poetry context Flashcards
(18 cards)
manhunt context
written about Eddie Beddoes who is a british soldier (was shot 3 times) who served in the Bosnian war and suffered PTSD as a result
Blazon poetry traditionally erotically describes the lovers body
written from the perspective of Laura, eddies wife
poem was part of set which highlighted the damaging effects of PTSD
sonnet 43 context
a romantic poet in the romantic movement
sonnet 43 is part of a collection of 44 sonnets she wrote about her husband in secret before they married
she married robert Browning who was another successful victorian poet and they ran away to Florence, Italy against her fathers wishes
london context
industrial revolution + workhouses for children and capitalist use of slavery
recent french revolution against aristocracy inspired romantic poets as they believed they could do something similar and improve living conditions
romantic poets loved personal freedom
suffering of the city - prostitution, disease, hunger, corrupted church
he rejected established religion as it failed to help the poor and sick
the soldier context
was English poet who wrote lots of idealistic war sonnets during WW1
Georgian poetry presents English countryside as a paradise
he died from a mosquito bite on a ship before ever reaching the front lines
he caught the optimism of the opening war months which strongly contrasts other war poets who experienced battle
cozy apologia context
hurricane Floyd (US deadliest 1999) stops her from seeing her husband as they live in NC and that is mostly where it hit - 6.5 bil in damages
autobiographical
served as poet laureate from 1993-95 -> youngest ever and first african american
Literary allusion to the “apologia” (defence of…) form of writing - married german writer as a african american women and at the time the interracial relationship would have been frowned apon
valentine context
radical, often likes to challenge traditional social stereotypes
likes to break conventions and spins established ideas of love
wrote this poem when challenged to by a radio station to write a traditional love poem
a wife in london context
Boer war fought by an Imperialist Britain in south Africa between 1899-1902 - perspective is biased by positive British media accounts
Urban London was smoggy and recruitment for the Boer War revealed poor health of men
written during industrial revolution
Hardy wrote much of his poetry about war and the lives of soldiers in the 19th century, and in particular the effects of war on the men and their families at home
death of a naturalist context
grew up in rural northern Ireland surrounded by nature
NI was in the midst of conflict between Catholics and protestants
grew up on a farm with his dad as the farmer who was known as the ‘farmer poet’
his brother died at 4 when Heaney was young and as a result his poems are about loss of innocence
hawk roosting context
grew up in rural Yorkshire, enjoying hunting and fishing and was fascinated by the nature around him
he was interested in shamanism were your soul inhabits other beings and you see through their eyes
he wanted to show nature thinking
He studied Archaeology and Anthropology at university – all about human history within nature and mythology. He explores the ways that humans act and nature acts.
afternoons context
he lived in an apartment overlooking a park
was part of the Movement poets (satirical eye and sardonic tongue)
He had a gloomy persona (many of his poems had profound bleakness) also had interesting perspectives
lots of new parks and housing estates were being built up at the time
women were expected to stay at home and look after the children at time
dulce et decorum est context
WW1 suffering/death in a chlorine attack
written to oppose the propaganda of patriotic poems that tried to encourage young men that going to war was brave
he witnessed first hand warfare at the front, he saw many people die and died a week before the end of the war
ozymandias context
was part of the romantic movement - believed in power of imagination and freedom and were writing in a time great change (french revolution)
was anti monarchy -> no king is immortal no matter how much power they had
about king Rameses ( who was a powerful egyptian pharaoh who believed that he was the mightiest king of all time) whose broken statue had just been uncovered and was being taken to London
mametz wood context
welsh poet visits site of slaughter of welsh soldiers in WW1 somme battlefields where there were 4000 Welsh casualties as generals thought it would take only hours to take whereas it took 5 days
written 80 years after battle
Welsh bravery was never really acknowledged
response to a photo of 20 dead WW1 soldiers all with linked arms in a shallow grave
the prelude context
romanticism; the sublime
lived in the lake district
ice skating was the new fashion but the English romantics made it an escape into solitude
long autobiographical poem he worked on until his death
romantics connected winter with a counter-Enlightenment response, being a place of instinct, emotion and memory
she walks in beauty context
romanticism’s preoccupation with emotion, beauty and nature over reason
Byron was a leading figure of the Romantic movement and liked to break conventions.
Byron’s private life was very public and he was known for his many relationships with different women.
alludes to the literary courtly love tradition of medieval period of placing a female on a pedestal, emphasising perfection
living space context
set in the Mumbai slums in India where up to a million people live in poverty as a community
Dharker grew up in Scotland but was born in Pakistan so understands a range of cultures
She films documentaries in India supporting work with women and children so has a in depth knowledge of mumbai
to autumn context
romantic poet - love of nature and emotional connection to nature
very traditional poet
composed after a countryside walk
His family had died to illness and he died to Illness at only age 24 - had awareness of death
Ode poem which celebrates beauty and sensuousness
imperceptibly as grief context
Lived in rural New England near a graveyard with lots of nature
Lived most of her life in solitude as a recluse (avoids talking to others)
had a livelong fascination of illness, death and dying
