1 · An argument
Both poets explore …, but one presents it as … while the other emphasises … .
THE POETRY STASH · AQA
Power and Conflict
15 poems. Clear reminders. Comparisons that make a point.
Start with the idea
Read the poem in your anthology first. Identify the speaker, situation and a shift. Then use these notes to build an argument, rather than collecting techniques without explaining them.
These guides discuss the poems without reproducing them. Use your school anthology for precise quotations.
Your poem stash
OzymandiasPercy Bysshe Shelley · A ruined statue exposes the gap between a ruler’s ambition and what survives.
Methods to explore
A framed traveller’s account distances the ruler; the sonnet places boastful authority beside an indifferent landscape.
A useful comparison
My Last Duchess: controlling men and the limits of power. The Prelude: human confidence challenged.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How does the ending answer the ruler’s boast?
LondonWilliam Blake · A walk through the city reveals suffering and restrictive institutions.
Methods to explore
The repeated movement through streets accumulates examples; sound and recurring patterns suggest pervasive control.
A useful comparison
Checking Out Me History: institutional control. The Emigrée: contrasting visions of a city.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How does the speaker connect individual distress to systems?
Extract from The PreludeWilliam Wordsworth · A youthful boating adventure becomes an unsettling encounter with nature.
Methods to explore
Blank verse and a retrospective first-person voice trace a movement from confidence to disturbed reflection.
A useful comparison
Storm on the Island: nature overturns human security. Ozymandias: limits of power.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
Where does the speaker’s sense of control begin to fail?
My Last DuchessRobert Browning · A Duke displays a portrait while revealing a disturbing need for control.
Methods to explore
The dramatic monologue lets the speaker expose himself. Enjambment strains against the apparent order of rhyming couplets.
A useful comparison
Ozymandias: pride and power. Checking Out Me History: control over a person’s story.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
What does the Duke reveal that he may not intend to reveal?
The Charge of the Light BrigadeAlfred Lord Tennyson · Soldiers follow a disastrous command and are commemorated for their courage.
Methods to explore
Driving rhythm and repetition create momentum; public commemoration sits alongside recognition of a command failure.
A useful comparison
Bayonet Charge: a different experience of battle. Exposure: the cost of military duty.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How can the poem honour soldiers while acknowledging error?
ExposureWilfred Owen · Waiting soldiers are worn down by cold, fear and a lack of progress.
Methods to explore
Recurring endings frustrate movement; personified weather makes the environment an active threat.
A useful comparison
Storm on the Island: threatening nature. Bayonet Charge: different wartime experiences.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
Why is inaction so destructive here?
Storm on the IslandSeamus Heaney · An apparently prepared community confronts a storm it cannot fully control.
Methods to explore
Collective voice suggests confidence; conversational blank verse becomes unsettled by violent imagery and an uncertain ending.
A useful comparison
Exposure: nature as an adversary. The Prelude: confidence overturned.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
What changes between the opening confidence and final uncertainty?
Bayonet ChargeTed Hughes · A soldier’s physical rush into battle disrupts abstract ideas of patriotic purpose.
Methods to explore
An abrupt opening, changing pace and bodily detail make confusion immediate; thought interrupts movement.
A useful comparison
The Charge of the Light Brigade: public ideals versus individual experience. Remains: psychological cost.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How do physical sensations challenge patriotic abstractions?
RemainsSimon Armitage · A veteran’s memory of a shooting continues to intrude after deployment.
Methods to explore
Conversational narration shifts towards repetition and mental entrapment; ambiguity about threat sustains guilt.
A useful comparison
War Photographer: memory and responsibility. Poppies: conflict beyond the battlefield.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How does the meaning of returning home become complicated?
PoppiesJane Weir · A parent recalls a son’s departure through intimate domestic details.
Methods to explore
First-person recollection and tactile imagery connect care, separation and vulnerability. The son’s fate is not explicitly confirmed.
A useful comparison
War Photographer: private responses to public conflict. Kamikaze: family and loss.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
Which uncertainties should an interpretation preserve?
War PhotographerCarol Ann Duffy · Developing photographs makes a photographer confront suffering and distant public reactions.
Methods to explore
Ordered stanzas contrast with distressing memories; shifts between the darkroom and conflict zones expose distance.
A useful comparison
Remains: memories that persist. Poppies: personal and public loss.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How does the orderly form complicate the subject matter?
TissueImtiaz Dharker · Paper becomes a way to reconsider human systems, buildings and fragile lives.
Methods to explore
Shifting images move from literal paper to a metaphor for more open, temporary structures; free verse resists rigid enclosure.
A useful comparison
Ozymandias: impermanence. London: systems that organise human lives.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How does paper become more than an everyday object?
The EmigréeCarol Rumens · A displaced speaker protects a luminous memory of a city against threatening reports.
Methods to explore
An unnamed location broadens the experience; recurring light imagery sets remembered belonging against hostile forces.
A useful comparison
Checking Out Me History: identity and resistance. London: contrasting city experiences.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How can a memory be both protective and idealised?
Checking Out Me HistoryJohn Agard · A speaker challenges a selective education and reclaims neglected historical figures.
Methods to explore
Contrasting rhythms and typography distinguish imposed narratives from celebratory alternatives; the ending makes identity an active creation.
A useful comparison
The Emigrée: protecting identity. London: institutional power.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How does the form enact the act of resistance?
KamikazeBeatrice Garland · A daughter recounts a pilot’s return and the family’s subsequent rejection of him.
Methods to explore
Reported storytelling creates uncertainty about his thoughts; natural detail contrasts with social expectations of honour.
A useful comparison
Poppies: family and conflict. The Emigrée: belonging and exclusion.
Evidence to stash
Find a short quotation for the opening idea, a turning point and the ending. Explain what changes, rather than assuming each section means the same thing.
Close the card. Can you explain…?
How is surviving made to resemble a different kind of loss?
Build a comparison
Choose a shared idea, then make the difference do the work.
2 · Evidence and method
Use a precise moment from each poem. Explain how a choice in language, form or structure shapes the idea.
3 · A meaningful difference
Compare speaker, perspective, outcome or development. Explain why the difference matters to the question.
Pick a suggested pair. Write a comparison about one shared idea, using the opening and ending of each poem.
Quick recall
What is the difference between the poet and the speaker?
The poet creates the voice; the speaker is the voice within the poem. Their beliefs and experiences should not automatically be treated as identical.
What counts as a structural point?
A shift in focus, a repeated pattern, an opening or ending, a turn in argument, or a change in pace. Explain the effect of that choice in this poem.
Do I need to compare only similarities?
No. A shared idea gives you a starting point; a precise difference can make the comparison more thoughtful.
Use with your anthology
Poem lists checked against the AQA anthology. For your course, follow your school’s chosen cluster and the current specification. These are independent Exam Stash revision notes.