Power and Conflict Poetry Pt.1 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Power and Conflict Poetry Pt.1 Deck (35)
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1
Q

Who is the author of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and when was it written?

A

Alfred Lord Tennyson

1854

2
Q

What are the main themes in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’?

A

Conflict
War
Patriotism

3
Q

Give some points about Language, Form and Structure for ‘The Charge Of The Light Brigade’

A

Third person makes it sound like an official account
Strong rhythm created through regular rhyme, dimeter and dactylic evokes the sound of horse hooves and drums.
Repetition and anaphora emphasise the relentless forward motion of the soldiers and how they followed orders.
Personification emphasises the dangers the cavalry faced

4
Q

Give some contextual points about ‘The Charge Of The Light Brigade’

A

Based on the Crimean War where a miscommunication sent the light brigade into combat.
Tennyson was Poet Laureate at the time, which could explain the protagonist and propagandist tone.

5
Q

Give some Key Quotations for ‘The Charge Of The Light Brigade’

A

‘Into the jaws of death,/Into the mouth of Hell’
‘Then they rode back, but not,/Not the six hundred’
‘Honour the light brigade,/Noble six hundred!’

6
Q

Who is the author of ‘Exposure’ and when was it written?

A

Wilfred Owen

1917

7
Q

What are the key themes in ‘Exposure’?

A

Conflict, War, Nature, Futility of War

8
Q

Give some points about language, form and structure for ‘Exposure’

A

Para-rhyme scheme of ABBAC, together with the jarring meter, makes the poem sound uncomfortable like the physical and mental conditions of the waiting soldiers.
Alliteration, assonance and sensory imagery assail the reade
Repetition is used as a refrain at the end of each stanza: the question will. Not go away and reflects the nihilism the soldiers feel.

9
Q

Give some contextual points about ‘Exposure’

A

This is based on Owen’s first hand experiences in the trenches. The winter of 1917 was particularly bitter.
Owen described the realities of war

10
Q

Give some key quotations for ‘Exposure’

A

‘But nothing happens’
‘Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence’
‘Merciless iced east winds that knife us’
‘Snow dazed’/‘snow-dozed’

11
Q

Who is the author of ‘Bayonet Charge’ and when was it written?

A

Ted Hughes, 1957

12
Q

What are the key themes in ‘Bayonet Charge’?

A

Conflict, War, Nature, Patriotism, Effects of Conflict

13
Q

Give some points about Language, Form and Structure for ‘Bayonet Charge’

A

Verbs give a sense of frantic movement and lack of control, as does the enjambment (only four sentences in the poem)
Accumulation emphasises irrelevance of patriotism of war
Semantic fields of war and nature are juxtaposed, showing the impact of war on the land
Third person and anonymity makes the narrative universal

14
Q

Give some contextual points about ‘Bayonet Charge’

A

The soldier is shown as more weapon than man, reflecting the number of deaths in WW1 where Hughes’ father was a veteran.
Hughes’ poems often examine man’s impact on nature

15
Q

Give some key quotations for ‘Bayonet Charge’

A

‘King, honour, dignity, etcetera’
‘Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame.’
‘Stumbling’, ‘sweating’, ‘plunged’/‘almost stopped’

16
Q

Who is the author of ‘Remains’ and when was it written?

A

Simon Armitage, 2008

17
Q

What are the key themes in ‘Remains’?

A

Conflict, War, Memory, Effects of Conflict

18
Q

Give some points about Language, Form and Structure in ‘Remains’

A

Short clauses, enjambment, colloquialisms and economical unadorned language creates an impression of natural speech and creates the sense of a real-life testimony
Half-rhymes and a bouncy four beat rhythm creates a sense of ironic jollity, disrupted by shorter lines at key moments
Enjambment reflects the continuing nature of memories after war

19
Q

Give some contextual points about ‘Remains’

A

The poem is based on a real-life soldier’s experience in Iraq and his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The first person narrative mimics the interview Armitage conducted for his collection of poems called ‘The Not Dead’

20
Q

Give some key quotations for ‘Remains’

A

‘But I blink//And he bursts again[…]/Sleep, […]/Dream’
‘Tosses his guts back into his body’
‘And the drink and the drugs won’t flush him out-’

21
Q

Who is the author of ‘Poppies’ and when was it written?

A

Jane Weir, 2009

22
Q

What are the key themes in ‘Poppies’?

A

Conflict, War, Memory, Effects of Conflict

23
Q

Give some points about Language, Form and Structure for ‘Poppies’

A

Ambiguity is caused in the way the first stanza could be the mother sending her son to school or war, and the uncertainty of his fate
The form of first person dramatic monologue allows us to experience the inner emotions of the speaker
Frequent symbols of remembrance and peace as well as metaphors of material and domesticity highlight powerful emotions

24
Q

Give some contextual points about ‘Poppies’

A

The setting of the poem is also ambiguous, as there are suggestions that it is a modern poem but also frequent links to the past and memory
Published in ‘The Guardian’

25
Q

Give some key quotations for ‘Poppies’

A

‘My stomach busy/making tucks, darts, pleats’
‘Later a single dove flew from the pear tree’
‘I listened, hoping to hear/Your playground voice’

26
Q

Who is the author of ‘War Photographer’ and when was it written’?

A

Carol Ann Duffy, 1985

27
Q

What are the key themes in ‘War Photographer’?

A

Conflict, War, Effects of War, Futility of Conflict

28
Q

Give some points about Language, Form and Structure in ‘War Photographer’

A

The poem uses religious imagery to reverently describe the light and photographer to underline the importance of the job.
Contrasts are made between the hellish war zones and peaceful homeland; and intensity of war with the indifference of the readers
The regular rhyme scheme and stanza length are neat and precise, representing the disciplined way the photographer does his job.

29
Q

Give some contextual points about ‘War Photographer’

A

Photographs, in the past, had to be carefully developed under a red light
This is an interesting and unusual perspective on war from a job which is dangerous

30
Q

Give some key quotations for ‘War Photographer’

A

‘Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows’

‘Home again […] to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet/of running children in a nightmare heat’

31
Q

Who is the author of ‘Checking Out Me History’ and when was it written?

A

John Agard, 2007

32
Q

What are the key themes in ‘Checking Out Me History’?

A

Conflict
Identity
Power

33
Q

Give some points about Language, Form and Structure in ‘Checking Out Me History’

A

No-standard English is used to show the difference between the speaker’s own culture, and the taught history of white culture
A repeated quatrain is used to introduce a famous white character from history before contrasting them with an ignored black person
Enjambment and lack of punctuation represent a rejection of white history and expections

34
Q

Give some contextual points about ‘Checking Out Me History’

A

Even now, curriculum is predominantly established by white, middle class men. We are not taught about other cultures, or the history of those who we were in conflict with.

35
Q

Give some key quotations for ‘Checking Out Me History’

A

‘Dem’ (17 times) and ‘Dem tell me’
‘Blind me to me own identity’
‘But now I checking out me own history/I carving out me own identity’
‘What happened to de Caribs’