What you'll learn

• How to choose a comparison poem in the Power and Conflict anthology.
• How to build a sharp “both poems… but…” comparison.
• Reliable theme pairings for AQA’s poetry comparison question.
• How to turn a pairing into analysis of language, form and structure.

Why theme pairings matter

In AQA Paper 2, you are given one printed poem from the Power and Conflict cluster and asked to compare it with one other poem from the anthology. The second poem is from memory, so you need flexible pairings rather than a giant list of disconnected quotes.

A good pairing helps you do three things at once: answer the question, compare ideas, and discuss methods.

The aim is not just to say, “Both poems are about war.” That is true, but too vague. You need to ask: what do the poets suggest about war?

From theme to comparative angle

A useful sentence frame is:

Both poets present [shared theme] as [main idea], but [poem A] focuses on [angle], while [poem B] focuses on [different angle].

For example:

Both Shelley and Browning expose the arrogance of powerful men, but Shelley shows power collapsing over time, while Browning shows power operating through private control and intimidation.

That is much stronger than: “Both poems show power.”

The map below shows some of the most useful routes through the anthology. You do not have to memorise every line of it; use it to practise choosing a poem based on the question’s theme.

What makes a strong pairing?

A strong pairing has four features:

1. It matches the question wording. If the question is about memory, do not force a poem just because you know it well.
2. It gives you similarity and difference. The poems should “speak” to each other, not repeat the same idea.
3. It gives you methods to analyse. A writer’s method means a deliberate choice of language, form, or structure.
4. It gives you short, accurate quotations. In a closed-book exam, short quotations are safer and more useful.

A speaker is the voice in the poem. It is not always the poet themselves, so it is often safer to write “the speaker suggests…” unless you are directly discussing the poet’s context.

High-value theme pairings

Use this as a revision bank. The “angle” column is the part that helps you form an argument.

The main pairing routes

Human power and control

For human power, your safest poems are Ozymandias, My Last Duchess, London, and Tissue.

Ozymandias pairs beautifully with My Last Duchess because both poems criticise powerful men. Shelley presents a ruler whose boast — “Look on my Works” — is undercut by the empty desert. Browning presents the Duke through a dramatic monologue, a poem spoken by one character, where his polished voice accidentally reveals his possessiveness: “I gave commands.”

London gives you a broader, social version of power. Blake’s “mind-forg’d manacles” suggest oppression has entered people’s thoughts. This pairs well with Ozymandias if you want to compare political control: Shelley shows power ruined by time, while Blake shows power actively damaging ordinary people.

Nature’s power

For nature, choose The Prelude, Storm on the Island, or Exposure.

In The Prelude, Wordsworth presents the sublime, meaning the mixture of awe and fear humans feel when faced with something vast and overwhelming. The “huge peak, black and huge” makes the speaker feel morally and spiritually shaken.

In Storm on the Island, Heaney also presents nature as frightening, but the fear is communal and physical. The islanders say “we are prepared,” yet the poem ends with “it is a huge nothing that we fear,” suggesting nature’s power is partly invisible and psychological.

Exposure can pair with nature poems because Owen presents the weather almost as the real enemy. The repeated refrain “But nothing happens” makes suffering feel endless and pointless.

War, patriotism, and soldiers

For battle, use Bayonet Charge, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Exposure, and sometimes Remains.

The Charge of the Light Brigade presents public heroism. Tennyson’s repeated “Half a league” creates a driving rhythm, and “noble six hundred” turns the soldiers into a collective legend. However, “Theirs not to reason why” also hints that soldiers are trapped by command.

Bayonet Charge is more chaotic and individual. Hughes begins in the middle of action — “Suddenly he awoke and was running” — so the soldier seems confused before he can think. The “patriotic tear” becomes useless when faced with terror.

These two poems are excellent together because they let you compare public glory with private panic.

Aftermath, guilt, and trauma

For the effects after conflict, use Remains, War Photographer, Poppies, and Kamikaze.

Remains is one of the strongest poems for trauma. Armitage’s speaker repeats uncertainty — “probably armed, possibly not” — showing that guilt keeps replaying. The phrase “his bloody life in my bloody hands” uses a blood motif, a repeated image or idea, to connect physical violence with moral responsibility.

War Photographer also explores suffering after violence, but from the perspective of someone who records conflict. Duffy’s “spools of suffering set out in ordered rows” suggests an attempt to organise pain, while “they do not care” criticises the comfortable readers who quickly forget.

Identity, memory, and belonging

For identity, use The Emigrée, Checking Out Me History, and Kamikaze.

The Emigrée presents memory as protective. Even though the speaker’s homeland may be politically troubled, her memory remains “sunlight-clear.” The repeated light imagery suggests emotional resistance.

Checking Out Me History is more openly rebellious. Agard challenges colonial education through the repeated phrase “Dem tell me” and ends with “I carving out me identity.” The non-standard voice becomes part of the poem’s power: it refuses to be controlled by the version of history it criticises.

Kamikaze works well with identity and belonging because the pilot’s identity is destroyed socially after he returns. The final question — “which had been the better way to die” — is deliberately disturbing because it shows how society can treat shame as worse than death.

How to revise pairings efficiently

Do not try to learn every possible combination. Instead, learn route clusters:

• Power: Ozymandias, My Last Duchess, London, Tissue
• Nature: The Prelude, Storm on the Island, Exposure
• War experience: Bayonet Charge, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Exposure
• Aftermath: Remains, War Photographer, Poppies, Kamikaze
• Identity and memory: The Emigrée, Checking Out Me History, Kamikaze

Using context without bolting it on

Context means relevant background about when, why, and how a text was written or received. In comparison, context is useful only when it sharpens your argument.

For example, mentioning that Tennyson was Poet Laureate helps explain the public, commemorative tone of The Charge of the Light Brigade. Mentioning Owen’s First World War experience helps explain the bitterness and futility in Exposure. But context should not replace analysis of the poem’s words.