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Summary GCSE English Literature Quotation Bank: Power and Conflict Poetry Anthology
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Quotation bank for the Power and Conflict poetry anthology, with grade 9 level analysis.
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AQA Conflict and Power Poetry GCSE Notes
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Ozymandias - nature/time 'Lone and level sands stretch Man = ephemeral/ transient - natures poweris infinite - more powerful far away' dominates
than man 'nothing beside remains.' Caesura in 'nothing beside remains.' mirrors
fragmented break down of Ozymandias'
power and emphasises statement, showing
that the power of man is only temporary.
'lone and level' - alliteration - emphasises
fact that nature is solitary and the statue
(Ozymandias' attempt to impose power over
everything he sees) has been overcome by
nature - showing lack of power of man
Ozymandias - human 'on the pedestal' Image of Ozy being above all else - ironic -
power is transient 'look on my words' statue is no longer there - warning to King
George III - disproved
'look' - imperative - tyrannical control and
desire for power
Possesive pronoun 'my' - Ozymandias' pride
Ozymandias - human 'Ozymandias' Biblical allusion - 'king of kings' - believes he
power is corrupt 'King of kings' is God - deifying himself to emphasise
absolute power - repetition of 'king' -
narcissism - believes in undisputed power of
himself.
Ozymandias - to breathe is to rule - one of
the translations
London - Government is 'mind forged manacles' ‘mind forged manacles’, this metaphor
oppressive - enslavement suggests that citizens are trapped by
internalising the propaganda of the
government. The word ‘manacles’ has
connotations of slavery and ownership, as if
the citizens feel like they are merely the
property of the government. The fact the
manacles are ‘forged reinforces the idea of
their strength with connotations of a
blacksmith and the use of strong materials
like steel. Alternatively, it also has
associations with ‘forgery’ and the idea of
the corruption and lies on which the
government is based. Finally, the ‘mind’
referenced could either refer to the ‘mind’ of
the government that has created these
shackles for the people, or the minds of the
people who have internalised the messages
of the government and now cannot escape
the cycle of poverty they live in. This mental
entrapment is presented as more damaging
than the physical suffering they endure
through their oppression and poverty as it
means they are unable to ever escape their
miserable lives. claustrophobic envelop
rhyme and iambic pentameter.
, London - Institutions are 'black'ning church appalls' This questions the authority of organised
corrupt (church) religion. ‘black’ning church’ is almost
oxymoronic as it implies that the church,
normally a virtuous and ‘pure’ place of high
moral value has been corrupted or tainted by
sin. The speaker appears to register his
disgust at this through the use of ‘appalls’.
The line could also be interpreted to show
the superficial nature of the supposed
Christians who attended and worked for the
churches – the church here would be
‘black’ning’ due to the polluted air in London
which is seen to shock and disgust those
who care more for the aesthetic qualities of
their church than the suffering of the poor
who are forced to live and work in the horrific
conditions imposed by the industrial
revolution. The tone here is accusatory as
Blake exposes the hypocrisy of the church
that is supposed to have a Christian duty to
help the poor.
London - pessimistic tone 'cry', 'hearse', 'tear' Semantic field of despair - inescapable
Structure ABAB rhyme scheme and iambic tetrameter
- shows monotonous nature of peoples lives
nd the strict control they were under . Rhyme
scheme also pleasing to hear shows
people's resignation to their fate and
acceptence of their powerlessness - leads to
a continous cycle of abuse from the
government. Rhyme scheme could also be
interpreted in a mocking tone.
The prelude - hubristic/ 'troubled pleasure' Wordsworth’s reader is arrogant and
insignificant power of man 'mountain echoes' overconfident as he continues through his
'act of stealth' own ‘troubled pleasure’. We can see with
this oxymoron that even though he may feel
guilt, the sense of pleasure and tranquility
overrides his conscience. As well as this he
moves on despite the ‘mountain echoes’
which may also show his belief in pantheism
as his conscience is reflected back from
nature. The reason he was so affected may
have been because of his hubris and
arrogance in stealing the boat. It may show
that he thought he was superior to nature
and the realization of his own mortality was
very damaging to him.
The prelude - 'led by her' 'led by her' - could be a reference to mother
power/beauty of nature 'little boat' nature, the personification makes ‘her’ seen
'upreared its head' like a more comforting presence, it may mark
'huge peak, black and huge' the beginning of his pantheist beliefs as
Wordsworth used nature to escape his
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