The Prelude

Context

 Wandsworth was born in the lake district which inspired many of his poems
 Romantic poet believing in glorifying nature and abolishment of science
 Poem is about a childhood memory understanding true power of nature

Language and Structure

 Iambic Pentameter which is close to the rhythm of a speaking voice (story)

 Personification: describes nature as ‘her’ throughout
 ‘Huge peak, black and huge’ repetition for emphasis on how big nature is and how lost for
words he is as he is lost in nature
 ‘That spectacle for many days my brain worked with a dim sense’ shows the effect of what
happened and how the peak warned him for stealing the boat (lesson)
 ‘By day and were a trouble to my dreams’ The image of the peak continues to haunt him
continuously day and night

Themes

 Nature is more powerful than man as his tranquil mood was broken by the large cliff
 There is a high power of memory and imagination as the incident seems to continue to
haunt the boy and almost scarred him for life

My Last Duchess

Context

 About a Duke which is describing his late wife

 Unwillingly reveals the true character of the wife and him
 Wife dead but suspected he murdered her (Duke of Ferrara wife missing)

Language and Structure

 Dramatic monologue from the perspective of the duke to show how arrogant and self-
absorbed he is with all the power he has
 Increased use of punctuation and caesura as he begins to talk about her which reflects his
utter frustration and anger that he has towards her
 ‘That’s my last duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she was alive’ – simile to show how
sinister he is. Creates sense of mystery about what happened to her. Possessive pronouns to
show he has power over her (objectifying women)
 ‘Spot of joy’ Repetition shows how she is blushing to highlight how the duke thinks she so
easily looks out for men (paranoia)
 ‘I gave the command and all smiles stopped’ Sinister and euphemism to suggest she had
killed her
 The painting is behind a curtain to show how much control he had over her in a patriarchal
society Browning lived in
 Ironic as he is so consumed of these thoughts so Duchess may have the power instead

Themes

 Large amount of power from the duke over the duchess

 He has no remorse after she had died and was so obsessed with power
 Jealously from the duke after his wife showed more attention to others rather than himself
Charge of the Light Brigade

Context

 Based on newspaper accounts about the Crimean war

 Starts with a charge that was a mistake as they sent out less equipped men
 Wanted to show courage the men had

Language and Structure

 Written in third person to act as an account of what happened

 There is dactylic diameter used to mimic the sound of horse hooves
 ‘Men riding into the valley of death’ metaphor for the bravery of the men. Allusion to the
bible as men are saviors and heroes. The did not challenge the order
 ‘Honor the light brigade’ – Imperative to the main message to remember and honor the
people that gave their life up after a wrong decision
 Repetition of ‘rode the six hundred’ shows how they continue the forward movement of the
cavalry and how truly patriotic they are

Themes

 Abuse of power from those that hold more power over others and the effects it had on them
 Shows how truly patriotic the cavalry were even though they knew they would have gone to
their death
 Lots of conflict in all directions and some withstood the fir, emphasizing praise for the
courage they all showed to keep going

Poppies

Context

 Mother describes her son leaving home to join the army

 After he’s gone she releases emotions in his bedroom

Language and Structure

 Dramatic monologue to show the reader inner emotions of the speaker. Mother focuses on
small details to keep her emotions in check
 ‘The world overflowing like a treasure chest’ Simile contrasts the excitement of the son and
sadness of the mother. Sibilance takes a note of each second and speeds up the poem
 ‘Playground voice’ shows that she still sees him as an innocent young boy. As son was killed
in conflict it remained as a nostalgic and haunting tone
 ‘Spasms of paper red’ Indicates the unpleasant death. Connotations of pain and distress
caused by war and the moment the mother is experiencing (Semantic field of war)

Themes

 Explores how women are affected by conflict even if not directly involved in battle
 Its ambiguous to see if the speaker’s son is in the war graves. It’s ambiguous to see what
actually happened to him. Starts many of her sentences in middle line to show emotional
state
 Emotional and physical suffering
 Painful and visceral memories
The Emigree

Context

 Reflects the effects on a person when language and identity is threatened

 Remembers childhood and the land she left behind
 Not specific so could be a metaphor over a forbidden relationship or lover

Language and Structure

 Written in a soliloquy as she is musing to herself

 Longer sentences describe her picturesque memory of her city, but shorter and tenser
sentences for the current situation
 ‘Sunlight clear’ Repetition of the word sunlight is an extended metaphor for opportunity and
positivity. (Freedom)
 ‘Sick with tyrants’ Metaphor for her land being bombarded by bad politics but is sick and can
get better, so her view doesn’t change
 ‘Tanks and frontiers which close like waves’ This creates an image that the city is trying to
control and suffocate those who live there
 ‘I have no passport’ Only way back is through her memories
 ‘Wants to comb its hair’ Metaphor for the love it has for the city

Themes

 Power of memory as the speaker is left without her country and now her memories are so
vivid that they are expressed in the present tense with a light motif. Light against the
darkness made by others