Provides an analysis of two poems, To the virgins, To make much of time (Robert Herrick) and The Road not Taken (Robert Frost). Explores the theme of 'carpe diem' in each poem.

Essay provides an analysis of Emily Dickinson's poems "986" and "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass."

This essay is an analysis of John Betjeman's poem "A Child Ill."

William Blake's poem "A Poison Tree" explores the consequences of hatred. Blake describes two situations, one in which the speaker is angry with a friend and one in which the speaker is angry with an enemy, and shows how anger can manifest itself into something detrimental, inhumane, and deadly. Blake's portrayal of a bitter, wrathful, angry, and cold atmosphere, and his use of diction, metaphors, and symbolism, all depict the deep level of seriousness contained in the poem.

Saving work for later when there is time to play is the most important theme of Robert Frost's poem "A Time to Talk." In three lines, Frost describes the importance in life of a man's decision to stop hoeing his field for a while and talk with his friend.

The theme of Robert Frost's poem "A Time to Talk" is that friends should come before work. Through the man putting his hoe down to talk with his friend, we see the importance of friendship in an individual's feeling complete in life and in enjoying a secure life.

Robert Frost's poem "After Apple Picking" depicts a reflection upon life itself after everything is said and done. The apples represent the decisions one makes in life, both good and bad, and the poem's narrator realizes that he has created his own destiny with the choices he had made. This theme and Frost's use of literary devices make the poem both exceptional and easy to relate to.

Essay provides an analysis of the poem "Assisi" by Norman MacCaig.

In her poem "Babylon," Lois Jones uses symbolism and sensory imagery to explain the consequences of war and the death and destruction that war brings. Jones' imagery distinctly shows her animosity for war.

A dissection and interpretation of John Crowe Ransom's poem "Bells for John Whiteside's Daughter," in which he describes a pre-adolescent girl's full, rambunctious life in the wake of her unexpected death. The poem displays Ransom's signature style of duality between lightness and darkness.

The poem "Birches" by Robert Frost.

poets' John Betjeman and Philip Larkin in their The poems "In Westminster Abbey" and "Church Going" treat the theme of religion as a disrespectful ideology which is not worth believing or mentioning. Religion is viewed as an invention of the church in order to control the population. The poets take an almost protective stand in defence of readers from religion and superstition.

Through her extremely emotional, sentimentally expressive poem "Cold in The Earth," Emily Bronte declares that although she cannot physically be with the one she loves, they can still unite and connect in spirit. Bronte's deep contradicting diction, as well as symbolism, syntax, first person view, repetitions, and other language and sound techniques, enable her to show that love is unbreakable and never to be forgotten.

Peter Skrzynecki's poem "Crossing the Red Sea" explores the long journey taken by refugees after fleeing the aftermath of war. In particular, the poem reflects the emotional trauma associated with this journey. Such a journey can have different impacts on different individuals, and the length of the journey allows time for its participants to reflect, to address issues, and to confront their sorrow.

Essay is about Seamus Heaney's poem "Death of a Naturalist."

In Seamus Heany's poem "Digging," the narrator describes his father's and grandfather's work in digging for turf and potatoes outside his window. Realizing that he can never be as skilled with a spade as his father and grandfather, he intends as a writer to "dig" as well with his pen. Through his use of imagery and irony, Heany communicates the overall theme of determination, the advantages of hard work, and the importance of loyalty to and respect for one's family.

In his poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," written during the last illness of his father's life, Dylan Thomas delivers a powerful message about the flight and passage of death as told by a son. Through his use of cunning words, image, and tone, Thomas expresses his struggle to find an absolution to his pain and depression through refusing to give up hope and pleading with his father to fight to live.

In his poem "Doors of Daring," Henry Van Dyke discusses how daring life can be and that life dares one to do different things. Van Dyke's effective use of symbolism and figurative language enables him to prove his point.

In his poem "Doors of Daring," Henry Van Dyke stresses the importance of bravery and one's willingness always to take risks, saying "You can never begin to live, until you dare to die." Van Dyke's mixture of dialogue, symbolism, and sensory imagery enable him to deliver this message effectively.

The message of Henry Van Dyke's poem "Doors of Daring" is that people should take risks. Van Dyke explains how people are sometimes held back from taking chances and trying something new; in three lines of the poem, his use of symbolism and imagery communicate the importance of taking risks and facing one's obstacles.

Henry Van Dyke uses symbolism and figurative to express the theme that one should live life to its fullest. Saying that one must take some risks in order to live a full life, Van Dyke enables the reader to look at life through a new perspective, which presents another way to look at whatever conflicts one encounters.

Through his poem "Doors of Daring," Henry Van Dyke wants for people to overcome their fears, to take more risks in life, and to live life to the fullest. The following analysis of three particular lines of the poem reveal Van Dyke's opinion that everyone must be fearless to get through important matters in life.

In his poem "Doors of Daring," Henry Van Dyke argues that people can imprison themselves through their own lack of courage. Through extensive symbolism, he calls upon people to break free from their mental prisons, to explore and seek adventure, and to never give up without trying.

As many poets in the past have done, Henry Van Dyke chose the theme of his poem "Doors of Daring" to be that you should take risks and not let things get in the way of doing what you want to do. Van Dyke effectively communicates this message through his use of symbolism.

In his poem "Dream Deferred," Langston Hughes addresses the question of what happens when a person's dreams are destoyed. Hughes describes several possible scenarios to answer the question, using strong imagery in each scenario to describe a negative, destructive outcome for a dreamer left unable to dream.

An analysis of the poem "Dulce Et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. Owen effectively utilizes a soldier as narrator, a morose tone, and certain poetic devices to help create the effect of fear of going to war.

A critique of Robert Lowell's "Dunbarton", from his "Life Studies" book, about his relationship with his grandfather.

A classic narrative poem, Thomas Shapcott's "Elegy for a Bachelor Uncle" tells the heartbreaking story of a poet who rediscovers a relationship with his uncle upon the uncle's death. Shapcott uses monosyllabic sentences to slow down the poem and give the sense that the poet is reflecting upon this relationship. He also uses visual imagery and other linguistic devices to create an image of perception of his uncle. All these techniques create a sense of the poet's growing regret that his uncle is gone.

Ted Hughes' skillful use of diction, tone, and mood transforms his poem "The Fern" from seemingly crude, simplistic, and child-like to deep and thought-provoking. These elements bring out Hughes' underlying meaning: that man is an insignificant creation compared to nature, which is everlasting.

In the poem "Grass," Carl Sandburg writes about the multiplicity of deaths of innocent people because of war and how those people are forgotten because people take freedom for granted. Through these statements about the consequences of war, Sandburg shows his hatred toward war and argues that nobody wins in war.

Langston Hughes was an influential writer during the Harlem Renaissance and considered the poet laureate of African Americans during the rise of the Civil Rights Movement. His poem "Harlem" positively impacted all races because people related to its theme "What happens to a dream deferred?" and followed that message on the way to a better life.

A comparative, analytical examination of Duffy's "Havisham" and the "Havisham Sequence" in Dickens' Great Expectations, including the interesting ways in which Duffy used the Havisham story in her poem.

A complete guide to the E.E. Cummings poem commonly known as "Humanity i love you," in which Cummings illustrated the faults of humanity through a combination of structural changes, figurative language, and ironic visual imagery. It begins with the actual text of the poem; proceeds to a critical biography of Cummings, which examines the influences in his life that would have led him to write such a poem; and then ends with a criticism/explication of the poem itself.

An explication of Emily Dickinson's poem "I Measure Every Grief I Meet." The poem reveals the type of strength that those who grieve must possess in order to overcome the bleak, oppressive nature of grief. Dickinson's use of diction, syntax, imagery, denotation, and tone effectively conveys this kind of strength.

William Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" justifies Wordsworth's opinion that “Poetry is a spontaneous overflow of emotion, not the emotion of the actual experience, but the emotion recollected in tranquility.” In the poem, Wordsworth paints a vivid picture of golden daffodils and uses metaphor, personification, and comparison to describe the tranquil bliss associated with solitude.

In W. H. Auden's poem "If I Could Tell You," time is personified and introduced to the reader as an unreliable character, through through various poetical devices such as personification, repetition, and juxtaposed imagery. The speaker in the poem blames Time (with a capital "T") for unwanted changes in life, and he repeats the line because he observes that all changes, even those that are unintentional, come with Time.

An analysis of Ezra Pound's poem "In a Station of the Metro." Written in haiku and describing the presence of unexpected beauty in a city environment, the poem displays how Pound went beyond the limits of using standard imagery by evoking the spontaneous reaction of sensory and mental association.

Sylvia Plath's poem "Metaphors" is about a mother and her thoughts as she undergoes the various stages of pregnancy. Plath's use of figurative language, specifically metaphors, adds to the effect of mystery portrayed by the riddle in the poem, and it enables Plath to show her true feelings about her own pregnancy. The use of imagery, tone, and word choice in this poem make it enjoyable to read.

An analysis of Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz." The poem is basically an extended metaphor comparing a father and son's relationship to that of a waltz.

In Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz," the father's characteristics are revealed not through dialogue, but rather entirely through the narrator son's words.

A critical analysis of Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz," a reflection of one's childhood experience involving his father. Roethke's use of diction and detail convey the narrator's complex attitudes toward his father.

Peter Titheradge's poem "New Improved Sonnnet XVIII," a parody of Shakespeare's "Sonnet Eighteen," addresses themes of modern life and how it contrasts to life during Shakespeare's time. Titheradge does this to show how the world has reinvented itself into a place where people are obsessed with commerce and lacking an appreciation of love and beauty. The poem shows how reinvention can take the form of reconstruction, in which things are pulled apart and put back together to create an entirely new concept.

An analysis of the poem "Ode to A Nightingale" by John Keats, in which Keats' detailed descriptions contrast natural beauty and reality, as well as life and death. In the poem, the nightingale's peaceful song captivates the writer and becomes a powerful spell that transcends Keats' mortal world; the song has the capability to bring listeners through hard journeys, easing the pain and suffering of life's travails.

A reflection on John Keats' poem "Ode to a Nightingale" and the contradictions it poses with regard to mortality.

Through the use of color, symbolism and imagery you can see why Gary Soto really entitled the poem "Oranges," and why oranges play such an important role in the poem. Brightness shows how much power the orange actually has. The references in the story build up the power of the orange.

In her poem "Race Relations," Jean Burgess puts forth the view that racism is taught and influenced by others and does not come naturally. Burgess uses numerous literary techniques in her poem, including metaphors, repetition, rhyming, rhythm, imagery, and symbolism, to tell the story of two young children who happily play in the sand, unaware of their differences and oblivious of the time, until the mother of the white child intervenes and tears apart the friendship.

The poem "Refugee Mother and Child" by Chinua Achebe deals with the sadness of death. The author conveys this theme by creating a tragic atmosphere through the introduction of shocking images and strong words.

In addition to being the name of Elizabeth Bishop's poem, "Sestina" reminds us of its difficult, complex form and enhances the emphasis on the predetermining, fatal forces that navigate the character's lives. The six repeating end-words in the poem -- "grandmother", "child", "house", "stove", "almanac", and "tears" -- all serve to underline this meaning. As the six end-words repeat themselves in a predetermined order, so the world described in the poem is bound to the predetermined rules of the stars represented in the almanac.

An analysis of Sylvia Plath's poem "Spinster." Written in a strict, harsh, and frosty tone, the poem is about a girl who is uncomfortable with the confusion that love brings and wants her life to be orderly and quiet. She thus builds a mental barrier to protect her from love so that no ordinary man can tear it down.

Siegfried Sassoon's poem "Suicide in the Trenches" effectively communicates Sassoon's own hatred for war. His images of a desperate child, a desperate soldier, and the "smug-faced crowds" who too oppose war, as well as his use of contrasting tones, pathos, and a judging eye, easily enable Sassoon to emote this hatred.