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Note by Martha Heath, created more than 1 year ago

Short notes for GCSE level (Year 11) poetry by Martha Heath

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	Created by Martha Heath over 5 years ago

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2020-02-02T11:00:25Z

English Literature

Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley

The poem starts off with a tourist meeting an explorer. The explorer tells the story of a once powerful king, Ozymandias who's kingdom has now collapsed and all that remains is his broken statue. The poet expresses the importance and significance of art - in this case the sculpture by showing the reader that the statue, although broken is still alive, unlike Ozymandias himself.

The Discovery - J.C. Squire

The poem starts off by describing the simple, relaxed life of an "Indian". It is important to note that the poem is referring to the discovery of America by Christopher Colombus. It is also good to understand that Colombus was trying to get to India when he discovered the new land (America), however both him and his crew thought that they were in India, finally they realized that they had found a new place. This is why the people are called "Indians" when they are actually in America. Therefore the poem is set on a stranded beach in America, which has not yet been discovered and is therefore a quiet, lonely and isolated land.

Not Waving But Drowning - Stevie Smith

The poem starts off with a direct sentence "Nobody heard him the dead man," this immediately sets the tone for the poem and shows the reader that a tragic event has just taken place - the death of a man. The person who died isn't given a name and seems to lack identity. This may imply that nobody really knew him or cared for him, he was just another person. However it may also be a message from Smith, informing the readers that it is not only one person who has died but several others, therefore the man may be representing several people who have faced the same death. The poet says that nobody heard the man calling out for help, this may be taken literally (nobody heard, or cared that he was drowning) or figuratively (nobody noticed that the victim had been trying to seek help).

The Lesson - Edward Lucie-Smith

The poem starts off with a direct message, introducing the readers to the situation, "your father's gone, my bald headmaster said," Although a direct sentence, the poet uses euphemism to imply that the headmaster did not want to be harsh on the boy and was possibly upset himself. The boy admits to crying upon hearing the news, however he adds that he wasn't crying because he was upset but because he was quite happy that his father died. This is because he believes that he won't be bullied for a while since people will feel sorry for his loss, "Could bind the bully's fist for a week or two," after realizing what he is thinking, the boy cries because he is ashamed of himself for wanting to use his father's death to gain something out of it. However, he then cries for relief because he knows that he is actually going to gain from it.

Dulce et Decorum est - Wilfred Owen

The poem is set in a war zone/battlefield where the soldiers are exhausted and indifferent about their situation because they are so used to it. The poet describes the soldiers physical appearance, all bent, coughing and bleeding. Wilfred Owen states that the soldiers had turned their backs to the flames, this shows that the soldiers had been in this situation many times and were so tired that they couldn't be bothered. "Towards our distant rest began to trudge," indicates that the soldiers are walking towards their death and they are all aware of this, but they are helpless. "Deaf even to the hoots of tired, outstripped, Five Nines that dropped behind," further confirms the exhaustion that the soldiers are facing, as they cannot even hear the bombs.

The Tiger - William Blake

The poem starts off by directly addressing the tiger itself, "Tiger Tiger," this shows Blake seemingly talking to the tiger. The poet describes the tiger as "burning bright," this is a reference to the tiger's bright orange coat which appears to be a flame (burning) in the forest at night. The poet then asks a rhetorical question, possibly also questioning the power of God. He asks what powerful immortal could have been brave enough to create such a beautiful but dangerous creature.

Sea Fever - John Masefield

The poem starts off with a powerful verse which is repeated before every stanza, "I must go down to the seas again," the use of the word "must" shows an obligation. The poet feels like it is a necessity to go back, this shows his longing to be at sea. The fact that he uses the word "again" indicates that the poet has been sailing before and feels attached to the lifestyle of seamen. This is further proved in the following verse in which Masefield makes a list of all the things he wishes to have while out at sea. The fact that he only needs natural elements ("star" "mist" "wind" "dawn") shows that he is an experienced sailor. Moreover, the poet personifies the ship, calling it "her", almost as if it is an actual friend to him.

My Parents Kept me from Children who were Rough - Stephen Spender

The title of the poem itself gives the reader a clear indication of what the poem is about; a young boy who was not allowed with certain children, simply because they seemed to be rough (outsiders). The use of the word "kept" shows the boy's anger at his parents because he feels as though his parents are to blame for his situation. He insists that he was held back from being free. Furthermore, we are given a detailed description of the children's appearance, "torn clothes," "thighs showed through rags," and their characters "threw words like stones," "ran in the streets," this is probably why his parents kept him from playing with them. This creates an idea of social classes, the boy being in a higher social class then the other children who wore torn clothes and enjoyed the freedom that the boy was so jealous of. Moreover, the fact that they "threw words like stones," shows that the children have been bullying the boy, possibly because they are also jealous of him because he has parents who care for him and a more luxurious life in general.

We are going to see the rabbit - Alan Brownjohn

The poem starts off with a simple declaration, "We are going to see the rabbit," this may confuse readers as to us, it is quite normal to see a rabbit and it is not something which we need to announce or be excited about. However, the poem opens up to be a futuristic one, dealing with man's destruction of nature and urbanization. "Which rabbit," is a repeated question, this is to emphasize it's reply, "The only rabbit in England," the poet makes the readers aware that this animal, one which is so common and has a massive population has almost become extinct, as there is only one rabbit in all of England. This is the reason why the people are excited to be seeing the rabbit, as if it is a trip, because there is only one rabbit. The following 3 verses are yet another indication of man made resources, "barbed wire fence," "neon lights," "sodium lights," The fact that the rabbit is behind a barbed wire fence shows how it is a prisoner and cannot escape humanity's evilness. "On the only patch of grass," continues to bring out the grave situation England (and the world) is in as there is only one patch of grass left.

Sonnet LX - William Shakespeare

The poem starts off by comparing waves to time. Shakespeare says that as the waves slide towards the shore, our time on Earth also passes, slowly at first but seemingly faster as we grow. The poet reflects upon the way time passes as we "crawl to maturity," this once again shows that with every second that passes, we are getting closer to our death. "And time that gave doth now his gift confound," shows that time gave us life, but time will also take that gift away from us.

Wind - Ted Hughes

The poem starts off with a metaphor, saying that the house "had been far out at sea all night," this creates an image of isolation. Although the house hasn't actually been at sea, it has been raining so much that it seems as if it was at sea. "Winds stampeding the fields," shows the power of the storm, more specifically the wind, which has been compared to the power of a herd of animals running over a field.

10/11

Sonnet LX - William Shakespeare

In the second stanza, Shakespeare talks about the effects of time, saying that it removes youth and "delves the parallels in beauty's brow," this shows that as we grow older, our beauty and youth start to decrease and instead, we are left with wrinkles. The poet then introduces another character, the grim reaper, who is taking away lives and collecting dead souls. However, Shakespeare ends the poem on a positive note as he says that despite the cruel nature of time and despite his death, he will live on through his works. "My verse shall stands," shows that William Shakespeare hoped that he would be remembered through his art, which is immortal.