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Explore the largest database of poetry and analysis on the internet, with 4,175 poems.

Explore the Greatest Poets

We have poems analyzed from the greatest poets ever. Discover poems from 1055 poets.

Learn Every Literary Term Like Never Before

We have the largest database of literary terms explained, embedded in all our analyses, to help you understand poetry. Explore the glossary with 882 terms defined.

Scansion

Scansion is the analysis of a poem’s metrical patterns. It organizes the lines, metrical feet, and individual syllables into groups.

Scottish Renaissance

The Scottish Renaissance was a literary movement that took place in the mid-20th century in Scotland. It is often referred to as the Scottish version of modernism. 

Elephant in the room

“The elephant in the room” is used to refer to an important topic, problem, or issue that needs to be addressed but has yet to be.

Antanaclasis

Antanaclasis is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is used several times and the meaning changes.

Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices are parts of literature that are used to persuade audiences. They make use of the three “modes of persuasion.”

Character Motivation

A character’s motivation is the reason behind their actions. This could refer to specific or general actions.

Campus Novel

The campus novel, also known as the academic novel, is a book set around a university or college campus.

Anacrusis

Anacrusis occurs when the poet includes an extra unstressed syllable at the beginning of a line of verse. This unstressed syllable is not part of the metrical pattern.

Verse Paragraph

A verse paragraph is a section of poetry that resembles a prose paragraph, that which is found in novel writing and short stories.

Morpheme

A morpheme is the smallest meaningful part of any language. It might be a word, or it might be part of a word.

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Famous Poems Worth Reading

Not sure where to start? See our pick of some of the best poems ever created, or find a poem using our Poem Explorer Tool.