1. Relationships Cozy Apologia – Dove (2003)
Both speakers yearn to be closer to the subject of their affections.
Unrequited love vs a love that will never cease.
Cozy Apologia – Dove (2003)
She Walks in Beauty – Byron (1814)
Sonnet 43 – Barrett Browning (1850)
AO1 Waiting for a storm to hit, the speaker pictures her partner as a knight in shining armour, protecting her. He's a vivid contrast, she thinks, to the 'worthless' boys she used to date. She's embarrassed by how content their cosy, ordinary lives have made them. Yet she draws comfort from filling the 'stolen time' resulting from the hurricane's approach with thoughts of Fred.
AO2 Dove’s mundane lifestyle, established through repetition and parenthesis, is juxtaposed by the personified storm which causes her to re-evaluate her life. The sickly sweet similes, to describe previous boyfriends, re-affirm Fred’s powerful and metaphorical presentation as a knight in shining armour. The enjambment reflects the hurricane’s arrival.
AO3 American poet, Rita Dove is married to fellow-writer Fred Viebahn and Cozy Apologia seems to be an affectionate tribute to him. The poem notes details of a couple's domestic life as writers, . It is set against the arrival of Hurricane Floyd, a powerful storm which hit the east coast of the USA in This factual context supports the idea this is an autobiographical poem.
AO1 There is clear sense of longing in the poem and the reader assumes that the object of his affections cannot be his. It is not just about her physical beauty, he also admires her mind and her eloquence. The speaker in the poem doesn’t admit to having feelings of ‘love’ until the very last line of the poem, and he admires the woman’s ‘innocence.’ This contrasts to his bad reputation and the scandals surrounding him.
AO2 Byron’s romantic depiction of his cousin’s wife is matched in the language and structure. The intimacy that Byron desires is hinted at through similes, ‘like the night’, but the poem goes beyond lust. Delicate and intricate descriptions of her appearance are supported by figurative descriptions of her beautiful emotional state, ‘dwelling-place’. The euphemistic tone reflects that her beauty is unique.
AO3 Byron was supposedly inspired to write SWiB by a woman (reportedly his cousin’s wife) at a party. Despite his turbulent, and often difficult, life, Byron’s SWiB is a romantic poem from the Romantic era. Romanticism focused on beauty and often made links to nature to emphasise a unique or special quality.
AO1 Made up of 14 lines and a regular but flexible rhyme scheme. The word love is repeated for emphasis and love is compared to holiness ‘lost saints.’ The way that the lines are broken up by punctuation at the end could represent breathlessness and passion. The poem is autobiographical and reflects the struggles that she went through to be with her true love, Robert Browning.
AO2 The repetition of ‘I love thee’ creates an atmosphere of overwhelming emotion, as EBB struggles to comprehend the scale of her love; also supported through the spatial metaphor ‘depth, breadth and height my soul can reach’. The Italian sonnet form hints at an exotic or unique element to their love, whilst the religious imagery suggests her love is eternal.
AO3 Elizabeth Barrett Browning eloped to Italy with Robert Browning to escape from her father’s disapproval. She wrote this sonnet for Robert Browning before they were married, and it is part of a series of 44 sonnets called Songs from the Portuguese (published in 1850), as she was his ‘liitle Portugese’. These poems were a secret way for her to express her love for him .
Key quotes ‘She walks in Beauty like the night.’
‘A mind at peace with all below.’
‘So soft, so calm, yet eloquent.’
‘A heart whose love is innocent.’
Key quotes ‘I could pick anything and think of you.’
‘Sure as shooting arrows to the heart.’
‘chain mail glinting, to set me free.’
‘Sweet with a dark and hollow center.’
‘it’s embarrassing, this happiness.’
‘I fill this stolen time with you.’
Key quotes ‘How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!’
‘I love thee freely, as men strive for Right,’
‘I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise;’
‘I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!’
‘I shall but love thee better after death.’
Relationships
Both are written to express the speaker’s love for their partner.
Traditionally romantic poem is contrasted with a much more unique one
Figurative language emphasies the unique nature of the relationship.
Intimacy of relationship is denied.
Traditionally romantic poem is contrasted with a much more unique one
Explores the relationship between people and the world around them
Wonder and amazement at the subject of the poem.
Disbelief at the amazing nature of the subject
Valentine – Duffy (1993)
The Manhunt – Armitage (2007)
Living Space – Dharker (2009)
AO1 Valentine describes a gift for a lover, such as you would give on Valentine’s Day. It is an unusual present – an onion. The poem explains why it is a powerful gift of love, much more than the clichéd gifts. The onion becomes a metaphor for love – it is a long lasting and honest gift. Although, there is an undertone of violence and fear, which alludes to imperfect nature of the love.
AO2 Duffy uses the extended metaphor of an onion, throughout, to emphasise the unique nature of the speaker’s love. The figurative depiction of the tears, suggests that there’s two sides to this love, further supported by the juxtaposition of ‘possessive and faithful’ and the oxymoron ‘fierce kiss’. Structurally, the poem reflects the speaker’s state of mind, conflicted and confused.
AO3 Carol Ann Duffy’s use of the onion metaphor is similar to the metaphysical poems of the 17th century. These poems, or conceits, used ordinary objects in original ways to surprise the reader (e.g. Donne’s The Flea). In this instance, it’s used to emphasise the unique nature of the speaker’s relationship.
AO1 The Manhunt is written from the perspective of the wife of a soldier who has sustained serious injuries at war and has returned home. The poem explores the physical and mental effects of living with injuries sustained when on active service in the armed forces. As she traces the scars across his body, she hopes that she’ll be able to repair his emotional troubles.
AO2 We get a first person perspective of the speaker’s pain, as they use military language and intricate metaphors to describe the damage of their husband’s mind and body. The regular structure hints that the pain is never-ending, whereas the irregular line lengths juxtapose this idea, to suggest that there is no routine to the speaker’s life.
AO3 ‘The Manhunt’ was originally aired as part of a documentary about post war PTSD. In the film ‘The Manhunt’ is read by Laura, wife of Eddie Beddoes, who served in Bosnia before being discharged due to injury and depression. The poem describes the human cost and reality of the conflict. as it describes her experience on her husband’s return and the effect on their relationship.
AO1 The poem describes a ramshackle living space, with its lack of 'straight lines' and beams 'balanced crookedly on supports'. Dharker has explained that the poem describes the slums of Mumbai. The slum areas are living spaces created out of all kinds of found materials: metal sheets, wooden beams and tarpaulin. In this poem she celebrates the existence of these living spaces as a miracle.
AO2 The structure of the poem mirrors the fragile nature of the slums, as the enjambment and irregular stanza lengths create an atmosphere that is free from restriction. The figurative depictions of the fragile eggs add to the sense of impossibility. Whilst, the personified presentation of the shanty town itself creates a personal relationship between man and environment.
AO3 Imtiaz Dharker is a contemporary poet who was born in Pakistan and grew up in Scotland. She often deals with themes of identity, the role of women in contemporary society and the search for meaning. She draws on her multi-cultural experience in her work.
Dharker's intimate knowledge of Mumbai is evident in this poem. She works to raise awareness of issues in other countries.
An ideal love is contrasted with a more realistic representation.
There is a sense of separation between the lovers.
Focus is on the delicacy of the relationship.
Key quotes ‘Not a red rose or a satin heart.’
‘It will blind you with tears like a lover.’
‘Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips.’
‘Platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring.’
‘Lethal’
Key quotes ‘the frozen river which ran through his face’
‘the damaged porcelain collar bone’
‘the parachute silk of his punctured lung’
‘feel the hurt of his grazed heart’
‘every nerve in his body had tightened and closed.’
Key quotes ‘Not enough straight lines’
‘Beams balance crookedly.’
‘Nails clutch at open seams.’
‘Eggs in a wire basket.’
‘Bright, thin walls of faith.’
Mimetic structure as the organisation of the poem reflects the relationship.
Ironically, metaphors show the reality of the relationship.

2. Conflict Dulce et Decorum Est – Owen (1917)
Both poems explore the harsh reality of death at war.
Linked by the reaction to death at war
Dulce et Decorum Est – Owen (1917)
A Wife in London – Hardy (1899)
Mametz Wood – Sheers (2007)
AO1 Recounting his first hand experiences of fighting in WW1. He describes the dreadful conditions of the battlefront and gruesomely depicts the death of a fellow soldier from a gas attack. It is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of war, opposite to pro-war, patriotic ideas of the time. Owen makes use of rhyme, mostly on alternate line endings. Irregular structure reflects life as a soldier.
AO2 Graphic depictions of violence, as well as onomatopoeic lexemes and a change in voice, place the reader on the (albeit figuratively described) battlefield, with Owen. The repetition of shocking verbs represent the inescapable reality of war, which challenge the traditional presentation of war. The Latin phrase at the end reflects the ‘dead’ ideology that war is honourable.
AO3 Owen fought and died in WW1 and portrayed war as violent and realistic. This challenged the previously ‘romantic’ depiction of war in poetry. His graphic depictions of violence, death and despair were difficult to ignore, and his poetry helped to emphasise the reality of war to the population ‘at home’.
AO1 The poem describes a wife receiving news of her husband who has died in a battle. It is a poem about grief and love. There is an ominous atmosphere; the reader knows that something bad is going to happen. Ironically, after she has learned that he is dead, she receives a letter from her husband in which he speaks of his excitement of when he will next see her and the things which they will do together.
AO2 The ironic tragedy of the poem is established through the clear structure, forcing our sympathy with the wife. The caesura reflects the wife’s shock, whilst we also feel genuine sorrow through her euphemistic and personified denial of the situation. The sharp, harsh, onomatopoeic nature of the message’s arrival contrasts with the melancholic presentation of life during the war (evident through the pathetic fallacy /references to fog)
AO3 Hardy was very critical of Victorian society and his poems criticised the social constraints of life at the time. Written about the Second Boer War, which began in 1899, Hardy used the poem as a commentary on the frivolity of the conflict. The Second Boer War was a military embarrassment, with many people viewing the whole war as pointless and unnecessary.
AO1 A reflective poem, based upon Sheers’ visit to Mametz Wood (a WW1 battlefield), in which the speaker describes uncovering a mass grave of soldiers. This particular grave had a row of 20 soldiers, linked arm in arm, after they’d walked into machine gun fire. The casualties were seen as avoidable and the poem creates an atmosphere of regret and reflection.
AO2 Repeated reference to the delicacy of youth helps to create a sense of loss. The metaphorical descriptions of the bones serves as to emphasise the waste of human life, which is further reinforced through the descriptions of the clothes which ‘outlasted them’. The personification, employed, serves to highlight earth’s pain and the scars of war.
AO3 Mametz Wood was the scene of fierce fighting during the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. The battle lasted five days. There were 4,000 casualties. The poem describes the battle field in modern times, with soldier’s bodies being uncovered by farmers tending the land. Sheers wrote MW after visiting the battlefield himself.
Key quotes ‘he-has fallen- in the far South Land.’
‘His hand, whom the worm now knows.’
‘the fog hangs thicker.’
‘page-full of his hoped return.’
‘Flashed news in her hand.’
Key quotes ’Bent double, like old beggars under sacks’
’Men marched asleep’
’Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!’
’if you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs..’
’The old lie: Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori.’
Key quotes ’For years afterwards the farmers found them..’
’the wasted young’
’twenty men buried in one long grave’
’in boots that outlasted them’
’a broken mosaic of bone’
Conflict
Reality of WW1 battle vs reflective visit to a WW1 battlefield.
Both written about WW1, they give completely juxtaposing presentations of life at war.
Romantic view of the death of soldiers is contrasted by the effect on those left behind.
Negative presentations of the capital. Systems are flawed.
A once powerful force (Ozy / the Great War) is reflected upon by a speaker who did not experience it first hand.
Both explore the notion of war death. One reflective, the other romantic
Both explore the notion of things being too powerful, and the way in which the truth can be manipulated.
Contrasting presentations of the loss of life and power.
The Soldier – Brooke (1914)
London – Blake (1794)
Ozymandias – Shelley (1818)
AO1 The Soldier encapsulates the feeling of patriotism that was evident in British society at the start of WW1. It expresses the belief that it is an honourable thing to die for your country, and Brooke is prepared to die in battle. England is a key theme in the poem and the speaker clearly loves his country. It is worth noting that Brooke never saw the reality of battle – he died on his way to fight.
AO2 Written in quasi-sonnet form, The Soldier’s romanticised attitude towards war is compounded by the personification of England as a maternal figure. The infallibility of mother England creates a positive and patriotic tone, in line with romantic views of war. The repetition of lexemes associated with ‘England’ serve to add to the overwhelming influence of the nation.
AO3 Brooke's poem reflects optimistic pre-war (WW1) perspective and is an important counterpoint to much World War I poetry. (The poems of Wilfred Owen et al., often emphasize the senselessness of the Great War and the tragic deaths many young soldiers suffered.) As such, it gives us some great insight into how people can romanticise war when they haven't yet experienced it.
AO1 The poem describes a journey around London, offering a glimpse of what the speaker sees as the terrible conditions faced by the inhabitants of the city. Child labour, the ‘corrupt’ Church and prostitution are all explored in the poem. It ends with a vision of the terrible consequences to be faced as a result of sexually transmitted disease.
AO2 Blake’s scathing damnation of London is exacerbated through the regular rhyme scheme, which suggests that the problems may never be solved. His pejorative attitude is further emphasised through the repetition of negative imagery, as he depicts reality of life. His synecdochic references to the ‘Church’ and ‘Palace’ symbolise the institutions whom he blames for the trouble.
AO3 William Blake rejected established religion for various reasons. One of the main ones was the failure of the established Church to help children in London who were forced to work. Blake lived and worked in the capital, so knew the city well. He alludes to the French Revolution in London, suggesting that the experience of living there could encourage a revolution on the streets of the capital.
AO1 The poem discusses a statue in the desert. There are two enormous legs without a trunk and next to them lay a damaged "visage" (face). At the foot of the statue were words which reflected the arrogance and pride of Ozymandias. Those words seem very hollow now as the magnificent statue is destroyed and none of the pharaoh's works have lasted.
AO2 Written in a quasi-sonnet form, the poem is of a ruler, who would have romanticised his own power. The 1st person perspective serves creates an ambiguity, which undermines Ozy’s power further. The alliteration at the end of the poem emphasise the vast expanse of desert and isolation of the ruler, whose name (literally and ironically) translates to ‘breathes power’.
AO3 Shelley was a well known ‘radical’ during his lifetime (having lived a turbulent life, featuring expulsions from Oxford University and a disinheriting from his father) and it’s argued this poem reflects this. Although it’s about the remains of a statue, it can be read as a criticism of people of systems that become huge and believe themselves to be invincible.
Both are first hand accounts of the speaker’s experiences.
Both poets explore the reality of a situation, from first hand experience.
Powerful systems misuse their authority.
Key quotes ’in some corner of a foreign field That is forever England’.
’A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware’.
’A pulse in the Eternal mind’
’breathing English air’
’In hearts at peace, under an English heaven’
Key quotes ‘I wandered through each chartered street’
‘marks of weakness, marks of woe.’
‘Mind forg’d manacles.
‘Blackening church.’
‘Plagues the marriage hearse.’
Key quotes ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert.’
‘Half sunk, a shattered visage lies.’
‘Sneer of cold command’
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
‘Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck,’
Reality of life vs. the romanticised presentation of it.
Legacy living on vs legacy crumbling.

3. Nature Afternoons – Larkin (1959)
Linked by the idea of ‘summer’ ending and the melancholy that this brings.
United by their exploration into metaphorical death. Both explore the harsh realities of growing older.
Afternoons – Larkin (1959)
As Imperceptibly as Grief – Dickinson (1865)
Death of a Naturalist – Heaney (1966)
AO1
Afternoons is a very melancholy poem, about the inevitability of change and the passing of youth. The poem talks about the challenges of growing up and having children. The poem discusses parenthood – how priorities have changed and there are responsibilities to face. The couples in the poem have been replaced by younger couples who go to their old ‘courting places.’
AO2 The end of youth (and happiness) is explored rather melancholically through Larkin’s figurative expression, as the reality of the mother’s lives lurk behind them. The homonym ‘lying’ presents a turning point as the mother’s realise their own youth is over. They are metaphorically being ‘pushed’ to the side of their own lives, by the wait of expectation.
AO3 Larkin was an observational poem, who wrote about people he observed (and not specifically himself). The poem focuses on the unsatisfactory nature of all of our lives, in that we’ll all have to grow up and eventually realise we’ve lost our youth. The poem is not specific to life at the time (1959), although it’s ironic that life was viewed as ‘good’ then.
AO1 In Emily Dickinson’s poem “As imperceptibly as Grief,” Dickinson uses beautiful words to show her complete distress. Dickinson wrote about “Summer” as if Summer is a symbolism for happiness. Dickenson writes this poem to represent her own emotions and struggles. Her words provide a sense of beauty in the darkness.
AO2 Dickinson’s isolation is emphasised through her personification of Summer. The personification runs throughout, and creates a genuine sense of abandonment and isolation, as it makes its ‘escape’. The alliterative ‘dusk drew’ adds to the sense that darkness is creeping in, as the figurative depiction of Autumn reflects her lack of comfort with her own isolation. The enjambment mirrors the waning of the summer sun, slowly dissipating.
AO3 Dickinson was a recluse, who spent a lot of her time on her own. Her isolation from the world was made clear in her poetry, and a lot of her poems were sad/ melancholic. She was familiar with death as a child, as she lost several close friends to illness, whilst she was at school. Dickinson regularly wrote about feeling trapped or confined.
AO1 ‘Death of a Naturalist’ is both a description of Heaney’s experience with nature as a boy, and a metaphor for the loss of his childhood innocence, as he looks back wistfully at his youthful naivety. He is fascinated by the frogspawn and tadpoles of the flax-dam’, but becomes repulsed by a horde of croaking frogs in their maturity.
AO2 The sensory and onomatopoeic nature of the opening stanza highlight the childish exuberance of the speaker, as they discover nature. The repeated alliteration and enjambment add to the sense of excitement and intrigue. This is juxtaposed by the speaker’s hyperbolic fear of the nature (created through military references and figurative language).
AO3 Seamus Heaney ( ) was an Irish poet who focused on the beauty and depth of nature in many of his poems. His love for nature may have stemmed from his childhood on a farm. Heaney later became a teacher, which might also be explored in the references to the speaker’s education.
Key quotes ‘The summer lapsed away.’
‘courteous yet harrowing grace.’
‘As guest that would be gone.’
‘Sequestered afternoon.’
‘Our summer made her light escape into the beautiful.’
Key quotes ‘Summer is fading’
‘young mothers assemble.’
‘Our Wedding’ lying near the television.’
‘expect to be taken home’
‘something is pushing them to the side.’
Key quotes ‘All year the flax dam festered in the heart’
‘best of all was the warm thick slobber of frogspawn.’
The fattening dots burst.’
‘Angry frogs invaded.’
The great slime kings were gathered there for vengeance.’
Nature
Both poems explore the idea of loss of youth and innocence
Both poems explore an idea of isolation. Dickinson’s isolation from the world vs the hawk’s unrivalled power.
Both poems explore the idea of loss.
Nature is presented as an unstoppable force.
Nature is presented as powerful through aggressive depictions of animals.
Both poems focus on the inevitable progression of time.
Both poems personify nature, in order to present the change of season as lamentable.
Both focus on the idea of growing older and losing something.
Hawk Roosting – Hughes (1960)
Excerpt from The Prelude – Wordsworth (1850)
To Autumn – Keats (1819)
AO1 The poem is written from the first person narrative of a hawk, who feels on top of the world. It discusses power. The poem uses a lot of imagery related to death and evolution. The hawk will not allow anything or anyone to stand in his way. We could interpret the poem as literally being about a hawk, or the hawk could be a metaphor for a dictator.
AO2 A personified, first person, view into the life of a hawk. His arrogance and omnipotence is suggested through his aggressive use of language and metaphorical references to death, which he thinks he controls. The personification of the sun (behind him) and earth (beneath him), adds to his authority and control. Nothing will change, like the regular four line stanzas.
AO3 "The poem of mine usually cited for violence is the one about the Hawk Roosting, this drowsy hawk sitting in a wood and talking to itself. That bird is accused of being a fascist... the symbol of some horrible genocidal dictator. Actually what I had in mind was that in this hawk Nature was thinking. Simply Nature.”
Ted Hughes, London Magazine, January 1971
AO1 The prelude is a very long, autobiographical poem, showing the spiritual growth of the speaker. Wordsworth recounts his childhood experience of skating on a frozen lake at twilight. He feels not just happiness but ‘rapture.’ In the second section, he leaves the pack and is alone with nature. In the third section, he personifies nature as spirits, which ‘haunt’ him.
AO2 The ecstasy of childhood is established through the hyperbolic descriptions of the children’s activities. Alliteration and sibilance create a sensory presentation of the exuberance of the children. The ‘rapture’ of fun is juxtaposed by the melancholic ending, however, as the ‘alien’ sounds and ambiguous climax foreshadows the loss of innocence, and inevitability of growth.
AO3 He was born in Cockermouth (part of the Lake District), and his birthplace had a huge influence on his writing. So did the fact that his mother died when he was only eight years old. His father wasn't always around, although William did use his library for reading. William spent time with his grandparents who lived in nearby Penrith, an even wilder and more rugged place.
AO1 Autumn is personified throughout. Stanza 1 - autumn and the sun are like best friends . The bees think summer will be forever, but the speaker knows better. Stanza 2 - describes the period after the harvest. Stanza 3 - the music of spring is a distant memory, but that autumn's music is good too. All of the sights and sounds produce a symphony of beauty.
AO2 By personifying Autumn as a fragile young woman, Keats adds a sense of beauty to a season which is usually reflective of life ending. The personified relationship between the sun and earth creates a sense of wisdom and a tone of contentment, as Keats comes to terms with entering the Autumn of his own life. Beautiful descriptions create a sense of harmony.
AO3 Keats was a Romantic poet, who was famed for his appreciation of the power and beauty of nature, and an understanding of the deeper meaning of life
To Autumn which reflects on mankind’s relationship with a particular time of year. He wrote the poem inspired by a walk he had taken through the countryside; it is, therefore, a highly personal response.
The innocence of childhood comes to an abrupt end by the end of both poems.
Both poems explore the idea of childhood exuberance, however both also touch upon the idea that it won’t last forever.
Both poems explore a sense of loss, associated with nature changing.
Key quotes ‘I sit at the top of the wood.’
‘Rehearse perfect kills and eat.’
‘Now I hold creation in my foot.’
‘I kill where I please
‘The allotment of death.’
‘I am going to keep things like this.’
Key quotes ‘The wilight blaz’d.’
‘We hiss’d along the polish’d ice.’
‘Woodland pleasures.’
Every icy crag tinkled like iron.’
An alien sound of melancholy.’
‘The orange sky of evening died away.’
Key quotes ‘Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun’
‘later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease’
‘Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?’
Nature’s power is made obvious in HR, whereas it is more subtly alluded to in EftP.
Contrasting presentations of nature. Power vs fragility.