Poetry Analysis Flashcards
(56 cards)
The Prelude
“huge peak, black and huge”
“huge and mighty forms”
the simplicity of the lexis reminds us of his youth and innocence
-the adjectives “black” and “huge” contrast his initial eloquent language, reverting him to a vulnerable child, stricken by fear
-the ability to experience such powerful emotions of awe and terror is something unique to the hypersensitivity of children, Wordsworth suggests they are more connected with the natural environment
repetition of “huge”
-demonstrates an overt loss of eloquence, nature is inexplicable to him now
-it gives the impression of stuttering which could be a physical response to fear and intimidation
the speaker is incabable of articulating what this means or identifying these “forms”
-imbues them with an immaterial and ethereal quality and introduces this sense of spirituality within the poem, nature’s omnipotence becomes almost a spiritual force
The Prelude
“troubled pleasure”
Wordsworth idealises the perception of the world that is exclusive to childhood
-the oxymoron depicts how childhood permits and unorthodox blending of emotions
-the notion of “troubled pleasure” sets the undertone for the entire poem which combines awe and fear to convey the immense power of nature
The Prelude
“(led by her)”
suggests that manking underestimates nature’s power
the personification of nature initially presents her as a maternal figure
-within poetry, femininity is often associated with gentleness and beauty
-he is lulled into a sense of security that nature is a compassionate entity
-also and allusion the the concept of ‘Mother Nature’
-humanity is susceptible to being blinded by hubris
The Prelude
“glittering idly in the moon”
“elfin pinnace”
“little boat”
Wordsworth recalls the events of the poem through a mythical lense
-conveys the experience s fairytale-like
-the rhetoric of magic extends to his perception of the natural environment
My Last Duchess
“I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together.”
the use of semicolon gives a sense of finality to the statements and the caesura implies death
the Duke’s insecure and paranoid nature eventually culminates in him committing uxoricide (wife murder)
euphemistic language/euphemism suggests that she was killed
-also demonstrates the Duke’s abuse of power but also his cowardice as he lacks the courage to do the heinous deed himself
“I gave commands” suggests she was killed on request
My Last Duchess
“I choose Never to stoop.”
shows his pride and demonstrates his narcissistic and patriarchal value system
-he feels arguing with a woman to be beneath him
-because he views himself as superior to her and feels that she lacks the intellectual facilities to undertand him
My Last Duchess
Start: “Fra Pandolf’s hands”
End: “Claus of Innsbruck”
circular structure
Start:
-making an allusion to a famous artist of the time
-suggests that he values the name of the artists more than the Duchess it is a painting of
End:
-similar to the start, another allusion of another famous artists to show off his wealth and power
-shows how quickly he forgets about his dead wife who he previosly claimed to be devoted to
-ironic as he has just been talking about how devoted he will be to his new wife
My Last Duchess
“that spot of joy”
repetition
-shows his wife’s blushes bother him
-implies that people believed it was not only him that could make her happy (though he couldn’t)
“spot” is a pun between a mark, showing her face had some joy in it, and a spot as in a small amount, implying she was not happy
-hints he was jealous
The Charge of the Light Brigade
“Storm’d as with shot and shell”
sibilance emphasises the swiftness of the charge and the idea of ammunition flying towards them
harsh plosives ‘t’ and ‘d’ to show the repetitive pain of the soldiers in the belligerent war
-this creates a harsh painful sound on the ears to impress the pain of war upon the reader
The Charge of the Light Brigade
“horse and hero fell”
euphemistic language to avoid criticising the higher powers and avoiding portraying the true nature of war
-he avoids the barbaric truth
-alliteration also emphasises the continuous nature of the massacre
glorifies the men to make them seem more like symbols of bravery than real humans
The Charge of the Light Brigade
“Some one had blunder’d”
the ambiguity in the usage of the word “someone” shows how there was a profound lack of accountability for the massacre, with those in power not being held accountable for their actions
-also shows how Tennyson was unable to criticise the aristocracy as freely as he would have liked
The Charge of the Light Brigade
“rode the six hundred”
epistrophe/epiphora (repitition at end of stanza)
-emphasises the soldier’s heroism as the end of every stanza
-Tennyson lists the dangers and perils that they face but always ends by emphasising the soldier’s valour
Storm on the Island
“spits like a tame cat turned savage”
simile - the poet uses a very familiar image to describe something that is powerful and majestic, this undermines the strength of the weather, suggesting it is only scary is we choose to let it
throughout the poem the personification shifts to zoomorphism
-this could highlight how nature could be deceptve with its apparent beauty or innocence but in fact it has the capacity for violence and brutality
the juxatposition of “tame” and “savage” is used to portray the mercurial (unpredictable) nature of the storm
the alliterative ‘t’ sound mimics the sound of water hitting the islander’s homes
-the poet plays on the readers senses to immerse them within the storm and convey how overwhelming it can be
Storm on the Island
title
the title is an allusion to ‘Stormont’ the government building of Northern Island
-this a suggestion that laced beneath the natural imagery of the poem there are political undertones
Storm on the Island
“pummels”, “bombarded”, “space is salvo”
semantic field of battle
-lexis relating to military violence could indicate that is more political that we might initially expect
-Heaney could be writing about the fear that overwhelms a community when violence is on the horizon, like an incoming storm
Storm on the Island
“company”
there is a sense thar he feels betryed by nature
-there is repetition of the noun “company” to establish the myth that nature is mankind’s friend
-shows that the typically celebrated beauty of nature can be misleading
Bayonet Charge
“suddenly he awoke and was running”
in media res
-unpredictable, chaotic
“awoke”, startled disorientated
“he”, remains nameless as this is the experience of many
Bayonet Charge
“king, honour, human dignity, etcetera”
listing of key motivations to go to war, undermined by “ectcetera”
Bayonet Charge
“his terror’s touchy dynamite”
metaphor, he became a weapon rather than a human being
consonance of ‘t’ sounds, emphasises adrenaline
we don’t know how it ends, which mirrors the sense of uncertaincy at the start of the poem
Bayonet Charge
“cold clockwork”
he is insignificant
harsh alliterative consonants
-emphasises the mechanical and emotionless nature of war
“clockwork”, war will keepp going regardless of what happens around them
Remains
“probably armed, possibly not”
repition shows how he is still wracked with doubt and guilt
cyclical structure shows how he keeps coming back to this doubt, his guilt is the crux of his suffering
Remains
“Then I’m on leave. But I blink”
caesure, highlights the discordant nature of the soldiers mindset
demonstrates that despite the fact that the soldier is on leave, he still sees what happened every time he blinks
“but” implies that there is always more, his suffering is never truly over
Remains
“three of a kind”
“all of the same mind”
war causes soldiers to lose their humanity
shows how they are all conditioned to be the same
“three of a kind” could also be refering to Poker, showing how these events may be just a game to the soldiers
“a kind” demonstrates how war has stolen all individuality and uniqueness from them as there is nothing to separate them now
Poppies
“sellotape bandaged around my hand”
imagery of a domestic act
“bandaged” allusion to injury
-stems from her anxiety of him being wounded in war
-alternatively, emotional injuries, “bandaged” herself to cope
a “bandage” is merely a temporary cover, it does not heal wounds thus it is only superficial protection
