Overview
This lecture provides a concise revision of the 15 Power and Conflict poems, highlighting essential context, structure, and two or three key quotations to memorize for each poem.
Ozymandias
- Written as a sonnet, traditionally a 14-line love poem.
- Mocks King Ramses II's belief in his lasting power.
- Key quotes: "shattered visage" (the broken statue face), "lone and level sands" (nature's power over man).
London
- Uses ABAB rhyme scheme.
- Critiques unnatural control by monarchy/government.
- Key quotes: "chartered street" (forced control), "marriage hearse" (oxymoron showing destroyed hope).
The Prelude
- Written in free verse (no fixed rhyme).
- Highlights the power and fear of nature.
- Key quotes: "troubled pleasure" (oxymoron for forbidden act), "upreared its head" (mountain personified as monster), "trouble to my dreams" (lasting fear).
My Last Duchess
- Dramatic monologue.
- Reveals jealousy and control in the Duke.
- Key quotes: "my last Duchess" (possession), "dies along her throat" (hint of murder), "smiles stopped" (Duchess’ death).
Charge of the Light Brigade
- Six stanzas structure.
- Celebrates bravery despite defeat.
- Key quotes: "half a league" (repetition/small army), "valley of Death" (biblical reference), "shot and shell" (sibilance for violence).
Exposure
- ABBA rhyme scheme.
- Focuses on suffering and relentless nature.
- Key quotes: "but nothing happens" (repetition for futility), "Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army" (nature as enemy).
Storm on the Island
- Free verse.
- Human vulnerability against nature.
- Key quotes: "wizened earth" (old, enduring land), "pummels your house" (nature's force), "exploding comfortably" (oxymoron for deceptive safety).
Bayonet Charge
- Free verse.
- Soldier’s fear overtakes patriotic motives.
- Key quotes: "patriotic tear...molten iron" (lost ideals), "King, honour, human dignity" (rule of three for forgotten values).
Remains
- Free verse.
- Explores guilt from war.
- Key quotes: "probably armed, possibly not" (doubt), "his bloody life in my bloody hands" (repetition for guilt).
Poppies
- Free verse.
- A mother’s grief for her son.
- Key quotes: "flattened, rolled, turned into felt" (emotion), "released a song bird from its cage" (letting go), "war memorial" (remembrance).
War Photographer
- Sestets (six-line stanzas).
- Contrast between war zones and peaceful society.
- Key quotes: "spools of suffering" (metaphor), "Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh." (global suffering), "a hundred agonies" (hyperbole).
Tissue
- Free verse.
- Power and fragility of paper (symbolic).
- Key quotes: "smoothed and stroked and turned" (Qur'an pages), "maps too" (paper's influence), "turned into skin" (identity).
The Emigree
- Two octaves and final nine-line stanza.
- Nostalgia and idealization of homeland.
- Key quotes: "There once was a country..." (loss), "sick with tyrants" (oppression), "I comb its hair" (personified love).
Kamikaze
- Free verse.
- Conflict between duty and family.
- Key quotes: "flashing silver" (natural beauty), "turbulent inrush" (pilot’s emotional turmoil).
Checking Out Me History
- Free verse, written phonetically to reflect Caribbean accent.
- Challenges exclusion from British history.
- Key quotes: "Dem tell me" (repeated frustration), "Bandage up me eye" (blindness to heritage), "Toussaint...Napoleon" (contrasting figures).
Key Terms & Definitions
- Sonnet — a 14-line poem, often about love.
- Dramatic Monologue — poem where one character speaks to a silent listener.
- Oxymoron — two contradictory words used together.
- Free Verse — structure with no regular rhyme scheme or meter.
- Sibilance — repetition of ‘s’ sounds.
- Rule of Three — rhetorical device listing three items.
- Hyperbole — exaggerated statements not meant literally.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Download the PDF summary of these notes (when available).
- Review and memorize two or three key quotations from each poem.
- Prepare for detailed walkthrough of exam questions in the next video.