Mind map
Comparing poems
Mind map: Comparing poems
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Comparing poems
'Ozymandias' and 'My Last Duchess' both show ideas about social control, the aftermath of having too much power and how powerful people want to protect their power. 'Ozymanidas' is written in third person whilst 'MLD' is written in first person and is a dramatic monologue which shows how it is obvious to even those without power that is creates evil and arrogance.
'London' and 'Checking out me history' show a theme of oppression. they show that countries can be blinded and oppressed and this makes them seem alien. 'London' is eighteenth century whilst 'Checking out me History' is modern showing that oppression has been happening throughout a lot of history.
'The Prelude' explores the effects of events on the mind and although in this poem the scary events lead to nightmares and not PTSD, 'Remains' could be compared well to this poem. 'The Prelude' is influenced by romanticism as Wordsworth was a Romantic poet. this explains why nature is heavily featured in the poem as being more powerful than man. Coloquial language is used in 'Remians' to show trealsim of the even however 'The Prelude' is written like a story showing that it may not have been a real event.
'London' criticises the social class structure whilst 'My Last Duchess' does the same. 'London' criticises in an open way whilst 'MLD' does it through presuming the reader will make the link as they read from the perspective of the Duke.
'The Charge of the Light Brigade' explores the negative effects of conflict whilst 'Exposure' does the same. they also both use similar structure with a repeated phrase at the end of each stanza. IN 'TCOTLD' the phrase reads 'rode the six hundred' or something similar and in 'Exposure', it reads 'But nothing happens.' in 'TCOTLB' this repeated phrase emphasises the large loss of men whereas in exposure it emphasises the deadly waiting that the soldiers had to endure.
'Exposure' and 'Remains' show the brutality and effects of conflict. because 'Exposure' was written a long time before 'Remains' the effect of conflict isn't obviously leading to PTSD. However, in 'Remains', the consequences are clearly showing that the soldier now experiences a mental disorder. The weather is also shown to become an enemy to the soldiers. this shows that the effects of conflict make everything seem like an enemy to the soldiers, again hinting at PTSD.
'Tissue' could be seen to be about memory and how making memories are more important than what is left behind. The could compare well with 'Poppies' as this is also about memory. Both poems use imagery to create the sematic field of memory. In 'Poppies' there is a clear link to the layers of fabric being like memories- supported by Weir's history of textiles. in 'Tissue' the imagery of layers is also conveyed but through the ideas of book pages and layers of skin.
'The Emigrée' is also about memory and shows it to never to be altered no matter what may change it. This links to 'Poppies' as the reader can never be sure whether the son has died in war or has just left. The shows that the memories of him can not change as the war goes on and she still sees her son as though he were a child.
'Kamikaze' is similar to 'Remains' in the way that it shows the impact that movement can have on a single person's life. Differently, 'Remains' is written in first person, while 'Kamikaze' uses mostly third person to convey it's message. there is also reported speech in 'Kamikaze' and 'Remains' is based on a real life event making them similar.
'The Emigrée' could be compared to 'Ozymandias' by the theme of the power of nature. In 'The Emigrée' sunlight is portrayed to be powerful and the power that allows her memories of her country/childhood to be changed. The sun may be magical to a child and the power of it shown through the poem could symbolise how it keeps the memories alive. In 'Ozymandias', the statue has deteriorated due to nature showing that the power of nature can overcome the power of humans somewhat easily.
In some ways, 'My Last Duchess' is about the memory of the Duchess. The whole poem is a dramatic monologue showing the Duke's opinion of the Duchess and all the things she supposedly did wrong. This shows that even when someone has died, the memory of what they did is still fresh and the Duke cannot 'forgive' her. This hints that the Duke had her killed as he is still in a sate of malice towards her. if she had died of other causes, he may have mourned for her.