Which poem is NOT associated with the theme Pride?

Which poem is NOT associated with the theme Pride?

• A. Ozymandias
• B. Poppies
• C. The Prelude: Stealing the Boat
• D. My Last Duchess

Answer: (B)

When we look at pride in power and conflict poetry, the poems that really press this theme show someone trying to dominate, boast about power, or command nature or people. Ozymandias uses the king’s boastful claim to eternal power and shows how time erodes that pride. My Last Duchess reveals the Duke’s controlling, self-important attitude and his need to display status as a form of pride. The Prelude: Stealing the Boat captures a moment of feeling, even for a brief time, that the speaker can wield power over the natural world, a dangerous swagger that’s tempered by fear and awe. Poppies, however, centers on memory, absence, and the emotional impact of war on a family—mostly a mother’s concern, memory, and grief. It doesn’t revolve around asserting power or boasting about control, which is why it isn’t tied to the Pride theme.

When we look at pride in power and conflict poetry, the poems that really press this theme show someone trying to dominate, boast about power, or command nature or people. Ozymandias uses the king’s boastful claim to eternal power and shows how time erodes that pride. My Last Duchess reveals the Duke’s controlling, self-important attitude and his need to display status as a form of pride. The Prelude: Stealing the Boat captures a moment of feeling, even for a brief time, that the speaker can wield power over the natural world, a dangerous swagger that’s tempered by fear and awe.

Poppies, however, centers on memory, absence, and the emotional impact of war on a family—mostly a mother’s concern, memory, and grief. It doesn’t revolve around asserting power or boasting about control, which is why it isn’t tied to the Pride theme.