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Poems to compare London to - Coggle Diagram
Poems to compare London to
Power - Human power and control
London
Divisions
"chartered"
Power
"blackening chuch"
The church is supposed to be a symbol of purity and charity, Blake believes that organised religion was able to abuse their power
A cry for change
"mind forged manacles"
Tissue
Divisions
"maps"
geographical borders control us, they decide where we can and cannot go, divides society
Power
"credit card might fly our lives like paper kites"
Simile
Credit card - money you haven't got, short term loan
Humans are controlled through money
Could also be taken to mean that we are powerless to control our own destinies as a kite in the wind.
A cry for change
"let the daylight break through capitals and monoliths"
Humanity creating its own boundaries and internal conflict
Negative power
London
Rulers' cruelty
"mind forged manacles"
handcuffs
people are trapped in every way even by thoughts and attiudes.
metaphorical chains created by mankind's attitudes and ideas, placed there by society
Could also be taken to mean that society has imprisoned its own people
Misuse of power
"blackening church"
angry at all forms of power
corrupt, tarnished for its failure to look after ordinary people
The church is supposed to be a symbol of purity and charity, Blake believes that organised religion was able to abuse their power
Nature and humankind
"chartered"
even powerful natural features are under human control and are affected by society's problems
Strict ABAB rhyme scheme unbroken = relentless misery of city. Regular rhythm = sound of feet trudging around city.
Ozymandias
Rulers' cruelty
"sneer of cold command"
The noun 'sneer' depicts the condescending, haughty and arrogant look on Ozymandias' face, looked down on his people
Alliteration - "cold command" - 'command' shows us how he took complete control - he did not allow people to have a choice or freedom.
reminds us of the harsh leadership of Ozymandias. The word 'cold' also suggests he didn't care about the people he ruled over
Misuse of power
"king of kings"
authrotive arogance
divine power, believed himself to be the most powerful being even more omnipotent than God.
omnipotent - all powerful , unlimited power
Nature and humankind
"colossal wreck"
ego rather than the statue
the decay of the statue of Ozymandias and falling of it. He was a great ruler of Egypt once but then the pride of his enormous ego increased
Shelley has not used the traditional sonnet form, showing that Ozy's power has not survived in the traditional, passing down through generation to generation
In both Ozymandias and London, a key theme is negative power. This could be taken to mean that mankind has failed to use authority and power for the correct reasons, leading to the suffering of many that are less fortunate. In London I would argue that Blake is criticising the upper class as they have the ability to end suffering but choose not to whereas in Ozymandias, Shelley is teaching us that power and status do not last forever and it will eventually escape your grasp.