JUST 5 Power and Conflict Poems ANSWER EVERY QUESTION Ft. @thelightuphub

00:33:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUcraxwQUhc

Summary

TLDRIn this video, the Light Up Tutor analyzes five significant poems, focusing on their forms, themes, and connections to societal issues. The discussion includes 'Ozymandias' by Shelley, which critiques tyranny and the fleeting nature of power; 'Checking Out Me History' by Agard, which explores cultural identity and self-discovery; 'Exposure' by Owen, a protest against the horrors of war; 'London' by Blake, which critiques the oppressive structures of society; and 'Kamikaze' by Garland, which examines the conflict between personal desire and societal expectations. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding these poems in relation to each other for exam preparation.

Takeaways

  • 📜 Understanding the form of a poem enhances its meaning.
  • 🌍 Themes of power and identity are central to these poems.
  • 🖋️ The title of a poem can reveal its deeper significance.
  • ⚔️ Nature often contrasts with human conflict in poetry.
  • 📚 Comparing poems can strengthen exam responses.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The video introduces a study session focusing on five selected poems for exam preparation, emphasizing the importance of understanding their forms and themes to achieve top marks. The first poem discussed is 'Ozymandias,' where the form of a sonnet is linked to themes of egotism and tyranny, illustrating how tyrannical power is ultimately fleeting and mocked by the enduring nature of art and poetry.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The discussion continues with the theme of power, linking 'Ozymandias' to the power of nature and the inevitability of time. The speaker emphasizes that while tyrants may believe in their lasting power, nature and time will ultimately prevail, highlighting the futility of oppressive rule.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The analysis shifts to the poem 'Checking Out My History,' where the form is used to critique Eurocentric views of history. The speaker's journey of self-discovery through cultural identity is explored, contrasting the restrictive nursery rhyme rhythm with the freedom of free verse, symbolizing the reclaiming of identity.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    The conversation then moves to 'Exposure,' a protest poem about the harsh realities of war. The form is analyzed, revealing how the imperfect rhymes reflect the soldiers' unfulfilled lives and the psychological torment they endure, ultimately critiquing the neglect of soldiers by those at home.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The fifth poem discussed is 'London,' which critiques the oppressive structures of society through its rigid form. The speaker highlights the dehumanizing effects of urbanization and the hypocrisy of the church and government, emphasizing the collective suffering of individuals in London.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:33:25

    Finally, 'Kamikaze' is examined, focusing on the pilot's struggle against societal expectations. The poem's free verse form reflects the desire for freedom, while the themes of identity and cultural oppression are explored, suggesting a complex relationship between personal choice and societal norms.

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Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What are the main themes discussed in the video?

    The main themes include power, identity, nature, and the human condition.

  • How does the form of 'Ozymandias' contribute to its meaning?

    The sonnet form reflects the themes of egotism and the fleeting nature of power.

  • What is the significance of the title 'Exposure'?

    The title highlights the physical and psychological exposure of soldiers during war.

  • How does 'Checking Out Me History' address cultural identity?

    It explores the struggle for self-discovery and the impact of Eurocentric history on identity.

  • What does 'London' critique?

    It critiques the oppressive structures of government and religion in society.

  • What is the central conflict in 'Kamikaze'?

    The conflict revolves around the pilot's desire for freedom versus societal expectations.

  • How can these poems be linked in an exam?

    They can be compared through their themes, forms, and the portrayal of power and identity.

  • What role does nature play in these poems?

    Nature is often depicted as a powerful force that contrasts with human conflict and oppression.

  • What is the significance of the rhyme scheme in 'London'?

    The ABAB rhyme scheme reflects the restrictive and oppressive nature of society.

  • How does the video suggest preparing for poetry exams?

    By understanding the connections between poems and their themes, students can effectively compare them in essays.

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  • 00:00:00
    welcome to another top grad Made Easy
  • 00:00:02
    video I'm again with the light up tutor
  • 00:00:06
    and we've chosen five PS for pound
  • 00:00:10
    conflict now the reason for that is you
  • 00:00:12
    do not have to revise all 15 and we've
  • 00:00:16
    picked five which we think will link to
  • 00:00:19
    any single poem that can come up in the
  • 00:00:21
    exam and therefore it will be easy for
  • 00:00:24
    you to get top
  • 00:00:26
    marks number one orandas
  • 00:00:30
    and we'll always start with the form the
  • 00:00:33
    form is what you need in grades 8 and n
  • 00:00:36
    and a little bit of grade seven and so
  • 00:00:38
    if you learn this in advance The
  • 00:00:41
    Examiner automatically wants to put you
  • 00:00:42
    in top grades so take us through what's
  • 00:00:46
    the form of ozas so think about a sonnet
  • 00:00:49
    a sonnic is typically about love poetry
  • 00:00:51
    that's what we typically see sonnets use
  • 00:00:53
    for to admire something or to adore
  • 00:00:55
    something so we can see this in two ways
  • 00:00:58
    firstly we can link it to aie is his
  • 00:01:00
    love for himself he's egotistical we can
  • 00:01:03
    link it to his hubis his hubis is his
  • 00:01:06
    pride his ego so we can say that as a
  • 00:01:08
    reflection the Sonic actually mirrors
  • 00:01:11
    the egotistical love he has for himself
  • 00:01:13
    alternatively and we always want to go
  • 00:01:15
    for T of interpretation if you can put
  • 00:01:18
    in both do it we can say that Shen's
  • 00:01:20
    actually using the Sonic to Mock and
  • 00:01:23
    ridicule the the lack of Love That aie
  • 00:01:25
    Mand have by his people because he was a
  • 00:01:28
    tyrannical ruler tyrannical tyranny
  • 00:01:31
    means he was cruel and oppressive we see
  • 00:01:33
    that in the way that he treated his
  • 00:01:35
    people with the snare of cold command he
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    was a tyrannical leader so Shelly could
  • 00:01:40
    be actually using it to ridicule mock
  • 00:01:43
    the idea of tyranny and how of course
  • 00:01:45
    tyranny does not lead to longlasting
  • 00:01:47
    power think about his shatter page a
  • 00:01:50
    metaphor of how power is not longlasting
  • 00:01:52
    when it's tyrannical and instead that
  • 00:01:54
    people will not love you long term if
  • 00:01:56
    you treat them with disrespect as Aussie
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    mandus did brilliant if we pick up on
  • 00:02:01
    that idea of things that are longlasting
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    so shell is saying your tyranny oim
  • 00:02:07
    mandus isn't longlasting even though you
  • 00:02:09
    thought it would be your power has
  • 00:02:11
    disappeared over time the other thing
  • 00:02:14
    that endures in the poem is Art so it's
  • 00:02:17
    the artist who's carved this statue and
  • 00:02:20
    has got the snear of cold command and
  • 00:02:23
    the wrinkled lip that's captured oia so
  • 00:02:26
    brilliantly thousands of years later and
  • 00:02:30
    shell is playing an interesting game
  • 00:02:31
    here he's saying look my poem has got a
  • 00:02:34
    chance to Outlast the tyrants in society
  • 00:02:38
    just like the statue did which is why
  • 00:02:40
    he's saying look I'm writing a poem in a
  • 00:02:42
    solid form which has come from Petra
  • 00:02:45
    which has then been adapted by
  • 00:02:47
    Shakespeare but I'm so brilliant that
  • 00:02:49
    I'm not copying them I'm matching them
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    together to come up with my own Shelly
  • 00:02:54
    form of Sonet my art is going to outlast
  • 00:02:57
    everything else so that huis ambus has
  • 00:03:01
    is also something that shell has but
  • 00:03:04
    ironically he was right we're still
  • 00:03:06
    studying him his poem did the job it
  • 00:03:09
    worked it worked okay and then meaning
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    we've kind of touched on this already
  • 00:03:12
    about tyranny doesn't last so thinking
  • 00:03:15
    about the nature of power particularly
  • 00:03:17
    focusing on is tyranny and is tyranical
  • 00:03:20
    power enduring and longlasting he shows
  • 00:03:23
    through oie mandas it is not you cannot
  • 00:03:25
    be a tyrant be cruel and oppressive and
  • 00:03:28
    exploit your people and treat them with
  • 00:03:30
    a lack of respect and have that long
  • 00:03:32
    enduring power this is how we can link
  • 00:03:34
    it to Shell's meaning and then of course
  • 00:03:36
    we can link it to the solic form and how
  • 00:03:37
    it's a mockery of this longlasting power
  • 00:03:40
    that tyrants typically think that they
  • 00:03:41
    will have yeah and examiners get really
  • 00:03:44
    excited when you start linking the poem
  • 00:03:46
    to what they call The Human Condition
  • 00:03:49
    and so this idea is that every society
  • 00:03:51
    will have tyrants in it think of
  • 00:03:53
    Vladimir Putin now so it's always
  • 00:03:55
    relevant it's a Timeless theme and they
  • 00:03:58
    love it when you manag to link it to
  • 00:04:02
    society now definitely the next thing
  • 00:04:05
    that you have to consider is how will we
  • 00:04:08
    link this orandas to every other poem
  • 00:04:12
    that could come up and the easiest way
  • 00:04:14
    to do that is through the themes so
  • 00:04:17
    obviously links with power we talked you
  • 00:04:19
    through that take us through how it
  • 00:04:21
    links with the power of nature which the
  • 00:04:23
    examiners have never asked but it could
  • 00:04:25
    still happen so power of nature if we
  • 00:04:28
    think about the nature of human the
  • 00:04:31
    power of human nature to begin with so
  • 00:04:32
    we're thinking about oie mandas his
  • 00:04:34
    tyranny we've already spoken about that
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    but the only thing that is lasting and
  • 00:04:38
    that is right at the end is the sound of
  • 00:04:41
    time so we can link it to Nature and the
  • 00:04:43
    fact that nature is continual even with
  • 00:04:46
    this tyrannical power and Mankind always
  • 00:04:48
    believes that that that the human pow is
  • 00:04:50
    going to be longlasting what always
  • 00:04:52
    stands the test of time it is nature he
  • 00:04:55
    is being engulfed by the sand of time
  • 00:04:58
    metaphorically but also the ual sound of
  • 00:05:00
    the desert because nature will continue
  • 00:05:03
    even after tyranny even after these cool
  • 00:05:05
    and oppressive leaders which is still
  • 00:05:06
    relevant to today it doesn't matter this
  • 00:05:09
    power is futile meaning it's pointless
  • 00:05:12
    because the only thing that will be
  • 00:05:13
    ongoing is nature brilliant uh then we
  • 00:05:17
    get people so obviously we've got the
  • 00:05:19
    person in the poem The Tyrant himself uh
  • 00:05:23
    but the other person is the poet and his
  • 00:05:27
    perspective and then of course the other
  • 00:05:29
    one is the artist so each of those three
  • 00:05:32
    will be easy to compare to any other
  • 00:05:35
    people in poems that you'll presented
  • 00:05:38
    with on the day so there are two places
  • 00:05:41
    that are relevant here one is obviously
  • 00:05:45
    Egypt and the pharaohs so oam mandus is
  • 00:05:49
    an interesting one because shell has
  • 00:05:53
    lied so he's actually looking at a
  • 00:05:56
    statue that's come to the British Museum
  • 00:05:59
    and statues of O amandus are still
  • 00:06:01
    standing now they're absolutely
  • 00:06:02
    everywhere and so his power has lasted
  • 00:06:07
    and he is visible everywhere shell of
  • 00:06:09
    course has changed that fact he's lied
  • 00:06:12
    about the place of Egypt in order to
  • 00:06:14
    portray tyranny as not longlasting but
  • 00:06:17
    the other place that's really
  • 00:06:19
    interesting is he's writing about
  • 00:06:20
    Britain so shortly after writing this
  • 00:06:23
    poem shell left and he went to live the
  • 00:06:25
    rest of his life in Italy and Europe and
  • 00:06:28
    he rejected Brit because he saw power in
  • 00:06:31
    Britain politics in Britain as corrupt
  • 00:06:34
    so he actually left the country and so
  • 00:06:37
    his criticism of oam mandas is also an
  • 00:06:41
    implied criticism of politics at home
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    and next PO is checking out my history
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    this is an absolute gift to you because
  • 00:06:50
    it's easy to write about the form there
  • 00:06:53
    are two aspects to the form so whenever
  • 00:06:56
    he's talking about the European
  • 00:06:58
    tradition or the British one he uses a
  • 00:07:02
    nursery rhyme kind of Rhythm and a
  • 00:07:05
    formal way of expressing that it's
  • 00:07:07
    written in rhyming quat trains four
  • 00:07:10
    lines that rhyme and he does that to
  • 00:07:13
    mock the views of the Europeans and the
  • 00:07:16
    British who were celebrating their own
  • 00:07:18
    culture and completely ignoring the
  • 00:07:21
    culture of uh other nations the slave
  • 00:07:25
    trade the africas the Americas and
  • 00:07:28
    that's what he's complaining about in
  • 00:07:31
    the poem and therefore the form helps
  • 00:07:34
    him mock the oppressive view that's
  • 00:07:37
    giving him what he sees as a completely
  • 00:07:39
    false and incomplete history yeah 100% I
  • 00:07:43
    really like that I think a massive thing
  • 00:07:44
    as well that you can link to his
  • 00:07:46
    intentions is that mockery he is
  • 00:07:47
    ridiculing them it's not a nice way to
  • 00:07:49
    describe it and particularly because
  • 00:07:51
    it's so restrictive it's very focused on
  • 00:07:53
    the eurocentric idea of history and it
  • 00:07:55
    blinds them both metaphorically and
  • 00:07:58
    physically it gives the re
  • 00:08:00
    an understanding of the other history
  • 00:08:01
    that they've been blinded by and
  • 00:08:03
    oppressed from seeing so we've also got
  • 00:08:05
    meaning as well aar's Quest
  • 00:08:07
    self-discovery through cultural identity
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    and this is so so fundamental to
  • 00:08:12
    understanding the poem he is not just
  • 00:08:14
    ridiculing and mocking youren history
  • 00:08:16
    for reason but it goes through this
  • 00:08:18
    journey of self-discovery because he has
  • 00:08:20
    been oppressed because he has been
  • 00:08:22
    restricted from seeing his culture and
  • 00:08:24
    therefore understanding this part of his
  • 00:08:26
    identity we see throughout the poem this
  • 00:08:28
    exploration going through different
  • 00:08:30
    historical figures as he explores his
  • 00:08:33
    identity we get an understanding of his
  • 00:08:35
    culture so we're going through this
  • 00:08:37
    self-discovery of his identity with aard
  • 00:08:40
    as well yeah that links back to our form
  • 00:08:43
    so the stanzas that are about that past
  • 00:08:46
    like Shaka the great Zulu or Nanny de
  • 00:08:49
    maroon all these characters from history
  • 00:08:52
    that he lists he deals with them in a
  • 00:08:54
    much more free verse which obviously
  • 00:08:57
    mirrors the freedom that he's now
  • 00:08:59
    feeling feeling in discovering his
  • 00:09:00
    identity and there a direct contrast
  • 00:09:03
    with the restricted quat trains that
  • 00:09:05
    we've had before so now how on Earth
  • 00:09:09
    will we use this poem to fit any
  • 00:09:12
    comparison that comes up we've got four
  • 00:09:14
    themes for you that will be easy to fit
  • 00:09:17
    the poem against how will it link to the
  • 00:09:19
    them of power so I think like we spoke
  • 00:09:22
    about with the identity it's almost like
  • 00:09:24
    this struggle for power this struggle
  • 00:09:25
    for him be able to see his true identity
  • 00:09:28
    to discover it through his culture so we
  • 00:09:29
    see there's also power struggle as well
  • 00:09:32
    this subtle way of him trying to gain
  • 00:09:34
    back the power through doing the rhyming
  • 00:09:36
    quot trains through him mocking the
  • 00:09:38
    ideas he's trying to regain back some
  • 00:09:40
    power and control that he felt like he
  • 00:09:41
    has lost through the eurocentric history
  • 00:09:44
    he's been almost blinded with and
  • 00:09:46
    indoctrinated by and him unable to see
  • 00:09:48
    his Ro culture and his real identity but
  • 00:09:51
    also as well thinking about the power
  • 00:09:52
    struggle of people throughout history
  • 00:09:55
    who have also gone through the similar
  • 00:09:56
    thing of being blinded to their true
  • 00:09:58
    identity so you could almost see aard as
  • 00:10:00
    a micros for those who have been
  • 00:10:02
    oppressed throughout history and those
  • 00:10:04
    who have been restricted from seeing
  • 00:10:06
    their true identity through like
  • 00:10:07
    cultural pression yeah so that brings us
  • 00:10:10
    actually to two possible audiences for
  • 00:10:12
    the poem one is other people like him
  • 00:10:15
    who have come to Britain from an
  • 00:10:16
    immigrant background and he's saying
  • 00:10:18
    look our story has been denied us and so
  • 00:10:21
    he's inviting other black people from
  • 00:10:24
    the African diaspora to have a similar
  • 00:10:27
    experience to him but he's also also
  • 00:10:29
    writing it to People Like Us teachers in
  • 00:10:32
    school you know teach the right history
  • 00:10:35
    and as well as a wider white readership
  • 00:10:38
    if you like and he's asking us to see
  • 00:10:40
    history differently to the way it's
  • 00:10:42
    being taught 100% And then identity
  • 00:10:45
    self-discovery for his identity what
  • 00:10:47
    he's been given versus what is true and
  • 00:10:50
    how that contributes to him forming his
  • 00:10:51
    identity about himself as a it's very
  • 00:10:55
    likely that you'll get a war poem
  • 00:10:57
    comparison that comes up a lot and
  • 00:10:59
    although this doesn't feel like a war
  • 00:11:01
    poem there are lots of War instances
  • 00:11:04
    referenced in it and in particular the
  • 00:11:07
    Triumph of Shaka the great Zulu we also
  • 00:11:12
    have t over forgive my pronunciation who
  • 00:11:15
    defeated Napoleon and we got Mary SEO
  • 00:11:19
    who went to the Crimean War to give help
  • 00:11:21
    to the British soldiers so it's easy to
  • 00:11:23
    reframe this as a war poem If you need
  • 00:11:26
    to in the exam and also as well if we're
  • 00:11:28
    going met metaphorical with it that
  • 00:11:30
    metaphorical war against the eurocentric
  • 00:11:32
    history that he's been given and him
  • 00:11:34
    subtly trying to criticize it and it's
  • 00:11:36
    more of like a metaphorical way you can
  • 00:11:38
    maybe stick in a sentence to say that
  • 00:11:40
    and not make your whole point about it
  • 00:11:41
    if you just want to go that bit further
  • 00:11:42
    that's really cool I love that uh and
  • 00:11:45
    then Place well that's easy there are so
  • 00:11:48
    many places listed there and they're all
  • 00:11:51
    as a direct contrast to Europe and the
  • 00:11:54
    point of the contrast is to show how
  • 00:11:57
    they should be just as as important as
  • 00:12:00
    the European history 100%
  • 00:12:05
    99%
  • 00:12:07
    okay so the third poem we are going
  • 00:12:09
    through is exposure one of my FM
  • 00:12:13
    favorites I must admit so let's go for
  • 00:12:15
    form first of all parne now a lot of
  • 00:12:18
    students will not comment on this so by
  • 00:12:21
    you doing that you're going to
  • 00:12:22
    differentiate yourself from the masses
  • 00:12:24
    so par rhy what does that kind of mean
  • 00:12:26
    that means that they kind of rhyme not
  • 00:12:29
    fully formed rhyme like cat and mat it's
  • 00:12:32
    not fully formed rhyme but they slightly
  • 00:12:34
    rhyme so for example he says knif us and
  • 00:12:37
    nervous so what does that actually
  • 00:12:39
    showcase thinking about the context of
  • 00:12:42
    World War I who went to war a lot of
  • 00:12:44
    young men so they never got to fully
  • 00:12:47
    develop their lives they never got to
  • 00:12:48
    fully live cuz most of them were
  • 00:12:50
    teenagers or young adults so the parad
  • 00:12:53
    could be exposing the propaganda and how
  • 00:12:57
    these men's life was cut short not fully
  • 00:13:00
    developed alike to the rhyme it's not
  • 00:13:02
    fully there just like they didn't get to
  • 00:13:04
    fully develop their lives alternatively
  • 00:13:07
    we could also suggest that as as a
  • 00:13:10
    reader we're waiting for the rhyme to
  • 00:13:12
    complete we're waiting for it to fully
  • 00:13:15
    rhyme just the like how the soldiers are
  • 00:13:17
    waiting anticipation for the water to
  • 00:13:20
    commence they are waiting in the
  • 00:13:22
    trenches waiting for the battle waiting
  • 00:13:25
    for somebody to basically kill them and
  • 00:13:28
    then we're left with that nothingness
  • 00:13:30
    but nothing happened so I like to the
  • 00:13:33
    soldiers we as a reader are left in this
  • 00:13:35
    anticipation this waiting this
  • 00:13:38
    nothingness so we F this sense of
  • 00:13:40
    sympathy because the soldiers as they're
  • 00:13:42
    going through it I like those I'm add a
  • 00:13:44
    third go for it so this is a protest
  • 00:13:47
    poem written to the people at home to
  • 00:13:49
    complain about the way the soldiers have
  • 00:13:51
    been forgotten and because it's a
  • 00:13:54
    protest poem it deliberately unsettles
  • 00:13:57
    the reader so just like you said you're
  • 00:14:00
    waiting for the rhyme then it doesn't
  • 00:14:02
    come you're unsettled by it and that
  • 00:14:05
    links with the message of the poem which
  • 00:14:07
    is dear reader I want to upset unsettle
  • 00:14:10
    you because you can't keep supporting
  • 00:14:12
    this war because it's inhumane and cruel
  • 00:14:16
    to us the people who are fighting
  • 00:14:18
    it so now we come to the meaning so as
  • 00:14:23
    it's a protest PO he wants to expose the
  • 00:14:26
    physical and psychological torture of
  • 00:14:29
    War now we would be expecting him to
  • 00:14:32
    write about bombs and guns and people
  • 00:14:36
    being killed by an enemy but there's an
  • 00:14:38
    ironic twist it's not the enemy that's
  • 00:14:42
    killing them it's the conditions why are
  • 00:14:45
    the conditions killing the soldiers
  • 00:14:47
    because the British haven't prepared for
  • 00:14:49
    them the people at home are not looking
  • 00:14:52
    after the soldiers who from Owen's point
  • 00:14:54
    of view they're sending out callously to
  • 00:14:57
    die and forget
  • 00:15:00
    definitely and I think this thinks back
  • 00:15:01
    as well to the title now a lot of
  • 00:15:03
    students won't ever comment on the title
  • 00:15:05
    just believe it's the title because it's
  • 00:15:07
    the title but Owen has intentionally
  • 00:15:09
    constructed the title to be exposure
  • 00:15:12
    because it has this dual meaning firstly
  • 00:15:14
    he is showing that the soldiers are
  • 00:15:16
    being physically and psychologically
  • 00:15:18
    exposed because they're in the trenches
  • 00:15:20
    they are battling this Warfare but
  • 00:15:22
    actually the real battle is the weather
  • 00:15:24
    conditions the brutality the
  • 00:15:25
    belligerence of it the waiting but also
  • 00:15:28
    he sh and exposing the reality of War
  • 00:15:32
    thinking about at the time people were
  • 00:15:34
    very patriotic I.E they love their
  • 00:15:36
    country they were supporting the war
  • 00:15:37
    there was lots of propaganda basically
  • 00:15:39
    that was used to make people support the
  • 00:15:41
    war so he is trying to expose how
  • 00:15:44
    inhuman basically mean it it's really
  • 00:15:46
    bad the humans who are suffering from it
  • 00:15:48
    how belligerent it was how harsh it was
  • 00:15:51
    that is what he's trying to expir that's
  • 00:15:53
    a brilliant top grade analysis of the
  • 00:15:55
    title fantastic so now we're going to
  • 00:15:58
    give you four themes that you can link
  • 00:16:00
    this to why would you bother well
  • 00:16:03
    because the other poem you get in the
  • 00:16:05
    exam is likely to be linked to one of
  • 00:16:07
    these themes so You' be able to compare
  • 00:16:08
    it to any poem well obviously this is a
  • 00:16:12
    war poem remember what's he protesting
  • 00:16:15
    about what does he want to change think
  • 00:16:17
    we've covered that brilliantly the next
  • 00:16:19
    is identity that seems a tricky one so
  • 00:16:23
    light up has got you sorted I hope so
  • 00:16:27
    I've got you covered so ident
  • 00:16:29
    I love this one for exposure because
  • 00:16:31
    most students won comment on it so let's
  • 00:16:33
    think about soldiers let's link it right
  • 00:16:35
    back to in the war they were expected to
  • 00:16:37
    be masculine to be dominant to be
  • 00:16:40
    powerful there was no such thing as
  • 00:16:42
    mental health back then and particularly
  • 00:16:44
    if men went out of the war they branded
  • 00:16:46
    as a coward so in this identity the
  • 00:16:49
    solders identity is inextricably which
  • 00:16:51
    means closely linked to their strength
  • 00:16:54
    but what do we see in Owen what is he
  • 00:16:56
    exposing he is exposing that these men
  • 00:16:59
    are being emasculated it's be lesser of
  • 00:17:03
    a man by the weather which seems to be
  • 00:17:06
    such a contrasting belief that the
  • 00:17:08
    weather can make men less powerful but
  • 00:17:11
    he is showing how these men are being
  • 00:17:14
    emasculated by even the snowflakes that
  • 00:17:16
    are falling they literally rotting in
  • 00:17:18
    the trenches they're becoming less of
  • 00:17:20
    men and they believe that because now
  • 00:17:23
    they're being completely tortured not by
  • 00:17:26
    the war itself but by Nature it them the
  • 00:17:29
    letter of a man so this is how we can
  • 00:17:31
    link war and identity and their
  • 00:17:33
    emasculation by the weather love it and
  • 00:17:37
    the quote I would use with that is the
  • 00:17:39
    final one all their eyes are ice and so
  • 00:17:42
    he's talking about them losing their
  • 00:17:44
    identity so their eyes are now just ice
  • 00:17:46
    they're no longer human beings but also
  • 00:17:49
    it's a homophone so it's a pun their
  • 00:17:51
    eyes their identity are now no longer
  • 00:17:54
    people they're just ice definitely and
  • 00:17:57
    then we go to Nature we've kind of
  • 00:17:59
    linked it I think these two link really
  • 00:18:01
    well about the power of nature and
  • 00:18:04
    particularly we see it in the way that
  • 00:18:05
    he personifies it so like Dawn massing
  • 00:18:07
    in the E her Melancholy Army the the
  • 00:18:10
    dawn the coming of a new day is now
  • 00:18:13
    symbolic of death and destruction so
  • 00:18:15
    every new day that unravels is another
  • 00:18:17
    day for them to be destroyed and
  • 00:18:19
    emasculated by the weather so I think
  • 00:18:21
    these two really really nicely because
  • 00:18:23
    by talking about the omnipotence so the
  • 00:18:25
    power of nature then you can link it to
  • 00:18:28
    how they lose their power to it and
  • 00:18:30
    become emasculated so here's a question
  • 00:18:32
    for you go on do you see the poem as
  • 00:18:35
    showing that nature is protesting
  • 00:18:37
    against the human war and therefore
  • 00:18:40
    turning against humankind was that going
  • 00:18:42
    too far oh I haven't thought about that
  • 00:18:46
    but I think you could definitely hold it
  • 00:18:48
    that Owen is critiquing it from both
  • 00:18:50
    standpoints that even nature and things
  • 00:18:52
    that are natural are going against it
  • 00:18:54
    because war is such an unnatural process
  • 00:18:57
    nice love that
  • 00:19:00
    place there are two places being
  • 00:19:02
    criticized here one is obviously the war
  • 00:19:06
    itself and these freezing conditions but
  • 00:19:08
    remember it's a protest bone and so the
  • 00:19:10
    place that's really being criticized is
  • 00:19:13
    back home that's where we get this verse
  • 00:19:16
    where he starts dreaming about being at
  • 00:19:18
    the fireside back home because he wants
  • 00:19:21
    the readers back home to realize the
  • 00:19:23
    luxury that they have as a consequence
  • 00:19:27
    of the terrible conditions of that the
  • 00:19:28
    soldiers have and he wants them to start
  • 00:19:32
    protesting against the wall poem number
  • 00:19:34
    four London so the form of this is
  • 00:19:38
    really easy to describe it's written in
  • 00:19:40
    quot trains it's got an ABAB wi scheme
  • 00:19:43
    but so
  • 00:19:44
    what so what who cares so first let's
  • 00:19:48
    just quickly say what ABAB is it's
  • 00:19:50
    pretty easy for you to spot if you
  • 00:19:52
    looked at the end of the first line and
  • 00:19:54
    then look to the end of the third line
  • 00:19:56
    they would rhyme look at the second line
  • 00:19:58
    and the four line they would rhyme so
  • 00:20:00
    technically if you're going to write
  • 00:20:00
    letters next to it first one would be a
  • 00:20:03
    second one would be B third one would be
  • 00:20:04
    a fourth one would be B so you can
  • 00:20:06
    actually look at your poem to sport ABAB
  • 00:20:08
    just so you kind of know what it is but
  • 00:20:10
    ABAB what is the significance why do we
  • 00:20:12
    care firstly thinking about it's very
  • 00:20:15
    restrictive the whole poem is about
  • 00:20:17
    oppression about the oppression of the
  • 00:20:20
    government from the church which will go
  • 00:20:22
    on to and how he is against
  • 00:20:25
    establishment established religion
  • 00:20:28
    establish government and how they
  • 00:20:30
    enforced these mind Forge medical upon
  • 00:20:32
    the people of London they impressed them
  • 00:20:34
    they enslaved them and that is literally
  • 00:20:36
    shown through the quatrains each line
  • 00:20:38
    each stand is only four lines it's rigid
  • 00:20:41
    it's controlled there's no freedom of
  • 00:20:43
    expression as with the ABAB there's no
  • 00:20:46
    way he can express his views or it's all
  • 00:20:49
    restricted because London at the time
  • 00:20:52
    well based on his views was restrictive
  • 00:20:54
    and oppressive and the other thing about
  • 00:20:57
    it is Blake was was obsessed with these
  • 00:21:00
    childlike kind of rhyme schemes so every
  • 00:21:03
    poem he ever wrote followed a really
  • 00:21:05
    predictable rhyme scheme and I think one
  • 00:21:08
    of the reasons is connected to this
  • 00:21:10
    being a protest poem so if I'm trying to
  • 00:21:14
    make a protest I want you the audience
  • 00:21:17
    the reader to remember what's the
  • 00:21:19
    easiest way to get you to remember my
  • 00:21:21
    message to give you a really simple
  • 00:21:22
    rhyme scheme really simple poem so that
  • 00:21:25
    the words become memorable we have pop
  • 00:21:28
    songs Blake didn't but he had poetry and
  • 00:21:32
    simple rhyme schemes so just as well for
  • 00:21:35
    a bit of context about Blake there was
  • 00:21:38
    two big collections of poetry that he
  • 00:21:40
    wrote the Songs of Innocence and songs
  • 00:21:42
    of experience he called them songs they
  • 00:21:44
    weren't songs they were poems but they
  • 00:21:45
    were the two collection of poems so this
  • 00:21:47
    is actually from the songs of experience
  • 00:21:50
    so he is basically exposing and
  • 00:21:52
    revealing the real experiences of people
  • 00:21:54
    in London and particularly during the
  • 00:21:56
    time when Great Britain was defined as
  • 00:21:58
    this great Rising Empire he's exposing
  • 00:22:01
    the realities of the people within it
  • 00:22:02
    who face this oppression from the
  • 00:22:04
    establishments the government and the
  • 00:22:06
    church yeah so this follows on from the
  • 00:22:09
    Romantic tradition where poets are
  • 00:22:11
    celebrating the power of nature and he's
  • 00:22:15
    saying look another thing that's
  • 00:22:17
    happening in our society is everyone's
  • 00:22:18
    being sucked into the cities this is
  • 00:22:22
    urbanization and that is dehumanizing
  • 00:22:26
    people and also destroying the city
  • 00:22:28
    which is why he talks about the charted
  • 00:22:30
    streets and the charted TS the idea
  • 00:22:33
    being that all property is carved up and
  • 00:22:35
    owned by the rich and the everyday
  • 00:22:38
    people in London therefore lead this
  • 00:22:40
    sort of restricted life that you
  • 00:22:42
    referred to uh how can we say it as a
  • 00:22:45
    criticism of the monarchy so again link
  • 00:22:48
    is the idea of like Romantic Poets now
  • 00:22:50
    when we say Romantic Poets first it's
  • 00:22:52
    the capital r and it doesn't mean they
  • 00:22:54
    write about love poetry let's just C
  • 00:22:56
    that up because a lot of people go he's
  • 00:22:57
    a romantic he lovees love not quite they
  • 00:23:00
    were all about liberation of the
  • 00:23:02
    individual freedom and let's just be
  • 00:23:04
    really really clear as well we go on
  • 00:23:06
    without the Mony in the church he is not
  • 00:23:09
    anti- religion and this is really really
  • 00:23:11
    clear he's not anti- religion he's
  • 00:23:13
    anti-establishment and what that
  • 00:23:14
    basically means he's anti the people who
  • 00:23:16
    put these rules in place and say like
  • 00:23:18
    you can't do this the church WIll you
  • 00:23:20
    know be advocating of love and
  • 00:23:22
    benevolence yet they won't give to the
  • 00:23:24
    poor so this is when he's criticizing
  • 00:23:26
    these establishments those dictate The
  • 00:23:29
    Authority but are actually quite
  • 00:23:30
    contradictory in their beliefs yeah and
  • 00:23:33
    that's why we've got uh not a
  • 00:23:35
    description of the king or the queen
  • 00:23:36
    we've got a description of the soldiers
  • 00:23:38
    Blood on the palace walls the ordinary
  • 00:23:40
    person sacrificing themselves for the
  • 00:23:43
    rule makers um and so what he's saying
  • 00:23:46
    is these all enslave and curse people
  • 00:23:50
    and that's why he ends the poem with the
  • 00:23:53
    harlot's curse the idea of hypocritical
  • 00:23:56
    men out having sex outside of wedlock
  • 00:24:00
    and therefore cursing their marriages
  • 00:24:02
    because of their infidelity but there's
  • 00:24:04
    also a hint that it's an actual physical
  • 00:24:07
    curse in that they're transmitting
  • 00:24:09
    sexual disease not just to their wife
  • 00:24:11
    but then to their unborn children which
  • 00:24:13
    is why end so
  • 00:24:15
    pessimistically so now how will that
  • 00:24:19
    link to the other poems we've got four
  • 00:24:22
    themes for you power and control so
  • 00:24:25
    power and control that we've kind of
  • 00:24:26
    linked again we can see in two ways
  • 00:24:29
    literally speaking about the oppressive
  • 00:24:30
    power of establishment that Blake is
  • 00:24:33
    directly criticizing as a romantic poet
  • 00:24:35
    and another way we can kind of just link
  • 00:24:37
    that as well you can say that's a Trope
  • 00:24:39
    of Romantic Poets a Trope is just
  • 00:24:41
    something they do throughout their work
  • 00:24:43
    and then again we can link it to
  • 00:24:44
    although he does the ABAB rhy the quart
  • 00:24:48
    trains his message throughout is
  • 00:24:51
    rebelling against the control that they
  • 00:24:53
    are enforcing and restricting upon the
  • 00:24:54
    people in London lovely it obviously
  • 00:24:57
    links to the identity of the individual
  • 00:24:59
    and he's saying look in every person I
  • 00:25:02
    meet I hear these marks of Woe everyone
  • 00:25:05
    is not just the same but they're at the
  • 00:25:07
    same level of misery and no one is able
  • 00:25:11
    to be an individual because they have
  • 00:25:13
    the Mind Forge manles that oppressive
  • 00:25:16
    control in society has given them
  • 00:25:19
    definitely and then place of course it's
  • 00:25:22
    very obvious where is the place oh it's
  • 00:25:24
    in London who knew so of course he is
  • 00:25:27
    criticizing London
  • 00:25:28
    The Hub of this great Empire of Great
  • 00:25:31
    Britain and he's criticizing that even
  • 00:25:33
    in this place where the monarchy are the
  • 00:25:35
    church is so prevalent they have so much
  • 00:25:37
    power and control the people within it
  • 00:25:39
    are so restricted time is also a major
  • 00:25:43
    theme here remember it ends with the
  • 00:25:46
    infant and what he's suggesting is that
  • 00:25:49
    the oppression that happens now at the
  • 00:25:51
    time he's writing it's going to carry on
  • 00:25:53
    through the generations because of
  • 00:25:57
    urbanization and a lack of the Romantic
  • 00:26:00
    ideal staying in Countryside definitely
  • 00:26:02
    and also if we look at the marriage
  • 00:26:04
    hearse really interesting thing about
  • 00:26:06
    marriage New Beginnings hearse is for
  • 00:26:09
    funerals so again that very Bleak image
  • 00:26:11
    that Blake leaves us with and it kind of
  • 00:26:13
    stains the reader's mind that every new
  • 00:26:15
    beginning is paired with a bleak end how
  • 00:26:19
    depressing number five
  • 00:26:22
    kamikazi so here Garland is writing
  • 00:26:26
    completely from imagination she hasn't
  • 00:26:28
    got a particular kamakazi pilot in mind
  • 00:26:31
    don't think she's even been to Japan but
  • 00:26:34
    she writes it in free verse why does she
  • 00:26:38
    do that how does that link to the media
  • 00:26:39
    poem well this is a man a pilot who
  • 00:26:43
    wants to break free of all the social
  • 00:26:46
    and cultural expectations on him he has
  • 00:26:49
    been chosen to commit suicide by flying
  • 00:26:51
    a plane into an American ship he doesn't
  • 00:26:54
    want to lose his life that way so he
  • 00:26:56
    turns back and flies his home the irony
  • 00:27:00
    of course is that he can't have that
  • 00:27:02
    freedom even though he lives he ends up
  • 00:27:05
    coming back to a society that imprisons
  • 00:27:08
    him and puts even more control over him
  • 00:27:11
    definitely and also then after looking
  • 00:27:14
    at the meaning the culture both unites
  • 00:27:16
    and oppresses us so now this is really
  • 00:27:18
    interesting because if we see of course
  • 00:27:20
    it's presented from the daughter's
  • 00:27:21
    perspective as we're reading through it
  • 00:27:23
    we can see that it unites in a way that
  • 00:27:26
    they are together in their beliefs they
  • 00:27:27
    are together their beliefs that when a
  • 00:27:29
    man embarks on this suicide mission that
  • 00:27:32
    he should die and his family are very
  • 00:27:33
    accepting of it they're almost United in
  • 00:27:35
    this strange way together in that but
  • 00:27:37
    also it oppresses us it controls the
  • 00:27:40
    mind of people around them think of how
  • 00:27:42
    unnatural it is that a father's going to
  • 00:27:44
    come home from war still alive yet he is
  • 00:27:47
    ostracized like isolated from society
  • 00:27:50
    from his own family so it just goes to
  • 00:27:53
    show that the impact and how oppressive
  • 00:27:55
    culture really can be even on like for
  • 00:27:57
    me relationship and we see that exp
  • 00:28:00
    through the poem yeah and mean she
  • 00:28:01
    talked specifically about how the
  • 00:28:03
    children still loved him until they were
  • 00:28:06
    taught not to and the word taught shows
  • 00:28:09
    us how that oppression works there are
  • 00:28:13
    two interpretations of the poem I want
  • 00:28:15
    to talk about there's the conventional
  • 00:28:17
    one and then there's the right one I
  • 00:28:20
    would say there the conventional one and
  • 00:28:23
    then there's an unconventional one so
  • 00:28:25
    the conventional one is that he comes
  • 00:28:28
    back and he's rejected by his whole
  • 00:28:31
    family and then when we get that final
  • 00:28:33
    line he W she wondered which had been
  • 00:28:35
    the better way to die it's describing
  • 00:28:39
    his life in his family as a kind of
  • 00:28:41
    death and maybe suggesting he would have
  • 00:28:43
    been better off by dying as a kamakazi
  • 00:28:47
    pilot however there's a lot of italics
  • 00:28:50
    in this poem and the italics guide you
  • 00:28:53
    into who is saying what and when and so
  • 00:28:56
    there's this really tricky line where
  • 00:28:59
    the mother says yes grandfather's boat
  • 00:29:03
    so you're going to be my kids I'm going
  • 00:29:05
    to be the mother and when I say to you
  • 00:29:08
    yes grandfather's vat what have you said
  • 00:29:11
    to me as my
  • 00:29:12
    kid I don't know my reply is it's
  • 00:29:15
    grandfather's boat yes it's
  • 00:29:17
    grandfather's boat oh I'm asking the
  • 00:29:20
    question about grandfather yes who is
  • 00:29:22
    your grandfather the kamazi P yes so you
  • 00:29:26
    were talking about the grandfather
  • 00:29:28
    father who is the kamakazi pilot who has
  • 00:29:30
    a boat in other words what we're being
  • 00:29:33
    invited to understand there is that I
  • 00:29:36
    have rejected my father when I was a kid
  • 00:29:39
    but my kids have not they now have a
  • 00:29:43
    grandfather and so at the end of the
  • 00:29:45
    poem we've got this idea that he's being
  • 00:29:47
    brought back into the family through the
  • 00:29:50
    daughter who's writing the poem that is
  • 00:29:52
    the unconventional view nobody talks
  • 00:29:55
    about that even Garland herself yeah
  • 00:29:58
    claims that he's being written out and
  • 00:30:01
    he's better off dead yeah it could be
  • 00:30:03
    also seen interestingly because the
  • 00:30:05
    daughter when she was younger accepted
  • 00:30:08
    her father excepted she had one so
  • 00:30:09
    perhaps the grandchildren will go
  • 00:30:11
    through that similar cycle of accepting
  • 00:30:13
    their grandfather as they're older
  • 00:30:14
    they'll be oppressed by the social and
  • 00:30:16
    cultural norms to then almost all them
  • 00:30:19
    out such a down no one to say no because
  • 00:30:23
    the mother's poem is p is portraying him
  • 00:30:26
    in another way to you think that her
  • 00:30:28
    she's giving the children a chance to
  • 00:30:31
    reminisce about him the way that she
  • 00:30:33
    didn't get to as she became oppressed as
  • 00:30:34
    she got older yes interesting but you
  • 00:30:37
    can disagree but I think that's the
  • 00:30:39
    whole thing it's like you can have
  • 00:30:41
    alternative interpretations of you know
  • 00:30:43
    people can say oh it's interpreted in
  • 00:30:44
    one way but these small references it's
  • 00:30:46
    not like you're making that up in the
  • 00:30:47
    text that exists so you can see it as oh
  • 00:30:51
    potentially this is then breaking the
  • 00:30:53
    cycle breaking these oppressive norms
  • 00:30:55
    and perhaps yes children can create a
  • 00:30:58
    the future because two generations down
  • 00:30:59
    the line they're beginning to reminisce
  • 00:31:01
    in a positive way about their
  • 00:31:02
    grandfather I'm an optimist so I'm going
  • 00:31:05
    there right so we have some themes for
  • 00:31:07
    you which will help you compare it to
  • 00:31:08
    other poems well identity we've covered
  • 00:31:10
    that a lot here he's got his cultural
  • 00:31:13
    identity but then this new identity that
  • 00:31:15
    he's taken on for himself by refusing to
  • 00:31:18
    kill himself obviously it links to any
  • 00:31:21
    single War poem this is about the
  • 00:31:24
    horrible destructive power of
  • 00:31:26
    War what could we say about place I
  • 00:31:29
    think it's interesting in time of place
  • 00:31:32
    right if we're looking at the
  • 00:31:32
    perspective of we've got the daughter
  • 00:31:34
    we've got the place in her physical
  • 00:31:36
    place where she's retaining the story
  • 00:31:37
    we've got the context about the Japanese
  • 00:31:39
    pilot and where he's flying War then we
  • 00:31:42
    also kind of shift in different time and
  • 00:31:43
    places to then a present day we get a
  • 00:31:45
    kind of real holistic view of this time
  • 00:31:48
    on of the pilot of him going to war his
  • 00:31:49
    children growing up and then of course
  • 00:31:51
    his daughter recounting the story to her
  • 00:31:53
    children so we could actually see it's
  • 00:31:55
    almost set in multiple places because we
  • 00:31:58
    get as she does a view of the whole of
  • 00:32:00
    history of her father from start to end
  • 00:32:02
    yes so I guess we could say that the
  • 00:32:04
    place stays the same but the view of it
  • 00:32:06
    changes through time exactly okay and
  • 00:32:09
    that's going to bring us to the power of
  • 00:32:12
    nature everybody panics about power
  • 00:32:14
    nature being a question uh I love this
  • 00:32:17
    because what prompts the kamakazi pilot
  • 00:32:20
    to turn around there's all this imagery
  • 00:32:23
    of nature the boats displayed on the
  • 00:32:26
    water the fish that can see actually
  • 00:32:29
    from however many thousand feet he is
  • 00:32:32
    and it's that vision of nature which
  • 00:32:34
    makes him cherish life again and turn
  • 00:32:37
    back to preserve life definitely and I
  • 00:32:40
    think also you could even go for the
  • 00:32:41
    interpretation of like is this a natural
  • 00:32:44
    way to die like thinking of the suicide
  • 00:32:47
    as well in terms of is this natural for
  • 00:32:49
    somebody to sacrifice their own life for
  • 00:32:52
    a bigger picture of War which again is
  • 00:32:53
    an unnatural thing so that contrast of
  • 00:32:56
    the unnatural sacrif and the unnatural
  • 00:32:58
    wall with nature I think except too as
  • 00:33:01
    well fantastic we've shown you how these
  • 00:33:03
    five poems can link to any question that
  • 00:33:06
    comes up in the next video we're going
  • 00:33:09
    to show you how one essay plan can link
  • 00:33:12
    to any question on an inspector calls
  • 00:33:14
    that comes up and you can see it on the
  • 00:33:17
    light up tutor's Channel amazing well
  • 00:33:20
    we'll see you in the next video guys and
  • 00:33:22
    it's on the lighting what's it what
Tags
  • Ozymandias
  • Checking Out Me History
  • Exposure
  • London
  • Kamikaze
  • Power
  • Identity
  • Nature
  • Human Condition
  • Poetry Analysis