Waking from Sleep by Robert Bly
Robert Bly’s ‘Waking from Sleep’ is a symbolic poem about the awakening from the deep slumber of ignorance and thralldom. It evokes the imagery of a “harbor at dawn” in order to present this theme.
XII: An Epitaph by A.E. Housman
In Housman’s ‘XII: An Epitaph,’ readers will hear from a speaker who knows he’s about to die and is happy to accept his fate.
A Song: Ask me no more where Jove bestows by Thomas Carew
‘A Song: Ask me no more where Jove bestows’ by Thomas Carew describes how in winter beauty doesn’t die, rather, it moves from nature to the listener’s body.
A Woman’s Last Word by Robert Browning
‘A Woman’s Last Word’ by Robert Browning is made up of a wife’s request to her husband that they stop arguing for the night and enter into a peaceful sleep.
Mother Night by James Weldon Johnson
‘Mother Night’ by James Weldon Johnson describes a speaker’s optimistic and comforting beliefs in regards to what is waiting after death.
Mad Song by William Blake
‘Mad Song’ by William Blake describes the intense madness a speaker feels and the frantic pain that accompanies the dawning of a new day.
A Child’s Sleep by Carol Ann Duffy
‘A Child’s Sleep’ by Carol Ann Duffy describes the ideal, peaceful sleep of a child, who is watched over by her mother as she dreams.
The Light of the House by Louise Imogen Guiney
‘The Light of the House’ by Louise Imogen Guiney describes the overwhelmingly positive memory that a dead man has on the day to day functions of a home.
Silence by Thomas Hood
‘Silence’ by Thomas Hood describes the ways in which Silence exists in the world and the places that one can find it.
Consumption by William Cullen Bryant
‘Consumption’ by William Cullen Bryant describes the fast-approaching death of a tuberculosis patient and her path to heaven.
After the Last Bulletins by Richard Wilbur
‘After the Last Bulletins’ by Richard Wilbur is about the human race’s ability to discard at night what was deemed important in the morning.
Fire and Sleet and Candlelight by Elinor Wylie
‘Fire and Sleet and Candlelight’ By Elinor Wylie is short poem through which an impassioned narrator speaks about a wasted life.
Ecce Puer by James Joyce
‘Ecce Puer’ was published in 1932 and it is featured in Collected Poems. Joyce wrote this poem in order to mourn the recent death of his father, John Stanislaus Joyce.
Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas
‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ is a powerful poem about how important it is, despite death’s inevitability, to fight against it until the bitter end.
The Land of Dreams by William Blake
In ‘The Land of Dreams,’ William Blake depicts a conversation between a father and his son. These two will talk about a dream that the little boy had.
Nurse’s Song by William Blake
The poem ‘Nurse’s Song’ is a description of an unpretentious encounter between a nurse and a group of children who are playing on a hill.
After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost
‘After Apple-Picking’ by Robert Frost begins with an apple-picker’s thoughts after a day of work. The poem goes on to explore themes of life and death.
A Cradle Song by William Blake
After one and a half months of painful journey of hospitals, due to my son’s illness, I decided to read and analyze William Blake’s ‘A Cradle Song.’ Though I had read this poem during my graduation days, it touched me today when I experienced the same pain as a mother and a father.