Meteor Shower
by Michael Dylan Welch
‘Meteor Shower’ by Michael Dylan Welch is a three-line haiku that explores a moment on this seashore. The speaker is watching a meteor shower with someone else.
My River runs to thee
by Emily Dickinson
In Emily Dickinson’s ‘My River runs to thee,’ readers explore an extended metaphor that may have sexual or religious undertones.
My River runs to thee.
Blue sea, wilt thou welcome me?
My river awaits reply.
Oh! Sea, look graciously.
Night Journey
by Theodore Roethke
‘Night Journey’ by Theodore Roethke is a thoughtful, fairly simple poem about the American countryside. He spends the lines admiring the landscapes one can see by train at night.
O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell
by John Keats
‘O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell’ by John Keats is a fourteen-line sonnet that is contained within one block of text. It expresses the speaker’s intention to find somewhere peaceful, in a valley, amongst trees, bees, and deer to live out his days.
O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,—
Nature’s observatory—whence the dell,
Ode on Solitude
by Alexander Pope
‘Ode on Solitude’ by Alexander Pope is a beautiful and peaceful poem. It asserts a speaker’s desire to live a good, simple life and go unnoticed by the world.
Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.
Peonies by Mary Oliver
by Mary Oliver
‘Peonies’ by Mary Oliver uses imagery to depict peonies. She also explores the importance of relishing in humanity’s connection to the natural world.
Pride
by Jackie Kay
‘Pride’ by Jackie Kay is a moving poem about identity and pride. The poet utilized her personal experience when writing this piece.
Ragged Island
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
‘Ragged Island’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a personal poem about Millay’s days spent on Ragged Island off the coast of Maine. It explores the peace of mind the place was able to bring out in her.
Simplicity (How happy is the little Stone)
by Emily Dickinson
In ‘How happy is the little Stone, ’ Dickinson personifies a stone. She describes its rambling adventures, evoking joy and whimsy in the reader. The poem speaks on the crucial concept of happiness, where the speaker emphasizes how heavy the world can seem at times.
How happy is the little Stone
That rambles in the Road alone,
And doesn’t care about Careers
And Exigencies never fears
Sleeping in the Forest
by Mary Oliver
‘Sleeping in the Forest’ by Mary Oliver is a lyric poem that depicts a speaker’s experience in the natural world. She spends the night in the forest and is made better for it.
Solitude
by Alan Alexander Milne
‘Solitude’ by A.A. Milne discusses themes of solitude. The poem also evokes feelings of contentment as Milne depicts Christopher’s secret hideaway.
Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –
by Emily Dickinson
‘Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –’ is one of Emily Dickinson’s best-known poems. It features the poet’s growing disbelief regarding the customary Christian rituals and her intention to seek salvation without resorting to the conventional means.
Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –
I keep it, staying at Home –
With a Bobolink for a Chorister –
And an Orchard, for a Dome –
Some Rainbow – coming from the Fair!
by Emily Dickinson
‘Some rainbow – coming from the Fair!’ by Emily Dickinson delves into themes of spring, change, and rebirth. The poet depicts how the world changes when spring arrives.
Some Rainbow – coming from the Fair!
Some Vision of the World Cashmere –
I confidently see!
Or else a Peacock's purple Train
Sonnet 107
by William Shakespeare
Read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 107, ‘Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul,’ with a summary and complete analysis of the poem.
Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul
Of the wide world dreaming on things to come,
Can yet the lease of my true love control,
Supposed as forfeit to a confined doom.
Sonnet 108
by William Shakespeare
Read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 108, ‘What’s in the brain that ink may character,’ with a summary and complete analysis of the poem.
What's in the brain that ink may character
Which hath not figured to thee my true spirit?
What's new to speak, what now to register,
That may express my love, or thy dear merit?
Sonnet 112
by William Shakespeare
‘Sonnet 112,’ also known as ‘Your love and pity doth th’ impression fill,’ emphasizes the speaker’s obsession with the Fair Youth. He spends the lines reminding the Youth of how important his opinion is.
Your love and pity doth the impression fill,
Which vulgar scandal stamped upon my brow;
For what care I who calls me well or ill,
So you o'er-green my bad, my good allow?
Sonnet 113
by William Shakespeare
‘Sonnet 113,’ also known as ‘Since I left you, mine eye is in my mind,’ is a demonstration of Shakespeare’s speaker’s love for the Fair Youth. He sees him in every animal, plant, and landscape he encounters.
Since I left you, mine eye is in my mind;
And that which governs me to go about
Doth part his function and is partly blind,
Seems seeing, but effectually is out;
Sonnet 115
by William Shakespeare
‘Sonnet 115,’ also known as ‘Those lines that I before have writ do lie,’ is a poem about the ever-maturing nature of the speaker’s love for the Fair Youth.
Those lines that I before have writ do lie,
Even those that said I could not love you dearer:
Yet then my judgment knew no reason why
My most full flame should afterwards burn clearer.
Sonnet 145
by William Shakespeare
‘Sonnet 145,’ also known as ‘Those lips that Love’s own hand did make,’ details a woman’s changing regard for the speaker. It’s a simple poem with good examples of figurative language.
Those lips that Love's own hand did make,
Breathed forth the sound that said 'I hate',
To me that languished for her sake:
But when she saw my woeful state,
Sonnet 20 (Beloved, my Beloved, when I think)
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Sonnet 20’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also known as ‘Beloved, my Beloved, when I think’ explores the ways that a new love changed a speaker’s life.
Beloved, my Beloved, when I think
That thou wast in the world a year ago,
What time I sate alone here in the snow
And saw no footprint, heard the silence sink
Stars
by Sara Teasdale
‘Stars’ by Sara Teasdale is a beautiful and easy-to-read poem. In it, Teasdale spends five stanzas describing and appreciating the stars in the sky.
And a heaven full of stars
Over my head
White and topaz
And misty red;
Table Talk
by Wallace Stevens
In ‘Table Talk’, Stevens Wallace reflects on the subjective nature of life’s preferences and the acceptance of what one happens to like.
Granted, we die for good. Life, then, is largely a thing Of happens to like, not should.
That it will never come again
by Emily Dickinson
‘That it will never come again’ by Emily Dickinson is a short and thoughtful poem. In it, the poet presents a relatable opinion of life, its brevity, and its importance.
That it will never come again
Is what makes life so sweet.
Believing what we don't believe
Does not exhilarate.
The Answer
by Sara Teasdale
‘The Answer’ is a short poem that describes the respect that one speaker is hoping to receive from others after her death.
The Bait
by John Donne
‘The Bait’ by John Donne describes a speaker’s love and admiration for a woman. He emphasizes what her beauty and goodness are capable of.
Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will some new pleasures prove
Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,
With silken lines, and silver hooks.
The Butterfly and the Bee
by William Lisle Bowles
‘The Butterfly and the Bee’ is a children’s poem written by the English poet William Lisle Bowles. This poem contrasts the life of a bee and that of a butterfly.
Methought I heard a butterfly
Say to a labouring bee:
'Thou hast no colours of the sky
On painted wings like me.'
The Cricket Sang
by Emily Dickinson
‘The Cricket Sang’ by Emily Dickinson is a memorable nature poem. It focuses on the daily routines of all living things.
The cricket sang,And set the sun,And workmen finished, one by one,Their seam the day upon.
The Pasture
by Robert Frost
‘The Pasture’ by Robert Frost is a thoughtful and image-rich poem that depicts the chores a farmer has to complete.
I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):
I shan't be gone long. You come too.
