Poetry Anthology - Structure/form

Ozymandias

• Form
• - Sonnet form (irregular rhyme scheme) - human power structures = destroyed
• - Volta at line 9 (like a Petrachan sonnet)
• - iambic pentameter - but is disrupted
• - second hand account - distances reader from dead king
• Structure
• - builds up image of statue focusing on different parts of it
• - poem ends = enormous desert = sums up statues significance

London

• Structure
• - narrator presents relentless images of downtrodden deprived people
• - 1st 2 stanzas focus on people he sees and hears
• - focus shifts in stanza 3 to institutions he holds responsible
• - final stanza returns to look at people - newborn's are affected
• Form
• - dramatic monologue - 1st person
• - ABAB rhyme scheme is unbroken - echo relentless misery of city
• - regular rhythm - sound of feet as he trudges around

The prelude

• Structure
• - 3 main sections
• - 1st tone is light and carefree
• - distinct change when mountain appears (darker and fearful)
• - final section - narrator reflects on how he has been changed
• Form
• - first-person narrative (personal and descriptive of poets life)
• - blank verse - unrhymed verse in iambic pentameter - serious and important
• - regular rhythm makes it sound like natural speech

My Last Duchess

• Structure
• - framed poem in dukes gallery - caught up in Duchess instead of talking about art
• - Poem builds towards confession - identity of visitor is revealed - Duke moves on to talking about another artwork.
• Form
• - dramatic monologue - iambic pentameter - reinforces dukes conversation
• - rhyming cuplets - dukes desire for control
• - enjambment - carried away with passions and anger
• - creates a picture of an unstable character - power obsession is unsettling

The Charge of the Light Brigade

• Structure
• - story of battle in chronological order
• - charge of men - 1st 3 stanzas
• - battle = 4th stanza
• - retreat = 5th stanza
• - final stanza = shorter and summarises the heroism of the brigade
• Form
• - 3rd person and story-like
• - regular relentless rhythm - fast paced - dactylic diameter - imitates cavalries advancement and battles energy
• - rhyming cuplets and triplets - drive poem forward
• - momentum is broken by unrhymed lines - horses stumbling/ soldiers falling
• - overall lack of rhyme scheme - chaos of war

Exposure

• Structure
• - eight stanzas - no real progression
• - last stanza ends with same words as first one - reflecting monotony of trench life - absence of change
• Form
• - present tense - 1st person plural ("we", "our", "us") - collective voice - shared experience of war of soldiers
• - each stanza regular rhyme scheme (ABBAC) - monotonous nature of soldiers experience
• - half rhymes ("snow", "renew") - little comfort/satisfaction - jagged like reality of men's experiences - confusing and fading energy
• - each stanza ends with a half line - leaving a gap mirroring the lack of activity/hope for men

Storm on the island

• Structure
• - poem shifts from security to fear - "but no" - volta (see flashcard)
• Form
• - blank verse = mirrors patterns of everyday speech - conversational

Bayonet Charge

• Structure
• - enjambment/caesura/uneven line length = creates irregular rhythm - mirrors soldiers struggling to run through mud
• Form
• - The poem starts "in medias res" - middle of action - covers soldiers movements and thoughts over a short time.
• - 1st stanza = acting on instinct
• 1nd stanza = time stands still - soldier think of situation
• - final stanza = gives up his thoughts and ideals = lost his humanity

Remains

• Structure
• - amusing anecdote - but quickly changes to a graphic depiction of a mans death
• - Volta = beginning of 5th stanza - soldiers tone/thoughts/emotions changed by guilt
• Form
• - There no regular line length/rhyme scheme = story-like

Poppies

• Structure
• - Chronological - describes preparations for son leaving, departure, mothers actions after
• - time frame - ambiguous - memories of sons childhood are intermingled with memories of leaving - not clearly distinguished often
• Form
• - first person narrative - strong impression of mothers emotions
• - no regular rhythm and rhyme = narrators thoughts and memories highlighted

War Photographer

• Structure
• - follows the photographers thoughts and actions in his darkroom
• - distinct change - 3rd stanza - photographer remembers specific death
• final stanza - focus shifts to way photographers work is received
• Form
• - 4 stanzas - equal length- regular rhyme scheme - "set out in order rows" like the photographers spools - care that photographer takes over his work

Tissue

• Structure
• - 3 main parts - moving through ideas of history/human experience/creation of human life
• - final single line stanza stands out and focuses reader on own identity and how its created
• Form
• - humanity not a specific speaker (elusive voice)
• - lack of regular rhyme and rhythm and enjambment across lines and stanzas = personal freedom and openness - narrators desire for freedom and clarity
• - short stanzas mean poem is built in layers - reflective of human life

The Emigree

• Structure
• - memory of city grows and solidifies as poem moves on
• - city becomes a physical presence for the speaker = final stanza
• - each stanza ends with "sunlight" - reinforcing the fact that the speaker sees the city in a positive light
• Form
• - first person (3 eight-line stanzas) - no regular rhythm or rhyme scheme
• - 1st two stanzas - a lot of enjambment
• - final stanza = more punctuation = confinement - in her new "city of walls"

Kamikaze

• Structure
• -first five stanzas form one sentence which covers and account of pilots flight and the daughter imagines it
• end of sentence = plane landing and the final 2 stanzas deal with the fallout of the pilots actions
• Form
• - third person - reported speech of pilots daughter
• - the pilots daughter is heard directly in later stanzas
• - absence of pilots voice = cut off from society
• - third person emphasises distance between pilot and daughter

Checking out me history

• Structure
• - poem alternates between historical and fictional figures from Caribbean and and British cultures = emphasising their differences
• - British figures - skipped over quickly - little respect
• - Caribbean figures - covered in more detail
• Form
• - mixture of stanza forms - breaking the confining language rules he was taught
• - Caribbean history stanzas = shorter lines and broken syntax than British stanzas - emphasises = makes them more serious.
• - rhyme scheme = are different between the two types of stanza
• - British stanza = simple rhyme - childish