3. Look for recurring themes that you could talk about
4. See if you can pick out language techniques in the poem
5. Are there any structural points that are strong enough to talk about?
1. Read the poem a few times, and try to get the gist of what it's about on the surface
2. Try and find any hidden meanings, hidden between the obvious ones
How to approach an unseen poetry question
Power & Conflict Poetry
Ozymandias
Sonnet, loose
iambic pentameter
Broken rhyme scheme
represents the broken
statue
Full of irony, "king of kings"
to rubble
London
regular alternate rhyme
scheme, reflecting the
walking of the narrator
About the misuse of power
from some and the total
lack for others
"Manacles" suggests slavery, but soldiers
sigh "runs in blood down palace walls"
shows a clear contrast in those with and
without power
The Prelude: Stealing the Boat
No structure but iambic pentameter, giving a
breathless fell to it, mirroring the
breathlessness of the narrator
The conflict is between
man and nature
Increasing repetition of "and" shows the
amount of things going through the
narrator's head as the poem goes on
My Last Dutchess
Dramatic monologue, shows
how one person (narrator) has
the power
Caesuras and enjambment
capture the tone of the
narrator
rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter represents the
romantic aspect of similar poems of the time, contrasting
sinister meaning of this one
Charge of the Light Brigade
People with power are often wrong but
people with little power have to follow the
orders
The soldiers were loyal and knew what they were
doing was a mistake but did it anyway, giving them
power of bravery
Repetition of "death" emphasises that they knew the order is wrong and would
only result in death
Exposure
Based on war so heavily relates to conflict.
But the conflict indicated to most was that
between nature and man
The conflict between man and nature is ironic,
as humans have made machines, guns, bombs
and other weaponry but nature still does more
damage than all of man's creations
Caesuras and repetition give an endless feeling of boredom and waiting, for
something that will probably be never come, or will be beaten by death
Storm on the Island
Irony between them saying they're prepared, but then getting battered, by
nature in the poem, and by other humans in the fighting between northern and
mainland Island
The poem is about nature attacking the
villagers on an island but the deeper meaning is
of the fighting between northern and mainland
Island
"Salvo", "strafe", "blast", "bombarded",
"fear" all show the fighting, the first two
being directly related to war, not really to
nature
Bayonet Charge
Alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia
bring what is going on to life for the reader
"Stumbling across" is awkward to read, just as it would be awkward to run in a
very muddy field, further bringing the poem to life. "bullets smacking the belly",
"lugged" and "numb" draw attention to the similes
Blank verse really emphasies the difficulty he
has running in the field, and him keeping on
stumbling
Remains
The last stanza is a couplet, leaving it
open and on a dramatic note
"End of story, except not really" gives a controversial note
to it, making the reader contemplate their own similar
experiences
Enjambment and caesuras mirror the
natural speech pattern of the narrator
Poppies
The peom focuses on conflict, but from the
perspective of those that the soldiers leave
behind, both when they leave to fight, but
also if/when they die
"Tucks", "darts" & "pleats" mirror her emotions with her son being
a way, and the "ornamental stitch" is like a connection between
the mother and son
The poppies being used to remember those who
lost their lives gives the reader the idea that her
son died, even though this is not explicitly told in
the poem
War
Photographer
The red light gives a sinister glow to the poem, and brings out his memories, like
the chemicals bring out the photos
War photographers are very brave people, as their
job is very dangerous, so, as a reader, you can get a
small insight as to what his memories might entail
"Rural England" is a large contrast between his
home and where he has to go to get his pictures
Tissue
The tissue is an extended metaphor for life. The ways things can be altered
by tissue are explored int he poem, like how religious books (Qur'an in
particular) can alter the way people see things, in a religious way
Other ways paper is used are listed, and
they all have a link to a major aspect in
modern life, like receipts link to money,
and maps link to journeys
The poem looks at conflict and power as the
power of destruction and that humans make our
own conflict by holding on to things that have
happened in the past too tight
The
Emigrée
The conflict int his poem is that between your emotions
and memories, as the poet is torn between her
childhood memories and adulthood understanding
The first stanza is where the poet tries to capture her memories, the second being
where she tries to build on the details of them, and the third is when she gets the
courage to stand up to the modern, dark place the memory was based around
The "sunlight" shows how she is trying to remember
on the nice place the city was, not the dark place it is
now, helping add to the inner conflict in her head
Checking Out Me History
Irregular rhymes and enjambment emphasise his anger at the
power of British people dictating what people learn and what they
don't
The poet is at conflict with "dem" showing how he
has a conflict with himself as he doesn't know who
he really is
The poet writes in a phonetic style trying to
get across who he wants to be, not who he
is made to be
Kamikaze
The poem ends in a couplet, emphasising the
dramatic themes in the poem, but offers not
opinion, just like the family of the pilot give no
opinion of him, after doing what he did
The poem has a regular syllable patter, with differing
length, giving the poem a nostalgic feel but also
mirroring the waves, which represent helpfulness as they
aided his decision to turn arround
He has inner conflict, because he doesn't know "which had been the better way
to die",as in whether it would have been better to finish the suicide mission and
be deemed a hero, or to not complete it, still be alive, but be shunned and
disowned
Animal Farm
Education
Boxer is lacking in
education but makes
it up with strength
Benjamin was a highly educated animal but didn't use it, until it was too late. He would
watch the proceedings of the farm, knowing exactly what the pigs were doing but not
doing anything about it
Pride
Boxer constantly repeats "I will work
harder"
Corruption
Naivety of the working class
Class struggle
Mollie represented the upper class, so when she
was asked to work, she was confused as to why
because all her life she has had to do none, and was
living a life of luxury, so when this is taken away, she
has no idea what to do
Violence
Napoleon uses his power as
violence, when he gets the dogs
to kill the animals
Nota:
The idea of animalism is equality but as soon as he could, Napoleon put himself above everyone else
Mr Jones was violent to the animals at
first, and when Napoleon takes over,
the violence stays on the farm
Equality
Boxer is sent to the knacker's when he could no
longer work, even though he put the most work
into the farm
Nota:
Boxer is not educated, so has no idea he is being exploited
Propaganda
Nota:
Napoleon used propaganda to manipulate the idea of utopia
Napoleon used Squealer as
propaganda to get all of the animals
on his side
Squealer represents propaganda
Utopia
Napoleon abused the animal's idea of
utopia for his own advantage
Nota:
The idea of animalism is equality but Napoleon is corrupt when he gives himself more power than everyone else
Moses creates the Sugarcandy Mountain
idea, to keep the animals focused, at thew
benefit of Napoleon, even though it wasn't a
real place
Paper 1
Romeo &
Juliet
Plot
1. In Verona another brawl breaks out between the servants of the Capulets and Montagues. Benvolio, a
Montague, tries to stop the fighting, but when Tybalt, a Capulet, arrives, things get bad. Prince Escalus, the
ruler of Verona, attempts to prevent any further conflicts between the families by declaring the death of
anyone who starts another brawl.
2. Romeo, the son of Montague, runs into his cousin Benvolio, who had seen Romeo moping about earlier .
After Benvolio tries to find out what's happened, Romeo tells him that he is in love with Rosaline, but she
doesn't like him back. Benvolio tell him to forget Rosaline and to find another woman but romeo stays
unhappy
3. Meanwhile, Paris, a kinsman of the Prince, wants to marry Juliet. Her father Capulet, though happy at the
match, asks Paris to wait two years, since Juliet is not even fourteen yet. Capulet sends a servant with a list of
people to invite to a party he's going to throw. He invites Paris to the feast, hoping that Paris will begin to win
Juliet’s heart.
4. Romeo and Benvolio, still talking about Rosaline, see the Capulet servant handing out the invitations.
Benvolio suggests that him and Romeo go, so Romeo can see all the other women in Verona. Romeo agrees to
go with Benvolio, but only because Rosaline will be there.
5. Juliet talks with her mother, Lady Capulet, and her nurse about marrying Paris. Juliet has not yet considered
marriage, but agrees to look at Paris during the party to see if she thinks she could fall in love with him.
6. The party begins. Romeo follows Benvolio and Mercutio to Capulet’s house. Once inside, Romeo sees Juliet
from a distance and instantly falls in love with her, forgetting about Rosaline. As Romeo watches Juliet, Tybalt
recognises him, and is enraged. He prepares to fight, but Capulet holds him back. Romeo speaks to Juliet, and
the two are attracted immediatly. They kiss, not even knowing each other’s names. When he finds out from
Juliet’s nurse that she is the a Capulet, he becomes annoyed. When Juliet learns that she has just kissed a
Montague, she grows equally upset.
7. As Mercutio and Benvolio leave Capulet's, Romeo leaps over the orchard wall, unable to leave Juliet. From
his hiding place, he sees Juliet in a window above the orchard and hears her speak his name. He calls out to
her, and they say they love each other. Romeo goes to see his confessor Friar Lawrence, who, though shocked,
agrees to marry the young lovers in secret as he sees that their love might end the feud. The following day,
Romeo and Juliet meet at Friar Lawrence’s cell and are married. The Nurse gets a ladder, which Romeo will use
to climb into Juliet’s window for their wedding night.
8. Benvolio and Mercutio encounter Tybalt who challenges Romeo to a duel. Romeo arrives. Now Tybalt’s
family, Romeo begs him to hold off the duel until he understands why Romeo does not want to fight.
Disgusted with this plea for peace, Mercutio says that he will fight Tybalt himself. The two begin to fight.
Romeo tries to stop them by leaping between them, but Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo’s arm, and
Mercutio dies. Romeo, kills Tybalt and fruns away. Soon after, the Prince banishes Romeo from Verona. Friar
Lawrence arranges for Romeo to spend his wedding night with Juliet before he has to leave for Mantua. Juliet
awaits the arrival of her new husband, but the Nurse enters, and tells Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt.
9. Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s room and at last they celebrate. Morning comes, and they say goodbye, unsure
when they will see each other again. Juliet learns that her father now intends for her to marry Paris in just
three days. Unsure of what to do, being married to Romeo, and unwilling to marry Paris, Juliet asks her nurse
for advice. She tells Juliet to proceed as if Romeo were dead and to marry Paris. Juliet disregards her advice
and goes to Friar Lawrence. He makes a plan to reunite Juliet with Romeo in Mantua. The night before her
wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that will make her look dead. After she is laid to rest in the family’s
tomb, the Friar and Romeo will secretly get her, and they will be free to live their lives