Some opening paragraphs for you!

1. Poetry Revision
Bottisham Village College
2013

2. What is this?
In this very simple powerpoint, we shall show
you how to answer the questions you will get
next week.
I shall give you a question and then an example
paragraph.
Good Luck!

3. Compare the ways in which poets present their ideas
about power in Ozymandias and one other poem from
the “Character and Voice” section of the anthology.
Both the poems Ozymandias and Les Grands Seigneurs show power declining
over time, but they present their ideas in different ways. In Ozymandias, we
see lots of imagery and words to do with destruction. The phrase “shattered
visage” gives us an impression that an identity has been destroyed – the
onomatopoeia in that phrase makes this clear for the reader. The imagery of
“trunkless legs” shows us something that has lost its meaning. The poem Les
Grands Seigneurs also shows how power has declined over time. At the start
of the poem we see lines that are lengthy and words that are sophisticated.
The words “castellated” and “troubadour” are contrasted dramatically with
words like “bit of stuff” and “clicked” at the end of the poem. This change in
language and structure represents the voice’s loss of power once married.

4. Compare the ways in which poets present their ideas
about identity in The Clown Punk and one other poem
from the anthology.
Both poems The Clown Punk and Medusa show contrasting identities for
effect. The voice in the first poem seems to be very scathing about the area
he is driving through. He talks of the “shonky side of town” , the alliteration
showing his bitterness. He contrasts himself with “The Clown Punk”, not
calling him a name and, to some extent, dehumanising him. He tells his
children “Don’t laugh”. The two identities are vital to the centre of the poem.
Medusa also shows two identities but of the same person. The voice tells us
“Wasn’t I young? Wasn’t I beautiful?”, with the questions showing how much
she longs for her previous beauty. This is contrasted with the present where
she talks of snakes that “hissed and spat”. We can see two identities
juxtaposed for effect.

5. Compare the ways in which poets present isolated
characters in The Hunchback in the Park and one
other poem from the anthology.
Both poems The Hunchback in the Park and Case History present isolated
characters with a sense of weakness. The poet describes the tramp as
“propped between trees and water”, implying that he is something of an
object rather than a person. It has the effect of showing this isolated
character as dehumanised. This is also shown in Case History where the
poetic voice talks about “lugs me upstairs”. The words ‘lugs’ creates an ugly
sound and sounds as if she is dragging an object up the stairs not herself. As
we can see, both poems use words to show how isolated characters
somehow loose their sense of human identity.