GCSE English Literature – Paper 2: Power & Conflict Poetry

🏆 Mastering Poetry: How to Analyse Like a Grade 9 Student

Poetry isn’t just about finding fancy words – it’s about decoding deeper meanings, recognising patterns, and linking themes to power and conflict. Every poem in this collection tackles some form of struggle, whether that’s war, dictatorship, oppression, identity, or personal battles.

What do examiners want?
✅ Sharp, perceptive analysis –  Not just what is in the poem, but why it’s there.
✅ Comparisons that go beyond the obvious – Why do different poets present conflict in different ways?
✅ Fluent integration of context – How does the poet’s background or historical setting influence their work?
✅ Technical sophistication – Drop terms like caesura, volta, semantic field, enjambment, juxtaposition, and allusion to show Grade 9 awareness.

Let’s get into it. 🚀

📍 Exam Skills: How to Compare Poems

• Step 1: Identify a clear thematic link between the two poems (e.g., power of nature, impact of war, corruption of leadership).
• Step 2: Compare tone and perspective – Is one poem angry while another is reflective?
• Step 3: Examine poetic devices – Which techniques create the biggest impact?
• Step 4: Embed context naturally – How does history or the poet’s background shape their message?
• Step 5: Write fluently, linking comparisons throughout rather than separating them.

📍 Key Poem 1: Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Themes: Power of rulers, time’s inevitable decay, hubris, political corruption.

“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

💡 Quick Analysis:

• The arrogant declarative tone of “King of Kings” juxtaposes the surrounding imagery of destruction, highlighting the futility of human power.
• The ironic imperative “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair” creates dramatic irony, as nothing remains of Ozymandias’ empire, reinforcing the transience of political dominance.
• Shelley, a Romantic poet, critiques tyranny and arrogance, warning that all dictators will inevitably fall.

📍 Key Poem 2: London by William Blake

Themes: Social oppression, political corruption, suffering of the powerless.

“The mind-forged manacles I hear.”

💡 Quick Analysis:

• The metaphor “mind-forged manacles” suggests that oppression is not just external, but psychological, reinforcing how the poor are mentally enslaved by systemic inequality.
• The repetitive structure and cyclical imagery suggest that this suffering is inescapable, unlike Ozymandias, where power is temporary.
• Blake, a revolutionary poet, condemns the monarchy and church for allowing poverty and suffering to thrive.

📝 Exam-Style Comparison Question

💡 Compare how the poets present the power of rulers in Ozymandias and London.

✅ Grade 9 Model Answer

Both Shelley and Blake explore the corrupting influence of power, yet they do so with differing perspectives on its longevity and effect on society.

Shelley constructs Ozymandias as the embodiment of political hubris, using the imperative “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair” to illustrate his delusions of grandeur. However, this arrogance is ironically undermined by the barren desert imagery, reinforcing the inevitability of political decay. The irregular sonnet form further subverts the idea of lasting control, reflecting how power is ultimately ephemeral.

Conversely, Blake’s London presents a more immediate and cyclical form of oppression. Unlike Ozymandias, where power has crumbled, Blake shows a society still ensnared by its rulers, using the metaphor of “mind-forged manacles” to convey how the working class remain psychologically imprisoned. The strict ABAB rhyme scheme reinforces the inescapability of this suffering, contrasting Shelley’s portrayal of power as something that eventually fades.

Both poets, however, share an underlying critique of tyranny – Shelley through a historical allegory, Blake through a contemporary political attack. They each serve as warnings: Shelley’s to future dictators who believe themselves untouchable, and Blake’s to those suffering under an oppressive system that remains unchecked.

📍 Key Poem 3: Exposure by Wilfred Owen

Themes: Futility of war, power of nature, psychological suffering.

“But nothing happens.”

💡 Quick Analysis:

• The refrain “But nothing happens” conveys the monotony and psychological torment of war, contrasting traditional portrayals of heroism.
• Personification of the weather (“merciless iced east winds that knive us”) presents nature as the true enemy, reinforcing how soldiers are powerless against the elements.
• Owen, a WWI soldier-poet, exposes war’s brutality, challenging the romanticised patriotism of earlier poetry.

📍 Key Poem 4: Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney

Themes: Power of nature, conflict, fear of the unknown.

“We are bombarded by the empty air.”

💡 Quick Analysis:

• The war-like metaphor “bombarded” suggests that nature is an indifferent yet overwhelming force, much like in Exposure.
• Enjambment and a lack of stanza breaks create an unrelenting pace, mimicking the inescapability of nature’s wrath.
• Heaney, an Irish poet, reflects on both literal storms and political conflict, reinforcing the theme of helplessness against greater forces.

📝 Exam-Style Comparison Question

💡 Compare how the poets present nature’s power in Exposure and Storm on the Island.

✅ Grade 9 Model Answer

Both Owen and Heaney explore nature as an overpowering force, yet while Owen portrays it as a lethal and uncaring adversary, Heaney presents it as destructive but ultimately indifferent.

In Exposure, Owen uses personification to depict the weather as a malicious, omnipotent enemy, as seen in “merciless iced east winds that knive us”. This violent imagery conveys nature as a force of war, attacking the soldiers more relentlessly than their human enemies. Furthermore, the refrain “But nothing happens” emphasises the psychological suffering, suggesting that the soldiers are trapped in a purgatorial state, waiting for death to claim them.

Conversely, Storm on the Island presents nature as more of an overwhelming force than a personal adversary. The phrase “We are bombarded by the empty air” uses militaristic diction, yet the oxymoron “empty air” implies that the true conflict is one of perception and fear rather than direct assault. The poem’s monosyllabic, abrupt ending (“it is a huge nothing that we fear”) reinforces this idea, suggesting that nature’s power lies not in its intent, but in humanity’s inability to control it.

Ultimately, while Owen and Heaney both depict humanity’s vulnerability, Owen presents nature as an active antagonist, whereas Heaney constructs it as an indifferent yet ever-present force; both poets emphasising that mankind’s struggle against nature is one it can never truly win.

🔥 Final Thoughts

We’ve broken down:
🔹 Political power in Ozymandias & London
🔹 Nature’s dominance in Exposure & Storm on the Island
🔹 How to compare effectively with high-level vocabulary & structure