Power and Conflict Poetry

• Ozymandias


  explores the idea of human power in a way that suggests that is is only temporary and despite arrogance of humans, the natural world holds more power than mankind
• Ozymandias form and structure

  • iambic pentameter, often disrupted
  • irregular rhyme scheme
  • caesura and enjambment
  • turning point
  • conveys idea that nothing lasts forever
  • conveys his power as a poet/artist
• Ozymandias key quotes


  • "Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies"
  • "colossal wreck"
  • "sneer of cold command"
  • "Nothing beside remains"
  • "The lone and level sands stretch far away"
• Ozymandias context


  • Romantic poet
  • radical in his poetry as well as his political and social views
  • ozymandias = greek name for Egyptian pharaoh, Rameses II
  • built memorials of himself
• Ozymandias themes


  • power of humans
  • power of nature
  • power of art
  • impact of authority
• Ozymandias link to other poems

  • London; oppressive leadership
  • The Prelude; powerful setting
  • My Last Duchess; criticism of those in control
  • The Charge of the Light Brigade; oppressive leadership
  • Tissue; legacy
  • Kamikaze; natural settings
• London


  Blake gives a powerful description of urban life in the late 1700s, citizens are trapped in a negative existence where they are oppressed by powerful forces such as the monarchy, religion and poverty
• London form and structure


  • repetition; emphasises the extent of the problem
  • regular stanza; strict, oppressive
  • fixed ABAB rhyme scheme; restriction
  • iambic tetrameter; reflects divisions and fractions
• London key quotes


  • "black'ning church apalls"
  • "the chimney sweeper's cry"
  • "Marks of weakness, marks of woe"
  • "mind-forged manacles"
  • "blood down palace walls"
  • "In every cry of every man"
• London context


  • one of England's most radical thinkers
  • profound insights into human nature
  • industrial revolution
  • romanticism
  • turbulent time for monarchy, Church and government
• London themes


  • powerful people
  • powerful settings
  • conflict
  • impact of authority
• London links to other poems

  • Ozymandias/The Prelude; powerful people
  • The Prelude/Storm on the Island; powerful setting
  • The Charge of the Light Brigade; criticising those in power
• The Prelude


  Wordsworth remembers an event from his youth that had a powerful and profound effect on his understanding of the world around him
• The Prelude form and structure

  • blank verse
  • unrhymed lines, mimics regular speech; confiding in us
  • one long stanza
  • enjambment
  • spontaneous overflow of emotions and memories
• The Prelude key quotes

  • "A little boat tied to a willow tree"
  • "she was my elfin pinnace"
  • "troubled pleasure"
  • "huge and mighty forms"
  • "trouble to my dreams"
• The Prelude context


  • Romantic poet
  • lived in the Lake District
  • real experience from his childhood
  • the sublime; appreciating the power of the natural world
  • believed poetry should be "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings"
• The Prelude themes


  • power of imagination
  • power of nature
  • power of fear
  • power of experience
  • power of memory
• The Prelude links to other poems


  • Storm on the Island; power of fear, nature
  • Remains/The Emigree; power of memory
  • Kamikaze; power of nature
• My Last Duchess


  the poet creates the voice of a powerful Duke who is arranging to re-marry. He shows a visitor a painting of his young wife who displeased him and who was dead. The Duke's power is highlighted by the poem
• My Last Duchess form and structure

  • dramatic monologue; reveals the Duke's character
  • iambic pentameter; strict, oppressive
  • rhyming couplets
  • single stanza
  • enjambment
• My Last Duchess key quotes

  • "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall"
  • "Spot of joy"
  • "My gift of nine-hundred-years-old name"
  • "some officious fool Broke in the orchard for her"
• My Last Duchess context

  • reflects Browning's interest in Italian history and culture
  • possible true story
  • Duke of Ferrara
  • wealthy nobleman from a powerful family dynasty
  • married very young girl for her wealth
  • probably had her killed
• My Last Duchess themes

  • pride
  • power/control
  • misogyny
  • jealousy
  • relationships
• My Last Duchess links to other poems


  • Ozymandias/London; criticising those in power
  • The Charge of the Light Brigade; oppressive authority
  • Tissue; legacy, family
• The Charge of the Light Brigade

  This poem was written about a real event that happened in British history, it is a poem about the terrible decision, a huge act of bravery and an awful sacrifice
• The Charge of the Light Brigade form and structure

  • ballad form; telling story of event
  • rhythmic beat
  • rhyming couplets
  • unrhymed lines
  • mimics horse hooves, drives the poem
  • repetition/refrain; emphasis
  • anaphora
• The Charge of the Light Brigade

  • "valley of Death"
  • "Rode the six hundred"
  • "Canon to the right of them, Canon to the left of them"
  • "Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of hell"
  • "Storm'd at with shot and shell"
• The Charge of the Light Brigade context

  • dramatic tribute to the 673 cavalrymen who fought in battle and died
  • Crimean War
  • light brigade = hardly armoured
  • due to miscommunication light brigade was sent into a frontal attack
• The Charge of the Light Brigade themes

  • power of conflict
  • power, control
  • impact of authority
  • power of fear
• The Charge of the Light Brigade

  • My Last Duchess, Ozymandias, London
  • oppressive leadership and criticising those in power
• Exposure


  Owen wanted his poem to reveal the secret truth about war that wasn't shared with young soldiers when they signed up to fight, in reality it wasn't exciting or glorious it was exhausting, full of suffering and absolutely futile
• Exposure form and structure


  • pararhyme and uneven line lengths; uncomfortable reflection of war
  • questions; reflect confusion of soldiers
  • refrains; emphasise the futility of war
  • cyclical structure; soldiers are trapped
• Exposure key quotes


  • "But nothing happens"
  • "merciless iced east winds that knive us"
  • "on us the doors were closed"
  • "For love of God seems dying"
  • "poignant misery of dawn begins to grow"
• Exposure context


  • soldier on the frontline
  • saw another solider be blown up which triggered PTSD
  • was sent to a mental hospital
  • WW1, first war to use trench warfare
  • killed a few days before the war ended
• Exposure themes


  • power of fear
  • powerful effects of war
  • power of conflict
  • powerful emotions
  • psychological damage
• Exposure links to other poems

  • Remains; trauma
  • Bayonet Charge; power of fear/powerful effects of war
  • The Charge of the Light Brigade; power of conflict
  • War Photographer; powerful effects of war
• Storm on the Island


  Heaney describes an island community waiting for a storm to hit. The poem explores the power of nature and also the resilience of the people who live on the island
• Storm on the Island form and structure


  • blank verse
  • no strict rhyme scheme; significance emphasised when rhythm is broken
  • spontaneous, unknown, uncertainty
• Storm on the Island key quotes

  • "Exploding comfortably"
  • "spits like a tame cat turned savage"
  • "it is a huge nothing that we fear"
  • "can raise a tragic chorus in a gale"
  • "we build our houses squat"
• Storm on the Island context

  • Irish poet
  • written during the "Troubles" in Ireland
  • long period of conflict within Ireland
  • has a deeper political theme and idea