Power

"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition"

The metaphor of horse-riding suggests ambition without moral justification -- Macbeth knows his desire for power lacks legitimate cause.

"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?"

Hyperbole reveals that seizing power through murder leaves an indelible stain on the conscience.

"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!"

Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking shows power gained through violence leads to psychological destruction.

"Come down sharply on some of these people, they'd soon be asking for the earth"

Birling's dismissive tone reveals how the powerful dehumanise workers, reducing them to a collective threat rather than individuals.

"We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other"

The Inspector's collective pronoun challenges the individualism of the powerful, insisting on shared accountability.

"But these girls aren't cheap labour -- they're people"

Sheila's awakening demonstrates that recognising the humanity of the powerless is essential to moral growth.

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"

The paradox exposes how those in power manipulate language to justify inequality while maintaining the illusion of fairness.

"Napoleon is always right"

Boxer's blind loyalty shows how the powerful exploit the trust of the uneducated to maintain control.

"...looked from pig to man, and from man to pig..."

Orwell's closing image (Ch. 10): the watching animals can no longer tell pig from man. The cyclical ending suggests that revolutions against power often recreate the very tyranny they sought to overthrow.

"Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Dramatic irony: the boastful command now invites despair not at Ozymandias' greatness, but at the inevitable destruction of all human power.

"Nothing beside remains"

The blunt caesura emphasises total obliteration -- all traces of power have been erased by time.

"The lone and level sands stretch far away"

Sibilance and the vast imagery of the desert underscore nature's indifference to human authority.

"I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together"

The chilling euphemism implies murder, revealing the extreme lengths to which the powerful will go to maintain control.

"She had a heart -- how shall I say? -- too soon made glad"

The Duke frames his wife's kindness as a flaw, exposing how power distorts perception of generosity.

"since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I"

The curtain symbolises the Duke's absolute control -- even in death, the Duchess exists only at his pleasure.