Poetry Anthology Flashcards
(76 cards)
1
Q
A Wife in London - Context
A
Thomas Hardy’s poem about a wife receiving tragic news of her husband’s death in the Boer War, highlighting war’s impact at home.
2
Q
A Wife in London - Structure
A
Two-part structure: tragedy and irony. Uses telegram-style dashes and pathetic fallacy with fog imagery.
3
Q
Afternoons - Context
A
Philip Larkin’s poem on the mundanity of suburban family life, focusing on routine and the passage of youth.
4
Q
Afternoons - Structure
A
Three eight-line stanzas, enjambment creates sense of ongoing routine; third-person tone brings detachment.
5
Q
As Imperceptibly as Grief - “As imperceptibly as grief”
A
- Simile compares fading summer to unnoticed grief.
- ‘Imperceptibly’ stresses gradual process.
- Sets reflective tone.
6
Q
As Imperceptibly as Grief - Context
A
Emily Dickinson’s meditation on gradual loss and the passage of time, equating disappearance of summer with fading grief.
7
Q
As Imperceptibly as Grief - “Our summer made her light escape”
A
- Personifies summer as departing guest.
- ‘Light escape’ suggests both freedom and loss.
- Reflects acceptance of change.
8
Q
As Imperceptibly as Grief - Structure
A
Four quatrains with slant rhyme and irregular meter, evoking natural speech and gradual change.
9
Q
As Imperceptibly as Grief - “The dusk drew earlier in”
A
- Imagery of day’s end parallels life’s decline.
- ‘Dusk’ evokes melancholy.
- Marks transition to dark/grief.
10
Q
As Imperceptibly as Grief - “The morning foreign shone”
A
- ‘Foreign’ implies unfamiliarity of new phase.
- Morning light contrasts past warmth.
- Suggests grief transforms perception.
11
Q
As Imperceptibly as Grief - “The summer lapsed away”
A
- Personification shows summer as fading life.
- ‘Lapsed’ implies gentle decline.
- Symbolises end of joyful period.
12
Q
Cozy Apologia - Context
A
Rita Dove’s affectionate poem reflecting on domestic comfort and love during a hurricane, celebrating mundane intimacy.
13
Q
Cozy Apologia - Structure
A
Free verse with conversational tone and varied line lengths, creating relaxed, intimate feel.
14
Q
Death of a Naturalist - “All year the flax-dam festered”
A
- Synaesthesia of decay (‘festered’) evokes revulsion.
- Sets ominous tone.
- Contrasts idealised nature.
15
Q
Death of a Naturalist - Context
A
Seamus Heaney’s reflection on childhood innocence in nature, turning to fear and disillusionment upon discovery of its darker aspects.
16
Q
Death of a Naturalist - “I sickened, turned, and ran”
A
- Triadic structure shows escalating panic.
- Short sentence mirrors abrupt escape.
- Highlights complete rejection.
17
Q
Death of a Naturalist - “Poised like mud grenades”
A
- Simile likens frogs to weapons.
- Bilabial plosives (‘b’) mimic harshness.
- Creates sense of threat.
18
Q
Death of a Naturalist - Structure
A
Two stanzas with a volta at stanza two, shifting from wonder to terror. Blank verse allows conversational tone.
19
Q
Death of a Naturalist - “Then one hot day when fields were rank”
A
- Volta signalling turning point.
- ‘Rank’ suggests rotting and disgust.
- Heat intensifies tension.
20
Q
Dulce et Decorum Est - Context
A
Wilfred Owen’s harrowing account of WWI, exposing gruesome realities and condemning patriotic propaganda.
21
Q
Dulce et Decorum Est - Structure
A
Irregular stanz a lengths with ABAB rhyme and vivid imagery; final lines address reader directly.
22
Q
Hawk Roosting - Context
A
Ted Hughes’s monologue from the perspective of a hawk, exploring themes of power, control, and nature’s brutality.
23
Q
Hawk Roosting - “I kill where I please”
A
- Direct statement of power and freedom.
- No moral hesitation highlighted.
- Reflects natural brutality.
24
Q
Hawk Roosting - “I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed”
A
- Position at top symbolizes dominance.
- Closed eyes imply confidence in control.
- Sets tone of assured power.
25
Hawk Roosting - "It took the whole of Creation to produce my foot"
- Hyperbole underscores self-importance.
- Claims cosmic significance.
- Blurs line between creature and creator.
26
Hawk Roosting - Structure
Six quatrains, end-stopped lines give tone of authority; first-person perspective underlines arrogance.
27
Hawk Roosting - "The allotment of death"
- ‘Allotment’ implies ownership of death.
- Shows hawk’s belief in entitlement.
- Blends natural and human concepts.
28
Hawk Roosting - "The earth's face upward for my inspection"
- Personification of earth shows hawk’s arrogance.
- Imagery of inspection suggests superiority.
- ‘Face upward’ implies world subservient.
29
Living Space - Context
Imtiaz Dharker’s poem depicts slum life in Mumbai, symbolising resilience and hope amid poverty.
30
Living Space - Structure
Free verse with irregular line lengths and enjambment, reflecting instability of living conditions.
31
London - Context
William Blake’s critique of social injustice in 18th-century London, highlighting oppression, poverty, and corruption.
32
London - Structure
Four quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme and regular meter, reflecting relentless suffering.
33
Mametz Wood - Context
Owen Sheers’s reflection on WWI Battle of Mametz Wood, recalling how farmers uncover soldiers’ remains and honoring their sacrifice.
34
Mametz Wood - Structure
Free verse with shifting tenses and enjambment; long sentences mirror reflective tone and unearthed memories.
35
Ozymandias - "And on the pedestal, these words appear"
- Introduction to ironic inscription.
- ‘Pedestal’ implies intended permanence.
- Juxtaposition with ruins.
36
Ozymandias - Context
Percy Shelley’s sonnet on the ruins of a statue of Ramesses II, warning against hubris and ephemeral power.
37
Ozymandias - "I met a traveller from an antique land"
- Frame narrative creates distance in time.
- ‘Antique land’ evokes exotic mystery.
- Sets up story of ruined power.
38
Ozymandias - "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings"
- Arrogant self-proclamation.
- Title ‘king of kings’ shows hubris.
- Foreshadows ironic downfall.
39
Ozymandias - "Sneer of cold command"
- Alliteration emphasises harshness.
- ‘Sneer’ conveys cruelty.
- Captures sculptor’s portrayal of arrogance.
40
Ozymandias - Structure
Sonnet form with irregular rhyme scheme (ABABACDCEDEFEF); caesuras mimic broken statue.
41
Ozymandias - "The lone and level sands stretch far away"
- Imagery of endless desert.
- Consonance ‘lone/level’ creates bleak tone.
- Symbolises nature’s triumph over man.
42
Ozymandias - "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone"
- Imagery of broken monument.
- Oxymoron ‘vast… trunkless’ highlights incompleteness.
- Symbolises decay of empire.
43
She Walks in Beauty - Context
Lord Byron’s Romantic celebration of a woman’s physical and inner beauty, inspired by seeing a woman in mourning attire.
44
She Walks in Beauty - Structure
Three six-line stanzas with ABABAB rhyme and iambic tetrameter, reflecting harmony.
45
Sonnet 43 - Context
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s declaration of love in ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’, written during her courtship with Robert Browning.
46
Sonnet 43 - "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."
- Rhetorical question invites reflection on love.
- Listing gives sense of abundance and variety.
- Personal tone draws the reader into her thoughts.
47
Sonnet 43 - "I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise."
- Suggests selfless love without desire for recognition.
- Purity evokes religious connotations.
- Emphasises sincerity over show.
48
Sonnet 43 - "I love thee to the depth and breadth and height"
- Triplet of spatial metaphors shows boundlessness.
- Hyperbole emphasises intensity of love.
- Three-dimensional imagery conveys total immersion.
49
Sonnet 43 - "I shall but love thee better after death"
- Expresses belief in eternal love beyond mortality.
- Spiritual dimension underscores depth.
- Contrasts earthly life with lasting devotion.
50
Sonnet 43 - Structure
Petrarchan sonnet: an octave (ABBAABBA) and a sestet (CDC DCD) in iambic pentameter.
51
The Manhunt - Context
Simon Armitage’s poem reveals the emotional and physical scars of a soldier returning from war, inspired by a real soldier injured in Bosnia.
52
The Manhunt - Structure
Written in couplets with irregular rhyme and meter, reflecting fragmentation of body and mind.
53
The Prelude (Extract) - "A huge peak, black and huge"
- Repetition emphasises overwhelming size.
- Contrast ‘black’ suggests menace.
- Foreshadows awe and fear.
54
The Prelude (Extract) - Context
Wordsworth’s autobiographical account of youthful experiences on a frozen lake, reflecting Romantic ideals of nature’s power.
55
The Prelude (Extract) - "I struck and struck again"
- Repetition of ‘struck’ shows panic.
- Suggests loss of control on ice.
- Dynamic action amid stillness.
56
The Prelude (Extract) - "No feeling but the time"
- Abstract concept of time dominates.
- Suggests timeless awe.
- Heightens Romantic sublime.
57
The Prelude (Extract) - "One summer evening (led by her)"
- Parenthetical adds intimacy.
- ‘Led’ personifies nature’s pull.
- Sets reflective, nostalgic tone.
58
The Prelude (Extract) - Structure
Blank verse with enjambment, mimicking natural speech and movement on ice; shifts from excitement to fear.
59
The Prelude (Extract) - "The orange sky died away"
- Personification of sky’s demise.
- ‘Died’ implies end of innocence.
- Reflects loss of childhood joy.
60
The Soldier - "A body of England’s, breathing English air"
- Emphasises unity between soldier and homeland.
- Conveys spiritual continuity beyond death.
- Reinforces patriotic pride.
61
The Soldier - Context
Rupert Brooke’s patriotic sonnet written at the start of WWI, idealising martyrdom and sacrifice for England.
62
The Soldier - "Give, and give, and give again"
- Repetition underscores total selflessness.
- Suggests endless devotion.
- Mirrors Christian themes of giving.
63
The Soldier - "If I should die, think only this of me"
- Conditional phrasing focuses on legacy.
- Expresses selfless concern for remembrance.
- Sets tone of noble sacrifice.
64
The Soldier - "In the rich earth a richer dust concealed"
- ‘Richer dust’ implies value in sacrifice.
- Earthly imagery roots soldier in land.
- Suggests death enhances, not diminishes, worth.
65
The Soldier - Structure
Petrarchan sonnet with volta at line 9; optimistic tone in octave shifts to reflective in sestet.
66
The Soldier - "That there’s some corner of a foreign field / That is for ever England"
- Metaphor for soldier’s eternal presence.
- Sacrificial patriotism immortalises him.
- Suggests global reach of national identity.
67
To Autumn - "And gathering swallows twitter in the skies"
- Onomatopoeia evokes sound of swallows.
- Symbolises end of season and beginning of migration.
- Reflects cycle of life.
68
To Autumn - Context
John Keats’s ode celebrating autumn’s abundance and reflecting on themes of maturation and the passage of time.
69
To Autumn - Structure
Three 11-line stanzas in iambic pentameter, each describing a stage of autumn: ripening, harvest, and decline.
70
Valentine - Context
Carol Ann Duffy’s unconventional love poem using an onion as a metaphor for the complexities and pains of love.
71
Valentine - "It is a moon wrapped in brown paper"
- Simile suggests hidden beauty.
- Moon symbolises romance and cycles.
- Brown paper implies plain exterior.
- Onion represents layers and potential tears.
- Unexpected gift highlights honesty.
72
Valentine - "It will blind you with tears"
- Metaphor for emotional pain of love.
- ‘Blind’ implies overwhelming nature.
- Links physical reaction to emotional sorrow.
73
Valentine - "Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips"
- ‘Fierce kiss’ suggests lasting impact.
- Kiss metaphor for emotional and physical intimacy.
- Contrasts softness of romantic clichés.
74
Valentine - "Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring"
- Metaphor for commitment and constraint.
- Platinum symbolises value but also weight.
- Shrinking loops imply loss of freedom.
75
Valentine - "Not a red rose or a satin heart"
- Rejection of clichéd symbols of love.
- ‘Not’ creates a dismissive tone.
- Sets stage for unconventional metaphor.
76
Valentine - Structure
Free verse with simple, direct language and irregular stanzas, reflecting unpredictability of love.
