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Summary Example grade 9 essay power and conflict- London. GCSE AQA
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This is an example essay for the poem London in the Power and Conflict poetry anthology. It is from a grade 9 student.
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London. ‘Power of humans’Throughout both London and Ozymandias, a direct contrast between the lower class and upper class
is made as those with less power are exploited in society.
Immediately, in the beginning of London, the persona is ‘wander(ing) through each chartered street,
near where the chartered Thames does flow’. The verb: ‘wander’ creates a hopeless tone as he/she
is being controlled by powerful institutes. Furthermore, the adjective: ‘chartered’ illustrates how the
central powers in society control society and therefore the less powerful are exploited. This is
evident in the industrial revolution, where the poor were exploited by upper class members so Blake
wants to convey how the ‘power of humans’ is concentrated and therefore leads to exploitation
causing the readers to become enlightened about society’s corrupt ways.
Similarly, Ozymandias commences with the persona meeting ‘a traveller from an antique land’. This
makes the poem seem like a story, something enchanted and seemingly unreal due to how peculiar
it sounds therefore making Ozymandias’ existence and centralised power seem distant. Shelley may
possibly have done this in order to bring back the harshness Napoleon war as it seemed distant at
the time.
London also conveys lack ‘power of humans’ by how ‘the hapless soldier’s sigh runs in blood down
the palace walls’. The adjective: ‘hapless’ could possibly be portraying the soldiers as unfortunate
since they lack power and are being abused and used by monarchies as weapons for war.
Moreoever, the soldier’s may also be unfortunate due to the fact they are supporting the
monarchies subsequently in a revolution, it will be their blood that ‘runs… down palace walls’. This
could therefore be interpreted as a warning to the soldiers to rebel against the monarchy. Shelley
wanted England to follow the French Revolution and become communist so the ‘power of humans’
would be even.
Alternatively, in Ozymandias, the people in society have small rebellions against people who have
the most power. The synecdoche ‘the hand’ could mean the sculptor who ‘mocked’ Ozymandias and
ridiculed him through making the statue- his rebellion. Moreover, the metaphor ‘the heart that fed’
may, therefore, mean that the sculptor is using Ozymandias for his own benefit- to create art. This
illustrates the sculptor’s power since he can manipulate Ozymandias for his own benefit. Shelley,
arguably, does the same and uses Ozymandias to create his own art- his poem- so is also rebelling
against the central power.
The title: ‘London’ also explores the theme ‘power of humans’. To a modern reader, ‘London’ is a
free city however, Blake contrasts to this as he believes ‘London’ is extremely restrictive and
‘chartered’. The shock the modern reader will experience when discovering the truth regarding
London and the lack of power for humans may mimic the passion that Blake feels regarding the
capitalist society.
Similarly, the title: ‘Ozymandias’ also depicts the theme of ‘power of humans’ to an extent.
‘Ozymandias’ is a Greek translation of Ramesses II therefore Shelly is attempting to illustrate how
the power of humans is impermanent. Ozymandias’ legacy didn’t last, even his name didn’t last since
he is known as Ozymandias rather than Ramesses II, all that is left of him is a ‘colossal wreck’.
The structure of London also reflects the theme of ‘power of humans’. Blake discusses the reason for
the imbalance in power in stanza 3, where he discusses the ‘blackening church’ and the monarchy.
This was in the middle of the poem and therefore could perhaps be illustrating how the institutes
are the heart of all problems and are the main reasons and causes of imbalance in power.
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