Poems Context

Question 1

The Manhunt- Simon Armitage

Answer 1

Strong concern for social issues.
Writing for the marginalised and repressed.
Compared to Wordsworth

Question 2

Sonnet 43- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Answer 2

19th century poet 1806-1861
Poem from 'Sonnets from the Portugese' addressed to her husband Rober Browning.
Written before she met him.
Fan of Wordworth.
Acting in n unconventional way.
Wrote about gender equality.

Question 3

London- William Blake

Answer 3

1757-1827
Written in 1794
Romantic poem.
Anti-establishment as it directly challenges the inequality in society.
Prophetic poem-warning about society
From collection 'Songs of Innocence'

Question 4

She Walks in Beauty- Lord Byron

Answer 4

George Lord Byron
1788-1824
English romantic poet
Upper class
Fought against oppression.

Question 5

Living Space- Imitiaz Dharker

Answer 5

Describes the slums of Mumbai- where people from all over India migrate in hope of a better life.
Born in 1954
Scottish Muslim Calvinist
^irreconcilable difference

Question 6

As Imperceptibly as Grief- Emily Dickinson

Answer 6

1830-1886
One of America’s greatest and most original poets
Lived in almost complete isolation.
Admirer of Keats
Calviniism-strict religioud faith follows the bible strictly.
Metaphysical poetry- comparing unconnected ideas.

Question 7

A Wife in London- Thomas Hardy

Answer 7

Victorian
Written in 1899
Novels set in a fictional place called Wessex
Inexorability of human destiny and fate.
Poor background
Boer War is the one mentioned in the poem and he was accused of pro Boer loyalties.
Individual tragedy-one woman

Question 8

Death of a Naturalist- Seamus Heaney

Answer 8

20th century poet
Published 1966
regional poet- writes about himself and gives voice to the voiceless and is working class
Loss of influence throughout the poem
Evloves contemporary conflict ‘The Troubles’- idea of imminent attack

Question 9

Hawk Roosting- Ted Hughes

Answer 9

1930-1998-modern English poet
From West Yorkshire
Married to Sylvia Plath
Visceral poems
Passionate about nature-  wanted to capture the aliveness of animals

Question 10

To Autumn-John Keats

Answer 10

Romantic poet
Working class-snobbery towards him
Wrote an ode- long poem towards something
Healing power of imagination
Believed the world is mysterious and there doesn’t have to be an answer for everything-negative capability.
Potentially knew he was going to die when he was writing the poem.

Question 11

Afternoons- Philip Larkin

Answer 11

Working class poet
20th century poet
Characterised by detailed observations of everyday life- celebrating the ordinary
Gives voice to the voiceless
Influenced by Hardy
Anti-romantic poetry- wrote about things that hadn’t been written about.
Post war poem-1959

Question 12

Dulce et Decorum Est- Wilfred Owen

Answer 12

Dedicated to Jessie Pope- wrote poem as a response
Killed a week before the war ended
Leading poets of 1st World War
Inspired by shell shock hospital-became ill and went there
First hand experience

Question 13

Ozymandias- Percy Bysshe Shelley

Answer 13

2nd generation romantic poet
Wealthy-went to Oxford- got expelled for radical ideas
Died in a boating accident at 29
Radical thinker
Poem about power of nature
Importance of the arts

Question 14

Mametz Wood- Owen Sheers

Answer 14

Inspired to write poem after he heard what had happened to the farmers and visited the battlefield.
21st century poet-wrote poem
Giving voice to the voiceless.

Question 15

Excerpt from The Prelude- William Wordsworth

Answer 15

Romantic poet
Believed in equality between all men.
Published after his death- part of this poem
Belief in challenging the social order- French Revolution
Autobiographical poem

Question 16

What is romanticism?

Answer 16

Early 19th century.
Expression of person feeling and interest in the natural world.
Challenging society.
Desire fro equality.
Power of imagination.