This document includes an in-depth, grade 9 analysis of each AQA power and conflict poem, with perceptive quotes to demonstrate each point. Each poem also has a grade 9 structure point point with additional analysis and contextual information.
Power and Conflict poetry
Ozymandias:
“cold command” – alliteration on the harsh ‘c’ consonant perhaps suggests the
arrogance and tyranny with which Ozymandias ruled with. The adjective “cold”
also connotes lifelessness, potentially included to juxtapose the powerful reign
of Ozymandias to the emptiness of his statue, ultimately conveying to his
reader the temporary power of man.
“The hand that mocked” – double entendre on the verb “mocked”. The first
interpretation is the direct meaning to “mock up” something referring to
making/producing something. This conveys to the reader the power of art as it
transcends time and through the statue we are able to picture the reign of
Ozymandias years after his passing. The second interpretation is the alternate
meaning of the verb “mocked”, meaning to tease of make fun of something.
Through the inclusion of this verb, Shelley presents the sculptor as superior to
even the pharaoh (Ozymandias) as he is able to look down on and make fun of
him, consequently allowing him to reinforce the notion of the power of art
compared to the inferior power of man.
“lone and level”, “boundless and bare” – alliterative phrases using the ‘l’ and
‘b’ consonant. The repetition of the ‘l’ sound within the alliterative phrase
causes the reader to spend more time on it when reading audibly, making it
suggest longevity and permanence. Through doing this Shelley conveys to his
reader just how powerful nature is to the point of not being affected by
external factors such as time and sustaining its power throughout the passing
of it. Dissimilarly, when describing the area around the statue, Shelley uses
plosives to further emphasise to the reader the immensity of nature and its
never changing power.
Structure – sonnet, irregular rhymer scheme. Due to a sonnet typically being
used as a structure for love poems, Shelley perhaps implies the love and
excessive pride which Ozymandias holds for himself. The rhyme scheme is
constantly changing and never constant, potentially as a way to suggest the
lack of power man holds individually as man is unable to keep power due to
the influence of time. In stark contrast, motifs such as nature and time sustain
their power throughout the poem, allowing Shelley to communicate the sheer
power they hold (Romantic poetry).
,London:
“charter”
- A charter referred to a document entailing the private ownership of an
area of land. Therefore, the repetition of it within the first stanza
suggests just how much of London was privately owned at the time,
hinting at the inequality of power between the government and the
people
- Moreover, the fact that something as free-flowing and natural as the
river Thames is “chartered” suggests the greed of man at this point in
time. This allows Blake to criticise the government and other societal
higherups at the time, aligning his readers’ views to his critical attitudes
towards them as a Romantic poet (they were against the control of a
single body of power e.g. monarchy and the government)
- Also alludes to the industrial revolution
Structure
- The poem is structured in tight quatrains, perhaps to hint at the lack of
relief granted to the public/those without power due to the selfish
decisions of those with power e.g. the government
- Blake also employs a cyclical structure. In the both the first and the
second stanza, he describes the people of London who are suffering. In
the following stanza he details the causes of this suffering, making subtle
references to the corruption of the church as well as the industrial
revolution. However, in the last stanza Blake returns to talking about the
people this has affected. This cyclical structure allows Blake to highlight
how the suffering for these people is interminable and seemingly never
ending due to the inequalities in power at the time.
“mind-forged manacles”
- Blake uses a metaphor to compare the mental restrictions of those
without power to physical restrictions through the use of the noun
“manacles”. He suggests that the public are powerless and restricted
due to the control of those higher up in the social hierarchy.
- Moreover, Blake uses an alliterative “m” sound replicating an almost
hypnotic feeling, perhaps to reinforce the idea of how the people in
, power have brainwashed and taken control over the mental states of
those without power.
- The word “forged” is perhaps a reference to the industrial revolution as
it holds connotations of manufacturing and factories. Through doing this
Blake critiques the industrial revolution encouraged by the English
government of the 1800s and projects his views of Romanticism
(conserving and admiring nature as opposed to destroying it for factories
and more buildings)
The Prelude:
“no familiar shapes…no colours”
- The repetition of the negative adjective “no” shows the doubt and fear
that the speaker’s discovery has imbued in him to the point of him not
being able to confidently describe what he knows but rather how much
of nature he doesn’t comprehend
- This starkly contrasts to the start of the poem where the speaker was
extremely confident describing his theft of the boat “an act of stealth”,
exaggerating his skill. This drastic change in emotion shows the reader
the sheer immensity of nature and links to the idea of the Sublime.
- Moreover, Wordsworth uses a lot of caesura to fragment the speech and
show how disjointed this discovery of nature’s power has left the him
Structure
- The poem is structured as 1 long stanza, potentially to reflect the
immensity and overwhelming power of nature
- Wordsworth also includes a lot of enjambment (e.g. “no familiar shapes
remained”) to further reinforce the notion that nature is overwhelming
and cannot be contained. This enjambment is perhaps also suggestive of
Wordsworth’s strong feeling of fear and admiration of nature which
would stay constant for the rest of his life as he turned to Romanticism
“a huge peak, black and huge…upreared its head”
- Repetition of the adjective “huge” shows the limited vocabulary that the
speaker has in the moment. This sharply contrasts with the extensive
vocabulary he uses in the early stages of the play (“elfin pinnace”);
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