Poetry: Power and conflict
Poems:
Ozymandias- Percy Shelley
Context: Shelley was a romantic poet, written after the unveiling of the Ruined statue of
Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II. The poem challenges themes from an anti-monarchy point
of view, and talks of organised religion. Shelley talks of Rameses II with a pacifist-analogy.
Structure: irregular rhyme scheme (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) and is one single stanza
Form: Sonnet, Petrarchan lines and iambic pentameter which represent ideas of the
evolution of art and arrogance.
Language - alliteration shows monotony and the expanse of the empty lands surrounding
the statue. The harsh c’ symbolises desert and sand, which shows the power of time,
nature, empty.
Key ideas:
Human power is transient but art/ nature will always survive
Shows how the statue is transcient compared to nature and time
Acts as a warning to all institutions of power that they wont ever last forever, however
their treatment of others and artistic portrayal will.
Quotes:
‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone.’
Shows the power of time, something once so great has been reduced to nothing at
all.
‘Half sunk, a shattered visage lies.’
‘Sneer of cold command.’
Shows arrogance, gives a negative impression of the leader with words such as
‘sneer’ and ‘cold.’
‘King of Kings.’
Also shows the leaders arrogance, believes he himself was the most powerful
leader, and that none could compete with him as he was the best.
‘Colossal wreck, boundless and bare.’
Presents the power of time and nature as the desert outlasted the statue. The use
of an oxymoron in the phrase ‘colossal wreck’, juxtaposes the statues ego.
‘Look on my works, ye mighty…’
We see pride here , as the state is proud of his achievements and calls for
admiration, however it’s ironic as there’s nothing left to look at.
London- William Blake
Context: Blake wrote this poem just after the French Revolution, in an attempt to start
revolution in England. He was a romantic poet, and this piece was published in the
anthology ‘songs of experience’, during the ‘reign of terror’ ( queen Victorias reign,
references the harsh conditions and changes caused by the Industrial Revolution, and
the constant uncertainty and fear felt by many.)
, Form: London is a dramatic monologue and is written in simple language to adopt a
conversational tone.
Structure: There is uniform stanza to represent order and control, and use of iambic tetra
meter, broken by some lines to emphasise the importance of these lines. The poem also
has a cyclical structure, which represents the never-ending cycle of terrors felt by the
public at that time.
Language: Blake uses a mix of juxtaposition, moral corruption, anaphoric, literary
crescendo and symbolism to show oppression and the corrupted society surrounding
Blake.
Key idea:
Suffering (due to abuse of power) is never ending and has a great impact on everyone,
but will remain until people take action to remove it. Their suffering and oppression is
now internalised, and they cannot escape because they will not act. The poem acts as
criticism towards the lasseiz-faire attitude of the government, and the poem acts as a
call for revolution.
Quotes:
‘I wander through each chartered street.’
Shows hopelessness and the lack of freedom from government control.
‘Marks of weakness, marks of woe.’
Everywhere the speaker goes, people are affected misery and despair, and the
constant depression that holds the poor is inescapable.
‘The mind-forged manacles I hear.’
Here we see the idea of hopelessness repeated, as they all feel trapped in their
own attitudes and unable to help themselves. Thisn acts as the single most
important line in the poem, as it shows that the restraints on everyone’s lives feel
self-imposed, and it suggests that the government has brainwashed the poor to
believe that their suffering is of their own fault.
‘Chimney sweeper’s cry..hapless soldiers sigh.’
In this quote, Blake’s anger at the government is shown, as he talks of the war with
France and the echoing sorrow of soldiers, and how society has stripped children
of their innocence.
‘Blights with plagues the marriage hearse.’
This whole quote is an oxymoron, suggesting that marriage is a sentence of death .
The phrase ‘blights with plagues’ references the issue of prostitution in that era,
and suggests that disease from prostitutes spread to married men, and from
married men to their wives, and then their children, which shows us the never-
ending cycle of disease and corruption, and also how children are sick from birth,
representing not only the idea of original sin, bit how society has destroyed the
purest of souls.
The charge of the light brigade- Alfred Lord Tennyson
Context: This poem was written to honour the patriotic death of a batallion of soldiers,
who were given the order to carry out a suicide mission, and they complied, showing their
honour and the traditional idea of patriotism.
Form: The poem takes form as a ballad which acts as a epitaph to commemorate a stay
for future generations to hear.
