change it

  "Forged"- Attacking how companies are exploiting workers for industry, an apocryphal way of looking at the world
• Marks of weakness,


  Marks of woe- London

  
  

  break from iambic tetrameter - shows how the reality of how London looks from Blakes' enlightened perspective

  "Marks" - scarring and permanent impact of colonial power

  cyclical structure first and last stanza (images of downtrodden and deprived people)

  power being exploited by authorities causes never-ending suffering.

  inescapable fate of those in the city until they rebel against the society, like the French Revolution.
• And blights with


  plagues the marriage hearse."- London

  
  

  he was a feminist- he taught his illiterate wife to read and treated her as his equal in his engraving business

  Volta changes focus to attack the patriarchy

  Societal criticism of how, for women, marriage was like death

  Because of men exploiting prostitutes ("youthful Harlots curse") and transmitting STIs to their wives -> disabled children*

  "Youthful"— attacking this society which has led young children to earn money through sex

  And men who don't care about the marriage vows (degradation of morals and religion)
• Blast the New born


  infants tear" - London

  
  

  Blast" (violence) Children are born innocent and shouldn't have to suffer

  Incites sympathy

  How every life is destined for misery in this corrupt society

  Affecting next generation- continuous cycle
• Dem tell me x3


  COMH

  
  

  Percussive repetition

  Accusatory

  anger the narrator feels at having had his heritage hidden from him.

  reflects the way he has been taught British education

  Creole language =refusal to accept the restrictions that are forced upon him.

  "Me" = importance of identity i

  "Dem" -

  In creole - names "them" (his oppressors) in his own way (overcoming the oppression)

  Changes the reader too
• Bandage up me


  Eye with me own history - COMH

  
  

  Violent metaphor

  Conflict between narrator's culture + the one being inflicted on him by colonial rule.

  "Blind" injury-like connotations

  Deliberate infliction of pain?

  Being hurt by abuse of power —> deliberately held back from seeing his own history.

  irony: 'bandage' is used to heal but here, it denotes that the British education system believes that hiding history is beneficial to him which is false.

  Metaphor- "Eye"- homophone for 'I', identity
• Toussaint


  COMH

  
  

  Juxtaposition between:

  Nursery rhymes = Cultural identity starts at an early age / almost childish lexis —> ridicule

  Quatrains= controlled, heavily-filtered nature of what is accepted as conventional history by the British imperialist

  free verse - black history has sep, dedicated stanzas

  brings to forefront, urging readers to reconsider omitted / suppressed stories in history

  
  

  Overthrew slavery in the French colony of Haiti

  symbol of rebellion + resistance = inspiration to Agard to resist the oppression he is subjected to.
• But now I checking out me own history


  / I carving out me identity"- COMH

  
  

  But" - ​connective​ ​bringing white and black cultures tgt, seeing the full truth and how both cannot be separated / ignored, forges an authentic identity

  ​volta​ = turning point for when the speaker switches from referring to ​"Dem"​ to ​"I"​.

  ownership of his own identity and making the poem about himself rather than them.

  "Half- rhyme—

  Showing through structure that identity doesn't have to be linked to the history one knows; one can "carve" their own

  "Carving"- permanent, changes identity permanently

  Connoting a hard substance= how firm these beliefs are and strenuous it is to change them

  But worth it = art (his individual identity)
• Her father


  Embarked at sunrise - kami

  
  

  Japan= land of the rising sun which establishes patriotic undertone of the poem. "Embarked" = sense of purpose + new beginnings

  "father" lends a tender tone to the military impression the title "kamikaze" gives which shows how, really, this is a poem on humanity. Also shows the conflict society places on us: a man with responsibility for his country and his family
• A shaven head /..


  full of powerful incantations - kami

  
  

  "A"- indefinite article

  Doesn't fully belong to him, influence of patriotism

  loss of individuality + objectification; tool of his nation

  Exposed, vulnerable

  "Incantations"

  Indoctrination
• Little fishing boats" = "


  KAMI

  
  

  bunting" -> patriotism within nature? Shows how he and his family are indoctrinated by Japanese culture. Mankind's creation deemed insignificant to shoals of fishes?
• "Dark shoals of fishes


  flashing silver as their bellies swivelled towards the sun"

  
  

  Sibilance: harmony + community within nature (shows the different elements of nature interacting)= contrast between the beauty of life vs brutality of war

  Sun = the natural sun, sense of commandment (power, "swivelled"). Contrasts with the artificial use of the sun in Japanese propaganda = futility of human cruelty in the face of nature
• A tuna,


  the dark prince, muscular, dangerous."

  
  

  
  

  Most powerful creature—> power belongs to nature—> exposes to him the nihilism of war and the beauty of life/nature, tone of admiration for natural power

  first full stop —> Realisation of how minute human life is

  calm rural language contrasts the impersonal setting of war = loss of individuality and power imbalance

  "Dark prince" figure of death in the background which foreshadows his emotional death when he returns

  Sibilance—> elegant tone, increases pace to make it more emotional, water imagery- continuous, free-flowing like the eternal power of nature
• Only we children


  still chattered and laughed/

  
  

  Natural human happy reaction

  He turned back

  Life is too precious (innocence of children)

  Saves his life and the American soldiers' but loses emotional life
• Till gradually


  we too learned to be silent,"

  
  

  "Silent" isolation, shameful

  "Gradually" - unnatural for children to disown their father, requires effort and forces them to go against their natural instincts; authority's abuse of power —> complete dominance over every individual's life, and can even weaken the bond between father and children; BUT couldn't do it quickly

  "Learned"—> totally unnatural

  Change of tone of confidence and determination (start) vs sense of defeat —> detrimental effects of expectations

  3rd person, Garland utilising 4 generations of voices:

  humanises war + families' struggle within societal norms

  distance from the pilot; damaging effects of societal expectations- affects so many generations

  Hope- how cultures and countries can recover from war (the generation), celebrating the resilience of humanity (due to tone of regret, shows humanity)
• He must hv


  wondered which had been the better way to die"