The poem is littered with personal pronouns, which we would expect in this sort of speech. However, they are important because they help to highlight the Duke’s arrogance and selfishness. They also often relate to his love of possessions, including how he treated his late wife (who he saw as a possession). The speaker tells us that they met a traveller from an ancient land and that they told him the story contained in the poem. The traveller had come across the remains of a big statue in the desert.This statue was shattered and partly covered by the sand. On the foot of the statue were the words: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!” – showing the huge pride and arrogance of Ozymandias. The words and the arrogance of the king seem meaningless now – to the speaker and the reader – as the statue is a ruin and nothing of Ozymandias’ power remains. Form

You only hear the speaker’s own words for the first line and a half up to the colon. After that the words are those of the traveller. The poem is one 14-line stanza, split up with plenty of punctuation. Rhyme At first glance the language used in this poem looks fairly natural. It’s the sort of language that is used in everyday speech, so it seems as though the speaker is talking to us. Alongside this natural language, however, Rumens uses lots of metaphors and similes to emphasise her message. Metaphors like: ‘the bright, filled paperweight’, ‘branded by an impression of sunlight’ and ‘time rolls its tanks’ create contrasting images of the positive memories of the speaker versus the conflict that has now engulfed the homeland. The city itself could also be considered an extended metaphor for a lost childhood that everyone can relate to.Beatrice Garland has not directly experienced any of the things she talks about in this poem. She has, however, said:“I spend a lot of the day listening to other people’s worlds”. In KamikazeGarland reflects on one of these worlds. Kamikaze pilots flew suicide missions for the Japanese Empire at the end of the Second World War. Their missions were to crash into allied ships. There was a strong social pressure on the pilots and their families to carry out these Kamikaze missions. The poem explores these pressures. This is also relevant in the modern world as terrorists use suicide missions in modern conflicts. Content Shelley had quite radical views. One interpretation of Ozymandias is that the poem criticises people or organisations that become too big and powerful and think they can’t be challenged. Content Similarly, the military image of the dead man ‘dug in behind enemy lines’ in the speaker’s head emphasises how the horrible experience – and guilt that the speaker feels – has become a constant mental trauma for him.

Blake uses repetition to emphasise important points. “Charter’d” is repeated in the first stanza to show how everything in the city is owned by the rich and powerful. The repetition of “Marks” in stanza two shows the physical marks and scars on people due to their living conditions. It also has a double meaning as it could suggest the speaker recording (or ‘marking’) what he saw on the journey through London. Owen uses lists of emotive words to describe the soldiers’ feelings and fears: “worried by silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous”. This exposes the reader to the reality of war even further. Owen further compliments this with the use of rhetorical questions: “what are we doing here?” and “is it that we are dying?” to show the futility of war and the certainty of death felt by soldiers. For them life and death are inextricably linked. It’s difficult for them to tell if they are alive or dead. Imagery Finally, in stanza 6 Tennyson ends with a rhetorical question “When can their glory fade?” and repetition of the word “honour” to hammer home his praise of the soldiers’ bravery. Imagery In the first half of the poem Garland uses impressive metaphors to show us what is influencing the pilot’s thoughts. ‘A tuna, the dark prince’ and ‘the loose silver of whitebait’, suggest the power and value of the sea. The life it holds has forced the pilot to think again about completing his mission. Garland also provides vivid details of the pilot’s experience by describing how his senses react to the setting. ‘Green-blue translucent sea’ and ‘dark shoals’ show what he saw and the ‘salt-sodden’ boat involves touch and taste. Power –the power of paper in our lives to record events, ideas and memories. The poem even suggests paper has the power to change the course of our lives.Words associated with movement also appear regularly in the first stanza, “running” and “stumbling”, to show how the soldier is constantly charging over the course of the poem. We see how difficult his progress is because of the “raw-seamed hot khaki” (Khaki was a type of clothing worn by soldiers) and the “field of clods”. The soldier’s effort and increasing terror is further shown by the use of words like “suddenly”, “running”, “sweat heavy”, “lugged” and “sweating”. You don’t get extra marks for more quotations, but you do get more marks for making plenty of interesting comments about the quotes you have selected Seneca is the best online revision app. Research found that students get 2x better exam results with Seneca - and it's FREE 😲