Power and conflict poetry

• You've got to know what the poem's about
• Learn about the form, structure and language
• Remember the feelings and attitudes in the poem
• Go a step further and give a personal response
• Ozymandias


  Poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley
• London


  Poem by William Blake
• The Prelude: Stealing the Boat


  Poem by William Wordsworth
• My Last Duchess


  Poem by Robert Browning
• The Charge of the Light Brigade

  Poem by Alfred Tennyson
• Exposure


  Poem by Wilfred Owen
• Storm on the Island


  Poem by Seamus Heaney
• Bayonet Charge


  Poem by Ted Hughes
• Remains


  Poem by Simon Armitage
• Poppies


  Poem by Jane Weir
• War Photographer


  Poem by Carol Ann Duffy
• Tissue


  Poem by Imtiaz Dharker
• The Emigrée


  Poem by Carol Rumens
• Kamikaze


  Poem by Beatrice Garland
• Checking Out Me History

  Poem by John Agard
• The key themes across the poems include: power of humans, power of nature, pride, effects of conflict, reality of war, loss and absence, identity, memory, individual experiences
• humans can abuse their power

  My last duchess-

  -the duke was obsessed with power-controls who sees the por trait of his last duchess

  -the poems form also reflects the absolute power-although there is a visitor present, we only hear the dukes voice, and use of rhyming couplets
• my last duchess

  “I gave commands;/then all smiles stopped”

  -sinister tone

  -lack of explanation suggests he doesn’t feel he has to account for his actions.
• Humans can abuse their power

  Checking out me history

  -the speaker in the poem is angry that the people in charge of his education have given him a one sided view of history-he learns about British history, but nothing about Caribbean hero’s

  -writen With historical misuse of power in mind- it mentions real figures from Caribbean history who revolted against slavery and European colonisation
• Checking out me history

  “blind me to my own identity“

  -show how the speaker feels hese been badly treated by those in power

  -metaphors of blindness