poetry context

Question 1

exposure

Answer 1

1. wilfred owen - pursued a career in church but found it hypocritical as it failed to care for its dependants so became a soldier
2. written whilst Owen was fighting in the trenches, war was romanticised so Owen exposed horrific realities.

Question 2

storm on the island

Answer 2

1. death of a naturalist - heaneys first collection - demonstrates the violence of nature rather than beauty
2. conflict - ongoing conflict between unionists, protestant and nationalist, intensified in 1968

Question 3

london

Answer 3

1. Industrial revolution - “chartered” means governments gave land and resource rights to the wealthy, creating monopolies.
2. French Revolution - inspiration as it demonstrated how the oppressed could seize power

Question 4

poppies

Answer 4

1. jane weir - born 1963 with 2 sons, influenced her desire to explore what caused young boys to go to war, also a textile designer
2. poppies grew on battlefields, symbol of remembrance. armistice sunday was a way to remember WW2.

Question 5

kamikaze

Answer 5

1. kamikaze pilots - flew manned suicide missions into targets, last resort
2. named after a typhoon that wiped out enemy ships, nature is the true source of power
3. very patriotic culture, better to be killed than named a coward

Question 6

checking out me history

Answer 6

1. John Agard - born in Guyana and received a british education due to colonisation. formative years lived under british rule, however, he saw his country become independent, realising how much of his identity he was deprived of.

Question 7

the emigree

Answer 7

1. carol rumens - born in London but lived in belfast and Wales.
2. the emigree - in the collection “thinking of Skins”, centred of political consciousness between Russia and east Europe, focus on identity and culture

Question 8

charge of the light brigade

Answer 8

1. the Crimean war - first war properly documented, British got involved, unpopular as it was seen as unnecessary. light brigade often members of the lower class, lightly armed on horseback
2. battle of balaclava- catastrophic battle as a result of a misunderstood order, from commander in chief
   Tennyson - experienced intense poverty, given the role of poet Laurence, duty to glorify war and defend positions of the aristocracy to the public

Question 9

the prelude

Answer 9

1. wordsworth - developed a deep affection for lake district in attempts to escape his difficult childhood
2. romantics - written in the enlightenment period, written to challenge peoples viewpoints

Question 10

ozymandias

Answer 10

1. romantics - appreciation of nature and the sublime, rejection of enlightenment + institutions
2. Ramesses 2 - statue discovered at time of Shelley’s writing, remembered for his tyranny and military exploits
3. king geroge 2 - poem written in his reign, remember for oppression and tyranny. during his rule, the 13 colonies rebelled.