Power and Conflict Context
The best way to gain marks for context is to understand both the ideas and perspectives of each of the individual poems in an anthology, and also what ideas and perspectives are shared by multiple poems in the anthologies. Therefore in this section, we will explore the ideas and perspectives across the Power and Conflict cluster of poems.
Power and Conflict Ideas and themes
1. Human power and corruption
- Many of the poems in the anthology explore the nature of human power
- Most of the poems explore negative aspects of human power:
- Power corrupting
- Negative Effects of institutional power
- Negative Effects of inherited power
- The oppression of people, or nature, by the powerful
- When considering the idea of human power contextually, think:
- Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
- The monarchy?
- Governments?
- Colonisation?
- Who in society wields power?
- The effects of power on those who hold it?
2. The power of nature
- The poems which explore the power of nature generally explore the power dynamic between human power and the power of nature
- This might be explored via ideas about:
- The impermanence of human power versus…
- The eternal power of nature
- Man’s attempt to exploit, or control, the power of nature
- When considering the idea of the power of nature contextually, consider:
- Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
- How humans should interact with nature?
- How is the powerful attempt to control nature?
- The fragility of human power?
3. War and conflict
- Many poems in the anthology consider both the reality and the effects, of war
- This can be seen in the following ideas:
- The horrors of war
- The relationship between propaganda and the reality of war
- The devastating after-effects of war
- Both psychological and physical
- These ideas are evident in poems both in poems set during and after (sometimes long after) conflicts
- When considering the idea of warfare contextually, consider:
- Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
- Heroism and pride?
- Propaganda?
- The nature of warfare?
- Violence?
- Guilt?
4. Oppression and inequality
- Many of the poems in the anthology explore the idea of oppression (the cruel use of power over people or groups) and inequality (where some people have more rights, or higher status, than others)
- In the anthology, this is explored when:
- Those wielding power oppress those who don’t
- Institutions or organisations oppress groups of people
- Individuals oppress other individuals
- People are oppressed by their own thoughts and feelings
- Inequality based on:
- Gender
- Social class
- Wealth
- When considering the ideas of oppression and inequality contextually, consider:
- Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
- Institutional power?
- Prejudice?
- Discrimination?
- Psychological oppression?
- Different interpretations of history?
5. Memory and loss
- Some of the anthology poems explore ideas around memory and loss
- This could be:
- The loss of life
- Including the loss of relationships that are yet to happen
- The loss of freedom
- The loss of a home, or homeland
- The memory of certain people being lost
- The conflict between childhood memories and adult understanding
- How memories can affect our mental health
- When considering the idea of memory and loss contextually, consider:
- Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
- Death?
- The necessity of war?
- Grief?
- The reliability of memory?
- The emotional power of memory?
- Refugees and immigration?
- Human rights?
6. Identity
- A few poems consider the theme of identity
- This is explored in the ideas of:
- A person’s (changed) identity after the war
- A person’s identity in terms of their heritage
- A person’s identity as connected to a place
- Family identity
- When considering the idea of identity contextually, consider:
- Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
- Colonialism?
- The after-effects of conflict?
- Human displacement?