Each poem from the 15 power and conflict poems is summarised in one sheet including common themes in the poems, a description of what each poem is about, structural features associated with each poem, a range of quotes which can be used along with an analysis of each poem and contextual ideas of ea...
Ozymandias-Percy Bysshe Shelly
Themes-Power of nature, Decay, Pride
Links-
What it’s about:
The narrator meets a traveller who tells him about a decayed structure that he saw in a
desert.
The statue was a long forgotten ancient king, the arrogant Ozymandias ‘King of Kings’
The poem is ironic as one big metaphor: Human power is only temporary – the statue now
lays crumbled in the sand, and even the most powerful human creation can’t resist the power
of nature over time
Form & Structure:
A sonnet (14 lines) but with an unordinary structure.
Contains a volta (turning point) at line 9. This shows how human structure can be destroyed
or decay
Iambic pentameter rhyme scheme
The 1st 8 lines the statue is described in parts to show its destruction
Key Quotes:
‘Half sunk a shattered visage lies who’s frown’
Ironic-Even a powerful human can’t control the damaging effects of time
‘Sneer of cold command’
Imagery-The statues facial expression is a sign of superiority and unfeeling control. Alliteration
presents Ozymandias character as powerful and arrogant
‘King of Kings’
Repetition of ‘king’ may how arrogant Ozymandias is as he sees himself at the top of the hierarchy
‘Nothing beside remains. Round and decay of the colossal wreck ‘
Ruined state shows how human achievement is insignificant compared to the passing of time.
Juxtaposition of ‘Decay’ and ‘Colossal’ may present how Ozymandias believes himself to be
compared to the reality
‘Boundless and bare… lone and level sands’
Alliteration emphasises the featuring of empty space in the surrounding desert. Boundless=
unlimited or immense
Context:
Egyptian Pharaohs like Ramesses believed themselves to be gods in mortal form and that their
legacy would last forever
Shelley also disliked the concept of the monarchy and how ordinary people were oppressed
He has been inspired by the French revolution when the French monarch was ovethrown
, London-William Blake
Themes- Power, Inequality, Loss, Anger
Links-
What it’s about:
The narrator is describing a walk around London and how he is saddened by the sights and
sounds of poverty
The poem also addresses the loss of innocence and determinism of inequality: how new-born
infants are born into poverty
The poem uses rhetoric to convince the reader the people in power (Church, Government…)
are to blame for this inequality
Form & Structure:
A dramatic monologue, there’s a 1st person narrator(I) who speaks passionately about what
he sees
Simple ABAB rhyme scheme-reflects the unrelenting misery of the city and perhaps the
rhythm of his feet as he trudges around the city
First 2 stanzas focus on people, 3rd stanza focuses on the institution he holds responsible, 4th
stanza returns of the people (they’re the central focus)
Key Quotes:
‘The mind forg’d manacles I hear’
Alliteration of ‘mind’ and ‘manacles’ helps draw our attention to the metaphor. Blake shows how
they’re not physically held back but their believe in their weakness holds them back
‘Marks of weakness marks of woe’
Repetition of ‘marks’ may emphasise how people are affected. Alliteration of ‘w’ shows people’s
misery and how nobody has a say and how they’re affected (Woe-sorrow/distress)
‘Run in blood down palace walls’
Metaphor of soldiers running down the walls of the palace which may show how people in power
have blood in their hands for sending so many men to war
‘Every blackening church appals’
Presents the church negatively which may show a juxtaposition as churches are meant to help
people. ‘Appals’ may present how the church is corrupt
Context:
William Blake was a poet in Victorian/Georgian England describing and presenting the
experiences of those suffering
The poems are set during a time in England where there was poverty, child labour and a
horrific war with France, women had no rights, death rates from disease and malnutrition
were high
Blake emphasised how London, the greatest city in the world at the time, was so dirty and
corrupt
Extract from the prelude-William Wordsworth
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