Character and Voice: Themes and Ideas

This exam will ask you to make links between poems - here are some based on themes.

Power

Ozymandias	The River God
•       About a ruined statue of a powerful ruler who controlled over an ancient kingdom •       His “sneer of cold command” suggests he was a cruel leader •       He is arrogant “King of kings” •       However human power is significant compared to the effects of time •       Time can destroy whole civilisations and human achievements	•       The River God is dangerous and strong. •       He has the power to “drown the fools” who swim in him. •       He is proud of the power he has over people especially beautiful women. •       He uses his power recklessly

Power to Control

My Last Duchess	Medusa
•       The Duke wanted to control his wife's behaviour •       He was jealous because he  thought she flirted with other men- possessive •       He says he “gave commands” which suggests he is responsible for her death •       He keeps the portrait to keep control over her	•       The narrator imagines that she has supernatural powers to kill her husband just by looking at him •       Her transformation gives her the power to get revenge •       However she wants reassurance that she is still “beautiful” and “fragrant” from her husband- this shows he has the emotional power

Powerless

Give	The Hunchback in the Park
•       At first the narrator suggests they have control over their life because they have “chosen” to sleep in the doorway •       By the end of the poem the narrator admits they are powerless. •       They are on their knees to “beg for help” •       It is society who has more power – bringing him tea, giving him money	•       The character in this poem is homeless and therefore has a lower status •       The hunchback is lonely and solitary and separated from society , compared to a dog “slept at night in a dog kennel” •       De-humanised by society

Death – Grief and Loss

On Portrait of a Deaf Man	Brendon Gallacher
•       The narrator is grieving and trying to come to terms with the death of his father •       This poem is a tribute to the man he was •       Sadness is mixed with bitterness and the physical reality of the body decaying •       He has suffered a loss of faith	•       The narrator looks back to the grief she felt when her imaginary friend stopped existing •       Her mum reveals he didn’t exist and the narrator says “he died then” •       This suggests that she never excepted he wasn’t real

Damage

The Hunchback in the Park	Casehistory: Allison (head injury)
•       The hunchback is affected by his physical disability •       The physical mark of his hunchback emphasises that he’s a “solitary mister” who is different from the rest of society •       He imagines a “woman figure without fault” who has the physical strength that he lacks	•       Alison is physically injured- she has a head injury and a “damaged brain” •       She views herself as a “broken” version of her former self •       Her injuries have caused memory loss •       Her damaged mind keeps forgetting that her father has died so she has to relive her grief

Moral Damage – Reputation

The Ruined Maid	Horse Whisperer
•       Melia is morally “ruined” because she’s become a prostitute in order to escape her life of poverty •       Being ruined is presented as ambiguous because of the material wealth she has gained •       However her riches are an illusion which hide the reality that she is now morally damaged	•       The horse whisperer’s reputation is damaged when villagers begin to associate the trade with witchcraft •       The narrator is compared to a “demon and witch” and is driven out with “pitchforks”

Relationships – Loving

Brendan Gallacher	Singh Song!
•       The narrator looks back on the relationship with her imaginary friend •       The relationship was innocent •       Brendon is the opposite of the narrator in many ways and interests her because his life is so different and dramatic	•       The narrator is in love with his new bride, so much so that he neglects his work •       Their relationship is playful and loving “like vee rowing through Putney” •       The image of his wife is playful, attractive and independent

Relationships – Breakdown

Les Grand Seigneurs	Medusa
•       Marriage is not all the narrator imagined •       She looked back to her past relationship in which men were the protectors and she was the “queen” or the “damsel” who needed rescuing •       The romance has faded and her role has changed, she is now a trivial “toy” •       She has become a stereotypical wife, a “little woman”	•       The narrator is consumed by jealousy because she suspects her husband has been unfaithful •       Despite this, she still loves him, comparing him to a “Greek God” •       She is vulnerable and wants him to love her

Pride – Arrogance

The Clown Punk	The River God
•       The punk is covered in tattoos which suggests he is proud of identity •       He’s described as “daubed” which suggests the images have been clumsily painted on, but he’s adopted them as part of his identity	•       The River God is proud of his powerful strength •       He arrogantly treats others as playthings •       He’s possessive and doesn’t want to share the beautiful women with anyone •       The repetition of “My” in the poem suggests he is proud to possess such beauty

Lack of Pride

Give	The Hunchback in the Park
•       The homeless narrator initially seems proud, sleeping “under the stars” sounds quite exotic •       The repetition of “chosen” suggests he has made choices to live this way •       However towards the end of the poem there is a sense of desperation •       “I’m on my knees” shows begging and a lack of pride	•       The Hunchback has withdrawn from the rest of society which suggests a lack of confidence •       He’s mocked by the truant boys, this shows how little respect people have for him •       He is associated with animals- not valued as a human being

Identity

Singh Song!	Checking Out Me History
•       The narrator’s wife shows that people can embrace two cultures •       She wears “high heels” and a “Tartan Sari” – mixture of tradition and British culture •       The language is a combination of English and Indian influences •       Dialect shows how both cultures have been adopted	•       The narrator knows a lot about white history but little about his own black heritage •       His education has left him blind because he cannot connect to where he is from •       The narrator’s Caribbean Creole is written phonetically to show the link between culture and identity

Negative Emotions – Bitterness and Anger

Give	Checking Out Me History
•       The narrator feels angry about the insufficient help he receives as a homeless person •       His bitterness is expressed through the sarcastic tone such as “dear” and “That’s big of you” •       He angrily belittles the offer of tea as insufficient to his needs	•       The narrator is angry at the education system which failed to teach him about black history •       His bitterness is emphasised by the accusatory tone “Dem tell me/Wha dem want to tell me”. •       He feels as though his history has been kept from him

Decay

On a Portrait of a Deaf Man	Ozymandias
•       The narrator cannot stop thinking about his fathers body decaying  in the ground •       He uses vivid images like the “maggots in his eyes” •       The decay is horrifying •       The narrators faith in God declines and he can see only decay in the world	•       The ruined statue is a symbol of the powerful effects of time “of that colossal wreck” •       The image is ironic because time destroys all human achievements and makes them seem insignificant