Beauty

Women are very much connected to, defined by and defining beauty. The title poem, "She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron, defines the limitless types of beauty that a woman can possess: "All that's best of dark and bright/Meet in her aspect and her eyes" and "her face where thoughts serenely sweet express/How dear their dwelling place."

Valentine

In juxtaposition with "fine" and "mine," the word "valentine" becomes a repetitive beat in "A Very Valentine" by Gertrude Stein. Symbolically, the valentine has come to represent love in all its forms. In this poem, the person who is a valentine is not defined by race, gender, age or ethnicity—thus expressing the universality of love and of valentines.

Maidenhead

Maidenhead is the hymen, and the term is used to signify virginity. In "Song," John Keats implores his loved one to join in a celebration of...