Lorry
by Al Hafiz Sanusi
‘Lorry’ by Al Hafiz Sanusi depicts the ways that change can improve lives but also complicate and damage them. The poet uses the poem to discuss the need for better transportation standards for migrant workers.
Mad Girl’s Love Song
by Sylvia Plath
‘Mad Girl’s Love Song’ by Sylvia Plath explores the truth of a relationship. The speaker wonders how deep and meaningful it really was.
"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
Missing My Daughter
by Stephen Spender
‘Missing My Daughter’ by Stephen Spender is a poem about a speaker’s desire to see his daughter and how he feel trapped in a prison of loneliness.
Mrs. Midas
by Carol Ann Duffy
‘Mrs. Midas’ by Carol Ann Duffy uses a contemporary feminist perspective to depict the shocking transformation of the mythological character, King Midas.
It was late September. I’d just poured a glass of wine, begun
to unwind, while the vegetables cooked. The kitchen
filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breath
gently blanching the windows. So I opened one,
then with my fingers wiped the other’s glass like a brow.
He was standing under the pear tree snapping a twig.
My Grandmother
by Jackie Kay
‘My Grandmother’ by Jackie Kay depicts the poet’s understanding of her grandmother. The includes a juxtaposition between her positive and negative qualities.
Nature is what we see
by Emily Dickinson
‘Nature is what we see’ by Emily Dickinson is a poem about how humanity tries and fails, to define nature.
“Nature” is what we see—
The Hill—the Afternoon—
Squirrel—Eclipse—the Bumble bee—
Nay—Nature is Heaven—
Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood
by William Wordsworth
‘Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood’ by William Wordsworth is a beautiful and complex poem in which the
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
One day is there of the series
by Emily Dickinson
‘One day is there of the series’ by Emily Dickinson explores the holiday Thanksgiving and how its celebrated in America.
One day is there of the series
Termed "Thanksgiving Day"
Celebrated part at table
Part in memory -
Question
by May Swenson
‘Question’ is a poem written in the form of an interrogation. Throughout this piece, May Swenson asks how she could hide her soul after the body dies.
Sheep In Fog
by Sylvia Plath
The poem ‘Sheep In Fog’ describes Sylvia Plath’s feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, helplessness, and depression.
Song of the Owl
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
‘Song of the Owl,’ a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, describes the hooting of the great black owl. It taps on the themes of silence and darkness.
Ojibwa
The owl,—
Au
The owl
Au
Sonnet 136
by William Shakespeare
‘Sonnet 136,’ also known as ‘If thy soul check thee that I come so near,’ is one of the “Will” sonnets. It describes the speaker’s lust for the Dark Lady.
If thy soul check thee that I come so near,
Swear to thy blind soul that I was thy Will,
And will, thy soul knows, is admitted there;
Thus far for love, my love-suit, sweet, fulfil.
Sonnet 35
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Sonnet 35’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning expresses the speaker’s worries about the changes in her life. She embarks on a new life with her beloved and hopes he’s ready to accept her in the same way she’s accepting him.
Sonnet 8
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Sonnet 8’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also known as ‘What can I give thee back, O liberal,’ is a Petrarchan sonnet. It explores the poet’s relationship with her new lover, Robert Browning.
The Forsaken Merman
by Matthew Arnold
‘The Forsaken Merman’ by Matthew Arnold is a melancholy poem in which the speaker, a merman, grieves the loss of his human wife. He’s left alone with their children without the woman he loves.
The Lamb
by William Blake
‘The Lamb’ by William Blake was included in The Songs of Innocence published in 1789. It is regarded “as one of the great lyrics of English Literature.”
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
The Little Boy Lost
by William Blake
‘The Little Boy Lost’ by William Blake is the story of a young child who while out searching for his father gets lost in the woods.
Father, father, where are you going
O do not walk so fast.
Speak father, speak to your little boy
Or else I shall be lost,
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
by T.S. Eliot
‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ is today considered one of T.S. Eliot’s most important contributions to modernism.
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The Mountain
by Elizabeth Bishop
‘The Mountain’ by Elizabeth Bishop is a poem portraying the transience of nature and life from the viewpoint of a personified mountain.
The Old Fools
by Philip Larkin
‘The Old Fools’ by Philip Larkin is a poem about what happens when one grows older and begins to forget about their life.
The Road
by Nancy Fotheringham Cato
‘The Road’ is simultaneously a thrilling car journey at night and a deeply personal mediation on time, humanity and the natural world.
The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ is about the choices and opportunities in life. The poem highlights the sensation of regret that accompanies all the roads that a person doesn’t take.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I couwld
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
The Underground Baby Case
by Jackie Kay
‘The Underground Baby Case’ by Jackie Kay conveys the feelings and choices of a woman who lost her own child and stole someone else’s.
There’s been a Death, in the Opposite House
by Emily Dickinson
In ‘There’s been a Death, in the Opposite House’ Emily Dickinson explores themes of death and community. Through the use of a male speaker, she examines the actions of a small town after a death.
There's been a Death, in the Opposite House,
As lately as Today —
I know it, by the numb look
Such Houses have — alway —
This World is not Conclusion
by Emily Dickinson
‘This World is not Conclusion’ is a deeply thoughtful exploration of faith and doubt from one of America’s finest poets.
This World is not Conclusion.
A Species stands beyond -
Invisible, as Music -
Victory comes late
by Emily Dickinson
‘Victory comes late’ by Emily Dickinson is a thoughtful and complex poem. It explores the ways people interact with God and religion.
Victory comes late – And is held low to freezing lips – Too rapt with frost
Void in Law
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Void in Law’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning depicts the scuffle many Victorian women endured after getting married. The woman has been left alone with no real resources by a husband who prefers to spend time with his mistress.
Waking in Winter
by Sylvia Plath
‘Waking in Winter’ by Sylvia Plath tells the story of hotel residents. They’re living different lives but are unified through their hopelessness.
I can taste the tin of the sky —- the real tin thing.
Winter dawn is the color of metal,
The trees stiffen into place like burnt nerves.
All night I have dreamed of destruction, annihilations —-
What Depression Feels Like
by Elizabeth Jennings
“What Depression Feels Like”, written by Elizabeth Jennings, is a superb lyric that fathoms deep into the foggy realm of a depressed mind.
What Happened to the Elephant?
by Sujata Bhatt
‘What Happened to the Elephant?’ by Sujata Bhatt is inspired by Hindu beliefs. Specifically, she focuses on ideas of reincarnation and a child’s curiosity in it.
