The Pylons
by Stephen Spender
‘The Pylons’ is a foreboding poem that explores the collision between two worlds and the devastating consequences for the innocent.
A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map
by Stephen Spender
‘A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map’ by Stephen Spender explores the Spanish Civil War through the lyrical depiction of one man’s death. It is marked by a stopwatch, the olive trees, and the continued conflict around him.
Polar Exploration
by Stephen Spender
‘Polar Exploration’ reflects upon peaceful isolation and urban life, particularly how the latter appears to make the former impossible.
Our single purpose was to walk through snow
With faces swung to their prodigious North
Like compass iron. As clerks in whited Banks
With bird-claw pens column virgin paper
Two Armies
by Stephen Spender
‘Two Armies’ by Stephen Spender describes two armies on a devastating battlefield where every individual is suffering. Their common humanity is highlighted.
Deep in the winter plain, two armies
Dig their machinery, to destroy each other.
Men freeze and hunger. No one is given leave
The Double Shame
by Stephen Spender
‘The Double Shame’ by Stephen Spender conveys a depiction of what the world feels like when one loses a very important person in their life. Everything is transformed in a way that makes a living from day to day difficult.
You must live though the time when everything hurts
When the space of the ripe, loaded afternoon
Expands to a landscape of white heat frozen
And trees are weighed down with hearts of stone
Air Raid
by Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender’s poem ‘Air Raid’ depicts the impact of the Blitz or German Luftwaffe air strike on the United Kingdom.
Darkness and Light
by Stephen Spender
‘Darkness and Light’ by Stephen Spender is a complex, abstract poem in which a speaker battles with two sides of himself.
In Railway Halls (XXX)
by Stephen Spender
‘In Railway Halls’ challenges the reader for their complicity in the suffering of the vulnerable in society.
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.
This wall-paper has lines that rise
Upright like bars, and overhead,
The ceiling's patterned with red roses.
On the wall opposite the bed
Explore more poems from Stephen Spender
My Parents
by Stephen Spender
‘My Parents’ by Stephen Spender is a poem based on bullying and the desire to make friends.
Seascape
by Stephen Spender
‘Seascape’ by Stephen Spender depicts a seascape that is both peaceful and dangerous. The poem reminds readers of how fickle and dangerous the ocean can be.
There are some days the happy ocean lies
Like an unfingered harp, below the land.
Afternoon guilds all the silent wires
Into a burning music for the eyes
That girl who laughed and had black eyes
by Stephen Spender
‘That girl who laughed and had black eyes’ by Stephen Spender is all about a girl the speaker admires and loves. She still lives in the speaker’s thoughts even after her death.
That girl who laughed and had black eyes
Spoke here ten days ago. She smiles
Still in my thought; the lip still promises
The body lives, and the quick eye beguiles.
The Express
by Stephen Spender
‘The Express’ is an enthralling and uncanny poem which explores the feelings of awe and concern after a new train leaves the station.
The Truly Great
by Stephen Spender
In Stephen Spender’s Poem ‘The Truly Great’, he discusses the traits of heroes who have passed away before us.
Ultima Ratio Regum
by Stephen Spender
‘Ultima Ratio Regum’ translates to English as “the last (ultimate) argument of kings,” which is an insinuation of war. In this poem, Spender portrays the effect of war on innocent, insignificant lives.
What I Expected (XIII)
by Stephen Spender
‘What I Expected’ is a harrowing account of failed hopes and unrealized dreams, which captures the hopelessness of the 1930s.
Without That Once Clear Aim (XXI)
by Stephen Spender
‘XXI Without That Once Clear Aim’ brilliantly explores the uneasy relationship between an artist and their environment.
