Skip to main content

My Last Duchess is a poem which explores the conflict in the relationship between the powerful duke and the powerless duchess. Similarly Ozymandius also explores a power imbalance, this time between the dictator and his “lifeless things”, however it differs in that Ozymandius is not the most powerful in the poem  (as the Duke is), as Ozymandius’ power is overtaken by Nature whose “lone and level sands drift on”.
London is a poem which explores the negative effects of powerful institutions of the church and monarchy on “every infant” and “every man”. Similarly Charge of the Light Brigade also explores the power of the institution of the army – specifically the leadership, whose commands are for the soldiers “not to question why”, however it differs in that The Charge of the Light Brigade explicitly highlights the loss of life that occurs due to bad leadership from powerful institutions, whereas London merely hints at this when it talks of the “blood runs down the palace walls”.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lord of the Flies Chapter 1 Lord of the Flies – the story and learning so far recap ·         “why should I be called Jack, it’s Merridew” – Jack’s initial insistence on being called by his surname firstly is militaristic as the military are referred to and know by their surnames. This furthers the references to the military and war that Golding often includes in his novel. Secondly Jack’s wish highlights his desire to be different and set apart from the others. It is also of note that the reader does not learn Jack’s first name for some time as he is referred to as the boy, and we are lots of description of his “black” clothing which creates a sinister atmosphere, then we are introduced to him by his surname before finally learning his first name, this replicates the formal, cold relationship he forms with the others boy and we too get a real sense of the distance between Jack and the others. The insistence by Jack on using his surname could...
Post a Comment
Read more
Essay question - Do you think Piggy is an important character from Lord of the Flies?   Piggy is an important character because he is one of the few characters whose mostly fatal fates portray the disintegration of society. This is shown through the constant link between Piggy and the conch throughout the book – indeed the conch is ‘born’ with Piggy as it is he who finds it and immediately, unlike Ralph, sees it value straight away. It is poignant that not only does Piggy give birth to the conch, but that the conch dies with him also. The conch and its inextricable link to Piggy is vital in helping us to understand that what it symbolises -   order, the rule of law and mutual respect and integration of all – therefore when Piggy dies so too do all of these values and so society disintegrates. This is highlighted as the conch “exploded into a thousand white fragments”. The verb choice explode highlights the total destruction of the conch and its values and it also is as...
Post a Comment
Read more
Dicken’s decadent descriptions and listing of the food available for purchase show the greed and excessiveness of the rich, it then, due to his choice to then show the poor waiting in line for food donations- this juxtaposition further highlights the gulf between the rich and poor. Consider the underlying messages about the rich and poor that Dickens is giving through the contrasting food ‘situations’. “tumbling out into the street in their apoplectic opulence”. “Spanish onions, shining in their fatness of their growth like Spanish friars” – references to religion perhaps further being critical of the so called Christian Victorian society. Dickens often refers to the fatness and largeness of certain people – the capitalists. Dickens described the fruits that are mere decorations “pears and apples clustered high in blooming pyramids ”. There is an almost cruelty in the decorations and descriptions of the food which are deliberately there to entrance people – but ma...
Post a Comment
Read more