Power & Conflict (AQA GCSE English Literature): Exam Questions

Nature is shown as gentle and guiding, “led by her,” suggesting a nurturing power.

Nature seems distant and still, “the silent lake” mirroring the boy’s calm obedience.

Nature is mocking and unpredictable, “small circles glittering idly” as if laughing at him.

Nature feels dark and watchful, “mountain-echoes” hinting that unseen forces surround him.

His “elfin pinnace” glides “like a swan,” showing grace and control before fear intrudes.

His “troubled pleasure” reveals excitement already giving way to guilt, not mastery.

His “lusty strokes” suggest physical energy but not spiritual understanding of nature.

His “sparkling track of light” merely decorates the surface, showing delight without depth.

Joy gives way to guilt as he realises the theft will be discovered and punished.

Awe turns to fear as “a huge peak, black and huge” looms and “strode after me.”

Anger rises when “the grim shape” blocks his path and darkens “the stars and the grey sky.”

Calm returns when “the willow tree” reappears, restoring a sense of safety and control.

The mountain imagery grows gentler, “the horizon’s utmost boundary” softening as he matures.

The “sparkling light” of youth fades into “mighty forms that do not live,” showing darker insight.

The shift from “elfin” magic to “black and huge” realism mirrors lost innocence.

The calm “silent lake” becomes a place of “darkness” and “blank desertion,” reflecting adult unease.

The irregular beats “heaving through the water” create tension that breaks the calm.

The hidden rhyme of “shore” and “more” builds subtle harmony across lines.

The metre slows as “heaving through the water like a swan,” showing rhythmic unity with nature.

The blank verse in iambic pentameter mirrors calm, thoughtful narration.

His steady strokes “melted all into one track of sparkling light,” showing composure under pressure.

His “trembling oars” splash “through the silent water,” blending awe and defiance.

Smooth motion “melted all into one track,” later breaking with “struck and struck again.”

Repeated rowing imagery, “I dipped my oars,” celebrates human mastery over natural force.

It proves human imagination ultimately defeats nature’s dominance through creativity.

It shows that curiosity is punished by nature’s vengeance, “a darkness” haunting his mind.

It suggests pride collapses into humility when faced with vast natural power.

It implies fear separates humanity permanently from nature’s beauty, “no pleasant images of trees.”

Both poets dramatise awe and insignificance — Wordsworth’s “huge peak, black and huge” overwhelms thought, while Heaney’s “bombarded” islanders yield before the storm.

Both poets idealise endurance and steadfast courage — Wordsworth’s boy grows stronger through fear, while Heaney’s people “prepare” bravely and face the wind with shared resolve.

Wordsworth frames nature as a moral teacher revealing human frailty, whereas Heaney presents it as a symbol of collective resilience under relentless natural power.

Wordsworth fears punishment for theft, while Heaney condemns people’s recklessness in defying the elements.

Wordsworth treats fear as panic and loss, while Heaney celebrates it as community spirit and survival.

Both poets present fear as irrational and self-revealing — the boy trembles at illusion, and the islanders dread “a huge nothing” that exposes their human dependence on nature.

Wordsworth shows fear as a moment that changes how we see and describe the world, while Heaney sees it as understanding that comes from facing weakness.

Wordsworth treats fear as punishment for pride, while Heaney sees it as a kind of divine payback for human arrogance.

Both condemn pride as sinful — the boy’s theft mirrors Ozymandias’s tyrannical desire to dominate others.

Both portray ambition as heroic energy turned reflective — each poet transforms achievement into humility through awareness of forces that outlast human will and ambition itself.

Wordsworth turns ambition into wisdom through reflection, while Shelley mocks arrogance to show its emptiness.

Wordsworth exposes ambition’s collapse before nature’s might; Shelley reveals human power crumbling to dust before time.