AQA Power and Conflict

Anger and Protest in Power and Conflict6 key quotes across the anthology.

How poets use their work to protest against oppression, injustice and indifference.

All Anger and Protest Quotes

“In every cry of every Man, in every Infant's cry of fear, in every voice, in every ban, the mind-forg'd manacles I hear”
London — William Blake
PowerAnger and Protest

Context: The speaker walks the streets of London and hears the suffering of its people.

Analysis

The repetition of "every" emphasises that suffering is universal and inescapable in the city. "Mind-forg'd manacles" is the central image: the chains are mental, created by oppressive institutions and the people's own acceptance of them. Blake attacks the way the powerful psychologically imprison the poor.

Language Techniques:

AnaphoraMetaphorAuditory imagery

Exam Tip

Key quote for power of the powerful over the powerless. "Mind-forg'd manacles" suggests oppression is internalised. Link to Blake's anger at the monarchy and Church.

“I wander thro' each charter'd street, near where the charter'd Thames does flow”
London — William Blake
PowerAnger and Protest

Context: The opening lines establish the oppressive, owned cityscape.

Analysis

The repetition of "charter'd" suggests everything — even the natural River Thames — is owned and controlled by the powerful. That a flowing river can be "charter'd" shows how total this control is. "Wander" implies aimlessness and entrapment within the mapped, commercialised streets.

Language Techniques:

RepetitionSymbolismFirst person

Exam Tip

Use for the theme of control and ownership. Contrast the unstoppable nature of a river with its being "charter'd" — even nature is commodified.

“How the youthful Harlot's curse blasts the new-born Infant's tear, and blights with plagues the Marriage hearse”
London — William Blake
Anger and ProtestPower

Context: The final stanza presents the bleakest image of the city's moral and physical decay.

Analysis

The oxymoron "Marriage hearse" fuses life (marriage) and death (hearse), suggesting that even union brings disease and ruin. "Blasts" and "blights" convey the destructive spread of sexually transmitted disease across generations. Blake ends on hopelessness, indicting a society that exploits the vulnerable.

Language Techniques:

OxymoronViolent verbsCyclical imagery

Exam Tip

Powerful closing quote. The "Marriage hearse" oxymoron is exam gold for showing how Blake corrupts ideas of love and life.

“they do not care”
War Photographer — Carol Ann Duffy
Anger and ProtestReality of War

Context: The final line reflects on the indifference of the newspaper readers back home.

Analysis

The blunt, monosyllabic ending delivers Duffy's central criticism: the public consumes images of suffering with brief sympathy before turning away. "They do not care" indicts a desensitised society and validates the photographer's despair. The simplicity of the line makes the accusation land harder.

Language Techniques:

MonosyllablesEnd-stopped lineDirect critique

Exam Tip

Use for public indifference and the futility the photographer feels. Compare to the desensitisation Duffy critiques in modern media.

“They accuse me of being dead, of speaking in the wrong language”
The Emigrée — Carol Rumens
IdentityAnger and Protest

Context: In the final stanza, faceless forces persecute the speaker for her origins.

Analysis

The vague pronoun "They" represents nameless, oppressive authority — censorship, hostility to immigrants, or tyranny. To be accused of "speaking in the wrong language" shows how identity and language are policed and erased. Despite this persecution, the poem ends defiantly with the city that "takes me dancing".

Language Techniques:

Ambiguous pronounPersonificationSinister tone

Exam Tip

Use for oppression of identity and language. The undefined "They" makes the threat universal — relevant to refugees everywhere.

“Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat, dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat”
Checking Out Me History — John Agard
IdentityAnger and Protest

Context: The speaker lists the British history he was taught, while Black history was omitted.

Analysis

The repeated "Dem tell me" creates an accusatory, rebellious tone against the white establishment that controlled his education. The use of phonetic Creole spelling ("Dem", "dat") asserts the speaker's own cultural identity in defiance of standard English. Trivial British myths are foregrounded while important Black figures are erased.

Language Techniques:

Phonetic spellingRepetitionJuxtaposition

Exam Tip

Use for power, control of education and cultural identity. The non-standard spelling is itself an act of resistance.

Explore More Power and Conflict Themes

Browse quotes by theme across all 15 poems, or view the full anthology.

PowerPower of NatureReality of WarLoss and MemoryIdentityPatriotismGuilt
All Power and Conflict QuotesPractice with English Genie