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AQA anthology

Power and Conflict Poems, All 15 Analysed

Every poem in the AQA Power and Conflict anthology gets its own full analysis here: form, structure, language, context, key quotes and the poems to compare it with. Click any poem to go deep.

OzymandiasShelley's shattered statue and the arrogance of power.ExposureOwen's frozen trenches, 'but nothing happens'.RemainsArmitage and the memory that won't leave.KamikazeGarland's pilot who turned back, and was never forgiven.War PhotographerDuffy's darkroom and 'spools of suffering'.Checking Out Me HistoryAgard on identity and the history they never taught.Storm on the IslandHeaney's island under siege from nature.My Last DuchessBrowning's Duke and the portrait behind the curtain.Bayonet ChargeHughes' soldier 'running, raw'.PoppiesWeir on a mother's grief and letting go.LondonBlake's 'mind-forg'd manacles'.TissueDharker on paper, power and impermanence.The ÉmigréeRumens on memory, exile and a sunlit city.Extract from The PreludeWordsworth, the stolen boat and the mountain.The Charge of the Light BrigadeTennyson's 'noble six hundred'.

How the Power and Conflict anthology is examined

The anthology is Section B of AQA English Literature Paper 2. You are given one named poem printed on the paper, and you compare how it and one other poem of your choice from the anthology present a theme such as power, conflict or memory. It is worth 30 marks, marked on your response and quotes (AO1), your analysis of language, form and structure (AO2), and context (AO3). Most students spend around 45 minutes on it.

Because you choose the second poem, the real skill is knowing the fifteen poems well enough to pick a strong partner and compare methods. That is why it pays to revise them not one by one but in pairs that share a theme. Use the comparison guide to see the best pairings, the themes page to group the poems, and the Grade 9 essays page to see a comparison written out.

✍ Chloe's Grade 9 tip: Do not learn a poem in isolation. For every poem, know at least one other you could compare it with and why, so that whatever poem is printed on the paper, you already have a partner and an argument ready.