AQA GCSE English Literature in depth poetry analysis for "Power and Conflict". Notes include context, literal meaning, structure and language. Helped me achieve full marks in my GCSE English and get a level 9!!!
Example grade 9 essay power and conflict- London. GCSE AQA
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AQA GCSE English Poetry Analysis
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Bayonet Charge
Context:
- Born in 1930 and died in 1998
- Grew up in countryside of Yorkshire
- Passionate about animals and nature
- Devoted to poetry from young age, despite lack of income
- Poet and children’s writer
- Father served in WW1
- Obsessed with astrology
- Poet Laureate 1984-1998
- Hughes wrote about a war that he did not experience - but his father did serve in WW1 (His father -
emotionally paralysed), Grew up in West Yorkshire - a region ‘still-stunned’ by WW1 “The whole region was in
mourning of WW1”, and admiration of Wilfred Owen - grew to represent his fathers experience.
- Collection - ‘The hawk in the rain’.
Literal Meaning:
- First Verse - A soldier wakes up and finds himself charging towards enemy with a gun and bayonet in hand.
- Second Verse - stops and begins to contemplate what he is doing
- Third Verse - Focus shifts to hare caught up in battle
- Theme: The indescribable horror of war, our ideas of war are nothing like the reality. It cannot be described.
Structure:
- First word - “Suddenly” - middle of action, reader not aware of what has previously occurred, just as soldier
feels. Throwing audience right into action.
- Enjambment - e.g. “Then the shot-slashed furrows threw up a yellow hare…” - enjambment between verses -
creates disjointed, unordered effect - reflects chaos and disorder soldier is feeling.
- Caesura e.g “Was he the hand pointing at second?” - Both examples of caesura in second verse - forces
reader to stop and think. Create chaotic and hard to follow structure.
- Repetition - “Raw” repeated in lines 1 and 2 - show their difficulty in expressing the moment - reflects shock
soldier has, as if he is stuttering, struggling to articulate the moment. Alternate meaning - Wilfred Owen wrote
poem “Spring offensive” about a bayonet charge, Owen used repetition in line “Lying easy, were at ease” -
similar to repetition by Hughes - seems that this is an allusion to Wilfred Owen poem. “Spring offensive” also
uses many temperature related words e.g “Warm”, “Sun”, “Hot” - likewise in bayonet charge “Molten” ,
“Flame”. Also both use verb of “Crawling”. Clear that deliberate similarities - a second hand poem about a
second hand experience. Hughes struggles to describe the true horror of war, has to use the words of others -
cannot use his own words.
Language:
- Six similes used e.g “Numb as a smashed arm” - vast number of similes - reflects fact that war is
indescribable, the sheer horror.
- “Bullets smacking the belly out of the air” - personification of air - effect of war on nature - air is a victim of
war. Also understand reference of “Yellow Hare” - yellow - cowardice, a dream? Hare is reference to nature,
again a victim.
- “In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations” - was this destined by the stars or was it the power of
Earth - the government. Soldiers are a cog in a machine “Cold Clockwork” - Parallels fact the soldier stops.
- “Sweating like molten iron” - original patriotism now has away.
- Brutal vocal “Molten”, “Smashed”… reflect how soldier is feeling
- “Like a man who has jumped up in the dark and runs listening between his footfalls for the reason of his still
running” - pointless line, wants reader to struggle though poem - we feel what solider feels.
- “Thoughts of king, honour, dignity, etcetera” - mocking tone, criticises patriotic values, they mean little or
nothing in the heat of battle. Harsh critique of war. A challenge - that noble virtues of patriotism are a million
miles away from reality of war. “He” - All soldiers.
- “His terror’s touchy dynamite” - he has become a killing machine, the danger he could inflict on others.
, The Charge of the Light Brigade
Context:
- 1809-1892 - Victorian
- Middle class family
- His engagement to Emily (his future wife) was at one point forbidden by Emily’s father due to Tennyson’s poverty - He
criticises upper class
- 1850 - appointed Poet Laurette, a role where he was expected to write verse on occasions of national significance.
Held this position for the rest of his life.
- Wrote ‘Charge of the Light Brigade” in 1855, whilst serving as Poet Laureate.
- Crimean War - poem rooted in this war - War against Russia (trying to take over Romania) - Britain involved out of fear
(fear that Russia would take over India and ruin trade).
- Poem focuses of Battle of Balaclava - During siege Russians began to retreat (trying to steal heavy guns) - Light
Brigade ordered in to protect guns - made up of lightly armoured troops on horseback a calvary of upper-class
soldiers. Their duties mainly reconnaissance, not intended to be used in battle.
- In charge of battle - Lord Cardigan, Lord Raglan, Lord Lucan - no experience, bought their way into this command -
Links to criticism of upper class. Order to protect heavy guns - mix up in communication and instead Light Brigade
launched themselves at enemy artillery in valley. Light Brigade did not retreat, ultimately torn to pieces by Russians.
Over 150 killed, 150 injured into tragic, futile event.
- In period know as ‘Birth of War Reporting’ - Charge of Light Brigade in London Times - Tennyson read this, talks
about leadership blunder that led to death of soldiers. “Hideous Blunder” - kept in Tennyson’s mind - reference to this
is poem.
Literal Meaning:
- Soldiers must go on, even in near danger, they must still carry on.
- Calvary told to move froward, not afraid even know they knew order was a mistake - to win or to die trying.
- Canons all around them, soldiers viscously attacked but rode bravely and well into certain death.
- Their swords flashing in the sunlight, swung their swords at enemy while everyone wondered.
- Light Brigade retreated but not all of the six hundred remained.
- Soldiers retreated back from a place of certain death
- The amazing thing they did, the wonderful six hundred, we should honour them.
Structure:
- Ballad - historic form of poetry that often used to be sung, contains a refrain - “Six-hundred” at end of each verse.
Important story told to pass on through generations. Element of folklore, an awe inspiring act of bravery that should
be passed onto future generations, we should always honour them. Also never forget the stupidity of the aristocratic
leadership, a cautionary tale, never forget error of those who deem themselves superior. Don’t make same mistakes of
leadership.
- Dactylic Dimeter - Meter (Stressed syllables) - In Charge of Light Brigade - “For”, “Light”, “Was”, “Man”, “Not”, “Sol”,
“Some”, “Blun”….. stressed syllables come at start and middle of each line, followed by two unstressed syllables.
Dactyl - one stressed followed by two unstressed. Each line - two dactylic feet = dimeter = Dactylic Dimeter. Tennyson
wants us to fully appreciate soldiers, feel as if we are on the battlefield with them so Dactylic Dimeter mirrors galloping
of horses and adds energy and pace - reader empathises. A falling rhythm - the falling soldiers. Alternatively
historically Dactylic Dimeter was used in comic poetry, employed in light-hearted verse - seems inappropriate for
poem - a satirical edge to usage - subtle critique of upper classes. Satire - use of humour to attack injustice of society
- Tennyson mocking leadership choices.
- “Someone has Blundered” - does not conform to Dactylic Dimeter - Clearly important line (Taken from news report -
influenced poem) - criticising leadership. Subtly drawing the readers attention to his disgust to the blunder that
caused the fatalities (subtle as to not distract from his duties as poet laureate). Dactyl - create sense of horses
galloping forwards but this fourth line is shortened with mirrors how the soldier’s lives were shortened. A dramatic
stop.
Language:
- Biblical references “Valley of death” - noticed by Victorian audience. In first verse - immediate to show significance.
Highlights almost awe-inspiring bravery of soldiers, should respect it in a biblical way. Battle of David and Goliath took
place in a valley and both stories contained an underdog taking on a powerful enemy - biblical allusion to Pslam 23
and David and Goliath.
- Repetition of “Theirs” - Importance. In Victorian England a value for order and obedience to hierarchy. Seen in soldiers
but can’t be sure this blind obedience is being praised. It is not the job of the soldiers to question this.
- Ambiguous language choices e.g “Wondered” - The world admires the bravery of the soldiers. But also could be to
question - the whole world is questioning how such a stupid mistake could be made. Many words create this sense of
sound “Ered” - drum-like beat, the sounds of the horses. Alternative meaning - all of these words used end in ‘ered’
have phonetic similarity to the word “err” (make an error, do something wrong) - a mistake was made. Contains both
positive and negative interpretation - “Won” - pride and glory alongside “ered” - pointlessness of death.
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