"London" by William Blake: Essay approach

Comparative essay approach

• Techniques, evidence and analysis is important for a comparative essay
• Use specific vocabulary for analysis to sound like an expert
• Choose carefully chosen words and phrases embedded within sentences for evidence
• Zoom in on the connotation, symbolic meaning, suggestion, and emphasis of the words and phrases for analysis

"London" by William Blake

Structure

• The poem consists of quatrains, using an ABAB rhyme scheme, creating a chant-like flow.
• Stanzas 1 and 2 describe the suffering of people.
• Stanza 3 focuses on the cause of the suffering.
• Stanza 4 returns to the theme of the suffering people, creating a cyclical structure.
• This cyclical structure illustrates the inescapable and repetitive nature of suffering in the city.
• The poem begins and ends with similar imagery.

Tone

• A pessimistic tone reflects Blake's disdain for the upper class, who created the existing societal inequalities.

Context

• Written in 1794, during the Industrial Revolution, a period marked by social inequality, poverty, and rapid urbanization in England.
• Blake was critical of the treatment of the poor
• The French Revolution of 1789 occurred a few years before the poem was written and may have influenced its content

Quotes and Analysis

• "Chartered streets" and "chartered Thames" suggest everything in London is owned by the rich, leaving no freedom for the poor, even the river is controlled.
• The repetition of "chartered" reinforces the idea that even nature is controlled.
• The juxtaposition of chartering a river is unnatural since water should flow freely, but here even nature is trapped like the people of London.
• "In every cry of every man, in every infant's cry of fear" shows how poverty affects all generations.
• Auditory imagery creates a vivid and distressing effect.
• The repetition of "every" stresses the universality of suffering and it affects people of all ages.
• "Runs in blood down palace walls" alludes to the French Revolution, suggesting a violent revolt if the rich continue oppressing the poor, with the palace symbolizing the government's responsibility for the bloodshed of ordinary people.
• The palace symbolizes the government and its responsibility for the suffering.
• It's a metaphor, the blood on the palace walls symbolizes the deaths caused by the monarchy

"Exposure" by Wilfred Owen

Structure

• The poem is composed of eight stanzas with an ABBA rhyme scheme, creating a rhythmic effect and reflecting the soldiers' monotonous existence in the trenches.
• Enjambment creates a sense of urgency, reflecting the tension experienced by the soldiers.
• Cyclical structure, with the phrase "but nothing happens" appearing at the beginning and end of the poem illustrating the futility and meaninglessness of war.

Tone

• A monotonous tone, devoid of emotion, mirroring the numbed state of the soldiers.

Context

• Owen wrote the poem in 1917 during World War I.
• Owen aimed to expose the public to the realities of war, challenging the glorified image of warfare at the time.
• He wrote "Exposure" while in the trenches in France.
• Owen was a pacifist and opposed war.
• He suffered from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) as a result of his war experiences.

Quotes and Analysis

• "Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knife us..." illustrates nature as the real enemy, deadlier than war itself, and the pain is so intense it affects them mentally.
• Ellipsis creates a brief pause, reflecting the slow passage of time for the suffering soldiers.
• Personification describes using "merciless" and "knifing" as if it is attacking the soldiers deliberately.
• "But nothing happens" being repeated reinforces the pointlessness of war as the soldiers endure so much, yet nothing changes.
• This phrase is repeated four times, representing the monotony and futility of war.
• Despite their suffering, there is no action, no heroic battle, only slow death.
• "Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence" creates tension, highlighting the relentless and terrifying nature of war.
• The sibilance mimics the hissing sound of bullets flying, making the reader hear the danger.
• This is a metaphor comparing bullets to birds or insects, making them seem unavoidable and deadly.

"Storm on the Island" by Seamus Heaney

Structure

• The poem is a dramatic monologue without stanza breaks, creating a feeling of overwhelming chaos, mirroring the storm itself.
• Unrhymed iambic pentameter gives the poem a natural, conversational flow.
• Enjambment mirrors the relentlessness of the storm.

Tone

• An uneasy and tense tone reflects how humans can never fully control nature.
• The poem shifts from confidence at the start to fear and helplessness later on.

Context

• Heaney was a Northern Irish poet.
• Growing up in a farming community, Heaney often explores humanity's relationship with nature.
• Published in 1966 during a rise in tensions in Northern Ireland.
• Stormont, the name of the Northern Irish government, suggests the poem may be a metaphor for political conflict.

Quotes and Analysis

• "We build our houses squat" the plural pronoun "we" suggests a collective experience, emphasizing how islanders must adapt to nature's power together and "squat" implies resilience but also vulnerability to the storm.
• The quote shows nature's force versus human fragility since despite preparation, humans remain powerless.
• Blunt, monosyllabic language refers to the no-nonsense mindset of the islanders.
• The iambic pentameter maintains a steady rhythm, mirroring the islanders' resilience in the face of the storm.
• "It is a huge nothing that we fear" fear is more worrying than the actual storm, reinforcing the idea of psychological conflict.
• The phrase contradicts itself, highlighting how the storm isn't the true enemy, but fear is and the storm doesn't destroy them, but it has the power due to how much uncertainty it causes.
• Paradox is the juxtaposition of "huge" and "nothing".
• "Spits like a tame cat turned savage" compares the storm to a cat whose nature, like the weather, is unpredictable and can swiftly turn dangerous and vicious
• Personification describes the storm as spitting, making the storm seem more violent and hostile
• This is a simile

‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Structure

• The poem is a sonnet of 14 lines but it mixes Shakesperean and Petrarchan styles, symbolizing power breaking down over time.
• An irregular rhyme scheme reflects the destruction of Ozymandias' empire
• Enjambment mirrors the passing of time and the ruined state of the statue, reflecting the broken legacy of the empire.

Tone

• A mocking and ironic tone undermines the king's arrogance with the poem's message that all power fades.

Context

• Shelley was a Romantic poet who opposed tyranny and political oppression.
• The poem was inspired by the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses.
• Ozymandias is the Greek name for this pharaoh.
• A critique of power warns that all rulers, no matter how powerful, will be forgotten.
• Written in 1817, during a time where King George III, who was seen as a tyrannical leader, was in throne.

Quotes and Analysis

• "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" he sees himself as the greatest ruler and thinks his power is eternal but it highlights the limits of human control.
• Imperative is used to command others to desire his achievements so says "Look on my works".
• The boastful claim contrasts reality, as nothing remains but his statue, highlighting the futility of human power and this is an example of irony.
• "Round the decay of that colossal wreck" describes no matter how great an empire, it will eventually crumble, highlighting humanity vs nature shows how nature has wiped out all his achievements.
• Juxtaposition states "colossal" suggests greatness and power, while "wreck" suggests decay and this emphasizes how time has destroyed Ozymandias' legacy
• "The lone and level sands stretch far away," shows how Ozymandias' empire has disappeared, even though he thought his power was eternal, proving to be futility.
• Alliteration creates a soft, flowing effect mimicking the endlessness of the sands with the repeated "L" sound.
• Sand represents time, linking the erosion of power and showing how nature will go on forever, but human ambition is temporary and this is symbolism.

"Remains" by Simon Armitage

Structure

• The poem has no rhyme scheme or rhythm, mirroring the unpredictability of war.
• The lack of structure suggests the soldier's loss of control over his thoughts.
• The limited use of sentences shows how the soldier doesn't get a mental break and this is enjambment.
• The speaker's thoughts are fractured due to the use of a caesura, a mid-line pause.
• The poem has no full stops mimicking the endlessness of the desert reflecting the inescapable trauma of war and is another example of enjambment.
• The cyclical structure includes the repetition the phrase "probably armed, possibly not" at the beginning and end of the poem.

Tone

• The beginning has a casual tone, as if story-telling.
• The middle is graphic and violent.
• Reflective and regretful towards the end.

Context

• The poem was based on a soldier who had served in Iraq and the PTSD he suffered after returning home due to war.
• The word "Remains" has multiple meanings including the physical remains of a dead man and the psychological remains of trauma.
• The poem critiques modern warfare and how soldiers are expected to move on.

Quotes and Analysis

• "We get sent out" shows taking shared responsibility.
• "Probably armed, possibly not" is repeated towards the beginning and the end of the poem, creating a cyclical structure this shows he was unsure if the man was a threat and this uncertainty haunts him, contributing to his PTSD.
• The juxtaposition of "possibly" and "probably" reflects the soldier's doubt.
• "The drinks and the drugs won't flush him out" describes that trauma and guilt so intense he has to turn to drinking and drugs to alleviate it, but it remains and "Flush him out", represents how the man he killed is stuck in his mind and the is in combat terms, showing how he still thinks in these terms and it is present tense showing his suffering is ongoing and how war never truly ends for soldiers.
• The dead man is described as if he is hiding in the soldier's mind and this is a metaphor.
• "His bloody life in my bloody hands" now reflects the soldier taking responsibility.
• Literally - the man's life was ended violently
• Figuratively - reflects anger possibly at himself or at war in general
• The hands aren't actually bloody, but he's permanently stained by guilt

"My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning

Structure

• The poem is a dramatic monologue meaning the audience only hears the Duke's perspective and this reinforces his need for dominance as the Duchess's voice is completely erased.
• A controlled, rhythmic flow is created through the use of iambic pentameter.
• The Duke's obsession with control is mirrored from the strict rhyme scheme (AABB) with rhyming couplets.
• The Duke's speech feels rushed and uncontrolled due to the use of enjambment.

Context

• Robert Browning was a Victorian poet and the poem was published in 1842.
• It is based on Duke Alfonso II, whose young wife died under mysterious circumstances, suspected to be murdered on his orders.
• The Duke represents absolute male control which was common in Renaissance Italy's patriarchal society, where women were treated as property.
• The Duke likes art because it's something he can possess and control.

Quotes and Analysis

• "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive" is a repetition of possessive pronoun "My" and it reinforces his possessive nature, treating his wife as an object rather than a person and it reflects the patriarchal power dynamics of the time, where women were seen as submissive possessions rather than individuals.
• "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together" implies the duke ordered to have his wife killed, but it is being hidden using indirect phrasing hides the brutality behind the Duke's actions.
• The duchess was killed for being too full of joy, highlighting the Duke's paranoia, as he saw her happiness as a threat and this is an example of irony.
• "Neptune taming a sea-horse" Neptunes' dominance over the sea-horse is like the Duke's dominance over his former wife, showing the Duke sees power and control as something to be admired and displayed, reinforcing the poem's critique of toxic masculinity.
• The duke compares himself to Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, reinforcing his self-image of god-like power and this is symbolism.

"The Prelude" by William Wordsworth

Structure

• Enjambment mimics both the boy's breathless excitement and later panic, and it also imitates the unstoppable force of nature.
• The lack of stanza breaks reflects how his thoughts keep rushing without pause.
• A volta occurs when he sees the mountain, shifting the mood from confidence to fear.

Tone

• The boy is confident and in control at the beginning
• In the middle the mountain's appearance shatters his confidence.
• By the end He is left haunted.

Context

• William Wordsworth was a Romantic poet who grew up in the Lake District surrounded by lakes, mountains, and untouched nature.
• These childhood experiences shaped his views, leading him to see nature as both beautiful and terrifying.
• He believed nature humbles and educates humans.
• The boy's initial confidence represents human arrogance, but the mountain humbles him, showing how nature is always in charge.

Quotes and Analysis

• "I dipped my oars into the silent lake." The use of "I" shows it was a personal experience, reinforcing his initial confidence and "dipped" shows he is in control of nature and unaware of its power.
• Sibilance creates a hush tone foretelling how soon nature's true power will reveal itself with the repitition of the "S" sound.
• "A huge peak, black and huge" adds connotations of fear, mystery, and even death with "black" contrasting with the initial innocence of the journey, symbolizing a loss of innocence.
• The repetition of "huge" emphasizes the overwhelming and almost oppressive presence of the mountain and expresses how small and powerless the speaker is in comparison, reinforcing nature's dominance over man.
• "There hung a darkness, call it solitude" darkness is tangible, symbolizing the speaker's guilt, reinforcing the psychological effect of the experience.
• The phrase adds hesitation, as if he's struggling to define his emotions from the use of a caesura.
• The personification of darkness gives it a supernatural quality, reinforcing the lasting psychological effect of the experience.

"War Photographer" by Carol Ann Duffy

Structure

• The poem is composed of four regular stanzas with equal line length, creating a sense of order that contrasts the chaos of war.
• Enjambment is used throughout the poem to create a sense of ongoing thought and reflection and highlights the internal conflict the photographer faces.

Tone

• The tone is reflective, mournful, and critical to show how the photographer is processing his images with the emotional weight adding up of what he has witnessed developing his inner turmoil.

Context

• The poem was written in 1985 for a society still conscious of the Falklands and Vietnam Wars, and speaks on the ongoing issues of war, trauma, and media representation.
• Duffy speaks on how war if often commodified by the media when in reality the consequences are so severe they stretch to not just soldiers but others.
• Duffy critiques how war is presented in the media, using the photographer's experiences to comment on the emotional toll of witnessing and capturing violence.

Quotes and Analysis

• "In his darkroom, he is finally alone" shows the photographer has finally found solitude in the darkroom and "finally" shows he's been seeking peace after the intensity of the war and darkroom reflects a place of processing and reflection.
• The contrast is darkroom vs alone contrasting the darkroom where the photographer works and the photographer's solitude and the contrast emphasizes his isolation, both physically from the world of war and the chaos of life.
• The darkroom is symbolic of the photographer's attempt to process and make sense of the suffering he's witnessed, a controlled environment unlike the chaos of the warzone and it suggests although he may be physically alone, mentally his mind is still engaged with the horrors of what he's experienced and this is symbolism.
• "All flesh is grass" suggests life is temporary and the vulnerability of human life.
• A comparison between flesh and grass show they are both temporary and fragile and how grass, like humans, can be easily trampled, reflecting the fragility of human life.
• "A hundred agonies in black and white" refers to the suffering of the people in the photos and this is significant as it critiques how, in media, suffering is reduced to photographs that just convey the pain, not the humanity behind it.
• In media, suffering is reduced to photographs in the media that just convey the pain not the humanity behind it
• The repitition of the "A" sound creates a rhythmic effect echoes the relentless continuous nature of suffering and it mimics the endless collection of images reinforcing the scale and impact of what he's witnessed which is alliteration.

"The Emigree" by Carol Rumens

Structure

• The poem is in free verse, reflecting the lack of control the speaker has over their displacement.
• The stanza length increases towards the end, suggesting the speaker's growing emotional attachment to their homeland.
• Enjambment throughout the poem mirrors the fluidity of memory and the instability of exile.
• The final stanza is the longest, emphasizing the speaker's refusal to let go of their idealized version of the country and mourning of it.

Tone

• The speaker longs for the past and idealizes their homeland and is nostalgic.
• A sense of loss and displacement is evident throughout the poem and shows a melancholic tone.
• A defiant attitude to the harsh realities, as the speaker refuses to let go of their beautiful memories

Quotes and Analysis

• "There once was a country..." the phrase mimics the opening of a fairytale, reinforcing an almost mythical memory of the homeland and the use of past tense suggests the country has changed.
• "But I am branded by an impression of sunlight" shows how the country the speaker left is deeply ingrained and inescapable and the impression of sunlight symbolizes hope, warmth, and happiness.
• "Branded" is a metaphor that suggests a permanent, painful mark which has connotations of suffering, yet also an inability to forget.
• There is light imagery symbolizing hope, warmth, and happiness showing how the speaker's memory of their homeland is romanticized through an "impression of sunlight".
• "Branded " and "sunlight" highlights the speaker has suffered exile and their homeland remains a place of beauty in their mind through juxtaposition.
• "It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants" gives the country human qualities, suggesting the dictatorship and war have corrupted the nation from the use of personification showing the country was "sick".
• The speaker is reluctant to fully accept the decline even though the country may have changed through the repetition of "it may be" creating uncertainty.

Other Poems for Comparison

"Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

• Written in 1854 during the Crimean War, focusing on the disastrous British cavalry charge at the Battle of Balaclava.
• Tennyson was poet laureate, meaning he was supposed to glorify British history, yet his poem acknowledges the tragedy of war.
• The poem reflects bravery and duty even in the face of death, reflecting the Victorian ideals of heroism and nationalism.

"Bayonet Charge" by Ted Hughes

• Written in 1957 but focuses on WWI, showing the reality of trench warfare.
• Hughes' father fought in WWI.
• Highlights the terror and confusion of battle rather than glorifying it.

"Poppies" by Jane Weir

• Written in 2009 but deliberately timeless to reflect all wars.
• Weir was commissioned to write it for a collection on the impact of war on families.
• A poppy represents a fallen soldier.

"Tissue" by Imtiaz Dharker

• Published in 2006, exploring fragility, power, and the transience of human life.
• Dharker is a Pakistani-British poet.

"Kamikaze" by Beatrice Garland

• Highlights the propaganda and honor culture in wartime Japan, showing how war doesn't just affect soldiers but also families.
• Written in 2013 but based on historical events, showing the lasting emotional scars of war.

"Checking Out Me History" by John Agard

• Written in 2007, criticizing the Eurocentric nature of education ignores black history.
• Agard was born in Guyana.
• The poem contrasts British historical figures taught in school with Caribbean and African heroes hidden in mainstream history.
• The phonetic Caribbean dialect challenges the dominance of British culture, showing the importance of reclaiming personal history.