Poetry Anthology

Poetry Anthology

OzymandiasPower Ozymandias

Meaning The narrator of the poem has met a traveller from an ancient land and recounts the story that the traveller told him. The traveller had seen the remains of a huge statute in the desert. At the foot of the statue were words that showed the arrogance of Ozymandias (the statue’s subject). The words seem hollow now that the statue is destroyed. The ruler’s name translates literally and ironically to ‘breathes power.’

CONTEXT: The poem is believed to be based on the Egyptian King Ramesses II who is the most famous of the Pharaohs, and there is no doubt that he intended this to be so.

‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert’

Imagery Shelley creates a memorable image of this "vast" and once great statue, now in ruins. He also places it in the middle of a huge desert with nothing else around it, which highlights its fall from grace. Shelley creates images of decay at the beginning of the poem as he describes the “shattered visage” which is “half sunk” in the desert.He then focuses on the pompous conceit of Ozymandias through the written inscription: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair.”

Tone The tone of the inscription by Ozymandias is arrogant and proud. However, this is juxtaposed with the tone of the narrator/traveller which is quite matter-of-fact as if to show that this is inevitable – even the mightiest will eventually fall and that you can’t beat time.There is a feeling of emptiness at the end of the poem.

‘Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck.’

Structure The first line and a half up to the colon are the narrator's words, the rest are those of the traveller he meets. There are no clear stanzas as such the poem is written is a quasi-sonnet form. It is one, 14-line block of text that is split up with lots of punctuation throughout.The final lines create a strong impact as after we read the boastful words of Ozymandias who believed that he was ‘king of kings’ Shelley hits the reader with the reality: ‘Round the decay of the colossal wreck.’

Language What was once so magnificent - a symbol of the king's great power - is now "sunk... shattered... lifeless". The use of alliteration in “sunk, a shattered visage” emphasises the decay and destruction of the once amazing statue. We have no sympathy whatsoever with the statue or the king though, due to some of Shelley's descriptions: "sneer of cold command... hand that mocked them.“ The word “sneer” suggests the disdainful and contemptuous leader and how he ruled without compassion “cold command” emphasised by the use of alliteration. The arrogance of the words displayed at the bottomshow Ozymandias’ arrogance but also, Shelley seems to be suggesting, that words last longer than people/leaders.

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away

Hawk RoostingPower Hawk Roosting

Meaning The literal meaning of the poem could simply be about the celebration of the skill and beauty of the hawk. The hawk is a bird of prey, known for its intelligence and incredibly sharp eyesight. In medieval times hawks were also used by kings and aristocrats for hunting. However, it could also have a metaphorical meaning exploring the ideas of power and leadership. We talk about being hawk-eyed for someone who is observant. We also think about politicians being 'hawkish' or hawk-like, which means being aggressive towards other countries, favouring, for example, military action instead of diplomacy.

CONTEXT: Ted Hughes has said that when he wrote the poem he “had in mind was that in this hawk Nature was thinking. Simply Nature.” 1971

‘I sit at the top of the wood.’

Imagery The image of the hawk sitting on top of the world, controlling everything through the threat of violence made people think of a fascist leader - the Nazi symbol was an eagle standing on top of a wreath. The language is simple. The words found in stanza two are words you might find in an office. “The earth’s face upward for my inspection.” This kind of language contrasts with the threatening language of violence as in line 16. “My manners are tearing off heads.” This contrast suggests a leader trying to be a calm sophisticated politician, while really he is a violent thug. The poem uses a lot of imagery relating to death and evolution.

Tone The tone of the poem at the beginning is calm, controlled. The hawk discusses the advantage of his position, “The air's buoyancy and the sun's ray.” As the poem develops, the tone changes to one of violence and horror. “I kill where I please because it is all mine.” At the end of the poem it returns to the calm, controlled but threatening tone.

Structure The poem is set out in six, four line stanzas. The first two stanzas are about his physical superiority – both in what his body is like and where he can sit. Stanzas three and four reveal his power of nature, and how he holds everything, including life and death, in his claws. The final two stanzas form a kind of justification for his actions. He explains why he is not just right because of physical superiority but also the way he acts without deception (and he has the support of the sun to prove it!) Nothing will change like the regular four line stanzas.

Language The poem is written from the first person narrative of a hawk who feels on top of the world. It explores power through images of death and evolution. “Nothing has changed since I began. My eye has permitted no change.” The repetition of the word “change” shows how the hawk controls his environment. The hawk is personified showing his arrogance and omnipotence. This is suggested through the aggressive language “I kill where I please” and the metaphorical reference to death which he thinks he controls.

I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed.Inaction, no falsifying dreamBetween my hooked head and hooked feet:Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat.

The convenience of the high trees!The air's buoyancy and the sun's rayAre of advantage to me;And the earth's face upward for my inspection.

My feet are locked upon the rough bark.It took the whole of CreationTo produce my foot, my each feather:Now I hold Creation in my foot

Or fly up, and revolve it all slowly -I kill where I please because it is all mine.There is no sophistry in my body:My manners are tearing off heads -

The allotment of death.For the one path of my flight is directThrough the bones of the living.No arguments assert my right:

The sun is behind me.Nothing has changed since I began.My eye has permitted no change.I am going to keep things like this

Dulce et Decorum EstConflict Dulce et Decorum Est

Meaning The poem describes a gas attack on a group of soldiers during WW1. It is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of war. Owen reveals the terrible consequences of a gas attack on a soldier. He shows that it is not sweet and honourable to die for your country.CONTEXT: Young men were persuaded to fight for their country because they were told it was glorious and noble thing to do. Owen exposes the reality of death in the trenches and how wasteful the war was. ‘The old lie ‘Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori.’Owen fought and died in the war which he portrayed in a violent and realistic way. This contrasted to the previously ‘romantic’ depiction of war in poetry. His poetry helped to emphasis the reality of war to the population ‘at home’.

Imagery Owen uses a series of metaphors and similes to describe first the terrible condition the soldiers are in but then the horrific death of the young soldier who could not get his gas mask on in time. “Bent double , like old beggars under sacks” emphasises the terrible physically condition of the men before the gas attack. As does the metaphor “Men marched asleep.” Owen continues this use of similes and metaphors to describe the gruesome death of the soldier. “Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud”

Tone The tone at the start of the poem suggests that Owen feels pity for the soldiers in their weakened state. This shifts to panic and then horror as the horrific effects of the gas attack are described. The use of speech “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! signals the change in tone. Finally, Owen shows his anger and disillusionment when he says ‘Dulce et decorum pro patria mori’ is the ‘old lie.’

Structure The poem is irregular, divided into four stanzas. Owen uses of rhyme, mostly on alternate line endingsthroughout the poem. The irregular structure of the poem reflects the chaos and uncertainty of war. The poem opens with a description of soldiers’ lives and the conditions faced by the soldiers. Then comes the gas attack, and the poem offers a graphic description of the effects of such an attack on one young soldier.

Language The language used in the sections depicting the gas attack is strong, representing both the anguish of the victims of the gas attack as well as the effect on those haunted by what they have seen: ‘Obscene as cancer’, ‘froth-corrupted lungs’ The repetition of the word 'face' makes it clear which element disturbs the speaker most: the transformation in the face of the victim. The use of alliteration on the 'w' sound reflects the agonised twisting of the gas victim. ‘Watch the white eyes writhing in his face.’ The repetition of shocking verbs represents the inescapable reality of war. “yelling” “stumbling” “flound’ring”

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots

Of gas shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .

Dim, through the misty panes(10) and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est

Pro patria mori.

Mametz WoodConflict Mametz Wood

Meaning The poem describes how farmers ploughing today in northern France regularly find the remains of soldiers gunned-down during the WW1. CONTEXT: Mametz Wood was the scene of fierce fighting during the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. The battle lasted five days. There were 4,000 casualties. The poem describes the battlefield in modern times, with soldiers’ bodies being uncovered by farmers tending the land. Sheers wrote the poem after visiting the battlefield himself.

‘For years afterwards the farmers found them’

Imagery There is little left of ‘the wasted young’. Sheers emphasizes the fragility of their remains in the second stanza. In the third he points out the ugly irony that the lumps of flint lying in the soil, blue and white, resemble what is left of the men’s bones. There is an extended metaphor of the land being injured, with the farmers tending it back to itself, helping to rid it of wounds.

“like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin”

Tone The tone of the poem is reflective and sad. The tragedy of the war is long over but the sorrow over the wasted lives remains potent. “in boots that outlasted them” suggests the garments they wore lasted longer than the young soldiers. There is a poignancy to the poem even when the hope of the farmers tending the land back to life should give hope. “turning up under their plough blades as they tended the land back into itself.”

Structure The poem is set out in three, seven line stanzas. The structure reflects the small pieces of the soldiers’ bones that the farmers keep finding, “a broken mosaic of bone.” There is little left of ‘the wasted young’. Sheers emphasizes the fragility of their remains in the second stanza. In the third he points out the ugly irony that the lumps of flint lying in the soil, blue and white, resemble what is left of the men’s bones.

Language Repeated reference to the delicacy of youth helps to creates a sense of loss. The metaphorical description of the bones “a broken mosaic of bone” serves to emphasises the waste of human life which is further reinforced by the description of the clothes which “outlasted them.” The use of personification highlights the earth’s pain and the scars of war. “And even now the earth stands sentinel, reaching back into itself for reminders of what happened.”

For years afterwards the farmers found them –the wasted young, turning up under their plough bladesas they tended the land back into itself.

A chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade,the relic of a finger, the blownand broken bird’s egg of a skull,

all mimicked now in flint, breaking blue in whiteacross this field where they were told to walk, not run,towards the wood and its nesting machine guns.

And even now the earth stands sentinel,reaching back into itself for reminders of what happenedlike a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the

skin.

This morning, twenty men buried in one long grave,a broken mosaic of bone linked arm in arm,their skeletons paused mid dance-macabre

in boots that outlasted them,their socketed heads tilted back at an angleand their jaws, those that have them, dropped open.

As if the notes they had sunghave only now, with this unearthing,slipped from their absent tongues

AfternoonsPassingof time

Afternoons

Meaning ‘Afternoons’ is a very melancholy poem about the inevitability of change and the passing of youth. The poem talks about the challenge of growing up and having children. It discusses parenthood and how priorities change and there are responsibilities to face. The couples in the poem have been replaced by young couples who go to their ‘courting places.’ CONTEXT: It is important to remember that this is the 1950s, age of austerity and, until 1954 in Britain, rationing. But that only tells part of the story: in 1959, it was two years since Harold McMillan memorably told Britons ‘you’ve never had it so good’, as a new era of prosperity was ushered in following the long period of cuts and tightened belts in the wake of the Second World War. However, Larkin’s poem is a more timeless and universal meditation on the satisfactoriness of all of our lives, especially once we realise our youth has flown and a new generation is taking up the baton.

‘Summer is fading’

Imagery The end of youth (and happiness) is explored melancholically through Larkin’s figurative expression as the reality of the mother’s lives lurks behind them. In the opening stanza, Larkin presents the idea of the dull, repetitive and empty life of atypical housewife when this poem was written between 1950s and 1960s. Larkin presented this idea, "In the hollows of afternoons." The word "hollows" suggests that the mothers' lives are empty.

Tone The tone is sad and reflective as it explores what the mothers have lost, ‘Our Wedding’ lying near the television.’

Structure The structure of the poem is simple; there are three stanzas with eight lines in each. However, this layout has no direct meaning. The lines are unrhymed. The first stanza deals with Larkin's rather cynical view of marriage and deals with the idea that the young mothers are isolated. Larkin's brilliant use of language emphasis the recurring theme of emptiness within the young mothers and how regimented their lives have become. The unrhymed form reflects the poem’s focus on an unsatisfactory life, or rather generation of lives, with no hope of being able to pin down precisely what has led to the women’s lives being so unsatisfactory.

Language Their children are the ones with the energy – they are the ones who must be set free, who play at the vigorously-alliterating 'swing and sandpit', who seize the unripe acorns (a symbol of their impatience to seize the world, perhaps).The mothers' courting-places (symbols of their own youth) are still courting places, 'but the lovers are all in school', signs that a new generation is supplanting them. Indeed, Larkin drains the young mothers' lives of the romance they must once have had - their wedding albums lie abandoned by the television (which presumably receives more attention than they do), and there is perhaps a bitter pun on the word 'lying'. For them, there is only 'an estateful of washing', a metaphor for their domestic drudgery, and a beauty that is thickening (coarsening, a sign of the end to their youthful good looks).

Summer is fading:The leaves fall in ones and twosFrom trees borderingThe new recreation ground.In the hollows of afternoonsYoung mothers assembleAt swing and sandpitSetting free their children.

Behind them, at intervals,Stand husbands in skilled trades,An estateful of washing,And the albums, letteredOur Wedding, lyingNear the television:Before them, the windIs ruining their courting-places

That are still courting-places(But the lovers are all in school),And their children, so intent onFinding more unripe acorns,Expect to be taken home.Their beauty has thickened.Something is pushing themTo the side of their own lives

Death of a NaturalistPassingof time

Death of a Naturalist

Meaning The poem is both a description of Heaney’s experience with nature as a boy, and a metaphor for the loss of childhood innocence, as he looks back wistfully at his youthful naivety. He is fascinated by the frogspawn and the tadpoles of the flax-dam, but becomes repulsed by the hordes of croaking frogs in their maturity.CONTEXT: Seamus Heaney was an Irish poet who focused on the beauty of nature in many poems. His love of nature may have stemmed from his childhood on a farm. Heaney later became a teacher which might also be explored in the reference to the speaker’s education.

Imagery The poem has a narrative structure exploring the discoveries of the young child in nature. The poet uses similes to emphasise keys points of delight or disgust. “Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water In the shade of the banks.” This simile suggests delight as the frogspawn are compared to “clotted water” reminding the reader of clotted cream. Whereas “Some sat poised like mud grenades” suggests the horror and disgust at the grown frogs waiting to explode destructively.

Tone Mostly the tone is peaceful and gentle, describing the child’s delight in finding the frogspawn and keeping it in jam jars. The tone changes dramatically in the last section signalled by “one hot day” when the frogs become threatening and the boy becomes frightened. “The slap and plop were obscene threats” suggests the sound of the frogs makes them seem threatening.

Structure The poem is written in one long stanza although there are clearly three internal parts to the poem. The flax-dam at the beginning of the poem, collecting frogspawn in jam jars to watch it change in school and the flax-dam at the end of the poem with the grown frogs.

Language The sensory and onomatopoeic nature of the opening stanza highlights the childish exuberance of the speaker as they observe nature. “All year the flax dam festered in the heart”. The repeated use of alliteration and enjambment add to the sense of excitement and intrigue. “On shelves at school, and wait and watch until The fattening dots burst.” This is contrasted by the speaker’s exaggeration of his fear of nature created through military references and figurative language.“Some sat Poised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting”

All year the flax-dam festered in the heartOf the townland; green and heavy headedFlax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottlesWove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,But best of all was the warm thick slobberOf frogspawn that grew like clotted waterIn the shade of the banks. Here, every springI would fill jampotfuls of the jelliedSpecks to range on window-sills at home,On shelves at school, and wait and watch untilThe fattening dots burst into nimble-Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us howThe daddy frog was called a bullfrogAnd how he croaked and how the mammy frogLaid hundreds of little eggs and this wasFrogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs tooFor they were yellow in the sun and brownIn rain.Then one hot day when fields were rankWith cowdung in the grass the angry frogsInvaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedgesTo a coarse croaking that I had not heardBefore. The air was thick with a bass chorus.Right down the dam gross-bellied frogs were cockedOn sods; their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped:The slap and plop were obscene threats. Some satPoised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting.I sickened, turned, and ran. The great slime kingsWere gathered there for vengeance and I knewThat if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it.

PreludeNature Prelude

Meaning The poem shows the spiritual growth of the poet, how he comes to terms with who he is, and his place in nature and the world. Wordsworth was inspired by memories of events and visits to different places, explaining how they affected him. Humanity is part of nature but also distinct from it in many ways.CONTEXT: The Prelude is one of the greatest works of literature ever written in English. It is a long autobiographical poem in 14 sections. The first version was written in 1798 but he continued to work on it throughout his lifetime. His wife Mary published it three months after his death in 1850. Wordsworth described The Prelude as "a poem on the growth of my own mind" with "contrasting views of Man, Nature, and Society”

Imagery The poem explores the themes of nature (humanity is part of nature and sometimes we can be made to feel very small and insignificant by the natural world) and loneliness (Wordsworth is often on his own throughout The Prelude and this is important to him. He can think more clearly and is more affected by events and places as a result.) Wordsworth uses a simile to describe how he is not tired but excited by meeting his friends “Proud and exulting like an untired horse, That cares not for his home” and a metaphor of a hunt to describe the way that the friend chase each other on the ice. “The pack loud chiming.” The ‘rapture’ of fun is juxtaposed by the melancholic ending. The ‘alien’ sound foreshadow the loss of innocence and inevitability of growth.

Tone The tone of the poem is peaceful and happy describing a group of friends having fun on the ice in the early evening of a winter’s day “shod in steel” and flying through the night “the darkness and the cold we flew, And not a voice was idle” they are chattering. The scene created is happy and tranquil.

Structure There are no stanzas: the writing is continuous though there is plenty of punctuation to help us read it. In the first section Wordsworth recounts his childhood experience of skating on a frozen lake at twilight. In the second section he leaves the pack and is alone with nature, in the third section he personifies nature as spirits that ‘haunt’ him. The Prelude is conversational, as if Wordsworth is sat next to us, telling us the story himself. The poet uses "and"s throughout to give the verse a breathless quality.

Language The ecstasy of childhood is established through the hyperbolic description of children’s activities. This section of the poem begins with “frosty season” suggesting the cold, winter months. The winter scene is described “leafless trees” and “icy crag” but the tone is uplifting and celebratory “while the stars Eastward were sparkling clear.” Nature is described in all its beauty, the word “sparkling” suggests the freshness, clarity to the evening. The young people meeting and chattering, chasing each other on the ice is seen as fun, "We hissed along the polished ice in games Confederate” The word “confederate” implies their collusion in the game, working together to have fun.

And in the frosty season, when the sunWas set, and visible for many a mileThe cottage windows blazed through twilightgloom,I heeded not their summons: happy timeIt was indeed for all of us--for meIt was a time of rapture! Clear and loud The village clock tolled six,--I wheeled about,Proud and exulting like an untired horseThat cares not for his home. All shod with steel,We hissed along the polished ice in gamesConfederate, imitative of the chaseAnd woodland pleasures,--the resounding horn,The pack loud chiming, and the hunted hare.So through the darkness and the cold we flew,And not a voice was idle; with the dinSmitten, the precipices rang aloud; The leafless trees and every icy cragTinkled like iron; while far distant hillsInto the tumult sent an alien soundOf melancholy not unnoticed, while the starsEastward were sparkling clear, and in the westThe orange sky of evening died away.

Cozy ApologiaLove Cozy Apologia

Meaning Waiting for a storm to hit, the speaker hunkers down, snug and safe in her study. Though Hurricane Floyd disrupts the business of daily life, it also allows time for daydreams. So, with time on her hands, the speaker finds herself daydreaming about her partner. The poem takes the form of a first-person narrative. The poem may be autobiographical as it could be dedicated to her husband, Fred, and it describes the home of a writer. Equally it could be about a character similar to the poet.CONTEXT: Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the east coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd triggered the third largest evacuation in US history.

Imagery The speaker uses a metaphor, comparing her partner to a knight in shining armour. The imagery of a knight rescuing his maiden is echoed by the simile 'sure as shooting arrows to the heart'. Elsewhere, Dove uses a simile to suggest her old boyfriends were sweet but insubstantial: 'thin as licorice and as chewy,/ Sweet with a dark and hollow center‘. The hurricane itself is personified as 'Big Bad Floyd' who 'nudges' and 'cusses' in his 'oddly male' way and this helps make the connection with the actual men in the poem.

Tone The poem has a dreamy wandering tone. Everything the speaker sees, from the rain outside to the ink on the page, reminds her of her partner. She pictures him as a knight in shining armour, protecting her. The poem is thoughtful and reflective. The focus on tiny details suggests a state of deep concentration: 'the glossy blue/ My pen exudes, drying matte, upon the page'

Structure The poem is composed of three 10-line stanzas. Stanza one is made up of five rhyming couplets, to make a rhyme scheme aabbccddee. This rhyme scheme starts to break down in stanza two, as if reflecting the disruption of the oncoming storm. By stanza three, a new rhyme scheme has begun to emerge: ababccdddd. Perhaps the poet intends the reader to see this suggestion of order and its progressive disruption as a way of representing the oncoming storm on the page.

Language The poem is written in relaxed, informal language, with lots of conversational digressions, as the poet flits from subject tosubject. This disjointed feel is emphasised by the use of dashes to break up the text and by sentences that finish abruptly part of the way through a line. It's as if one thought interrupts another, in the flow of ideas. There are two males present in the poem – her husband and the hurricane which is 'oddly male' as most hurricanes are given female names. Like her partner, the hurricane has both the strength and power to bring or take away happiness. The speaker contrasts these strong male figures with the 'worthless' boyfriends of her youth - although they seemed sweet, they were 'thin' and 'hollow' inside.

I could pick anything and think of you—This lamp, the wind-still rain, the glossy blue My pen exudes, drying matte, upon the page. I could choose any hero, any cause or age And, sure as shooting arrows to the heart, Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart As standing in silver stirrups will allow—There you'll be, with furrowed brow And chain mail glinting, to set me free: One eye smiling, the other firm upon the enemy.

This post-postmodern age is all business: compact disks And faxes, a do-it-now-and-take-no-risks Event. Today a hurricane is nudging up the coast, Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd, who brings a host Of daydreams: awkward reminiscences Of teenage crushes on worthless boys Whose only talent was to kiss you senseless. They all had sissy names—Marcel, Percy, Dewey; Were thin as licorice and as chewy, Sweet with a dark and hollow center. Floyd's

Cussing up a storm. You're bunkered in your Aerie, I'm perched in mine (Twin desks, computers, hardwood floors): We're content, but fall short of the Divine. Still, it's embarrassing, this happiness—Who's satisfied simply with what's good for us, When has the ordinary ever been news? And yet, because nothing else will do To keep me from melancholy (call it blues), I fill this stolen time with you.

ValentineLove Valentine

Meaning This poems challenges the stereotypical views of love and relationships, rejecting cliché items such as a ‘red rose’ or a ‘satin heart’ and opting for more basic yet genuine representations of love like ‘a moon’. In the hope that the love shared is more honest and ‘truthful.’CONTEXT: Valentine's Day and the commercialisation of this celebration with cards and gifts.

‘Not a red rose or a satin heart’

Imagery The poem itself is an extended metaphor about how the unromantic properties of the onion fits the notion of love. Each stanza also shows the different phases of love, how it begins with all the best intentions yet gradually deteriorates into misunderstandings and violence. Extended metaphor of an onion is the key feature evident in this poem.‘I give you an onion’. The poem goes on to use the metaphor to demonstrate different emotions and effects of love on a person in relationship. ‘It is a moon wrapped in brown paper/ It promises light’. Emotions explored are arguably sadness ‘tears’ or happiness-tears of joy, the loss of self ‘a wobbling photo of grief’ ‘possessive and faithful’ likened to the taste of an onion that lingers and ultimately as deathly and full of betrayal ‘its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your/Knife’

Tone The tone of the poem is arguably quite mixed. It begins by rejecting certain things associated with love. But the mood does shift slightly when the concept of ‘light’ is introduced and the offering of marriage if the other person in the relationshipwants this level of commitment ‘if you like’. However, by the end of the poem the images become darker and more negative, ‘cling’ ‘grief’ ‘lethal’ ‘knife’. This could be mirroring how relationships start off in a positive manner but can sometimes break down and become harmful.

Structure The poem is written in free verse using irregular stanzas to support its content and purpose, which is to reject traditional restrictive conventions such as marriage and other notions of love and to warn lovers that being overly possessive can have undesirable consequences.

Language The language of the poem is quite simple and straight-forward, particularly in the clear sentence structures that are often repeated. This reflects the idea of it being an honest love.The only alliteration in the poem is in the "cute card" and the "red rose" – the clichéd Valentines. ‘…blind you with tears like a lover‘. The onion is compared to a lover and the way love often leaves us in tears. A large part of being in love is also the risk of being left heart-broken. This connection is explored in the way an onion stings our eyes when we try to get to the ‘heart’ of it (cut it), the same way we may be stung by another person’s heartlessness. ‘…make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief’. Imagery where we are looking ‘through’ the eyes of the upset lover who may be gazing at their own reflection in the mirror and crying at the same time.

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.It promises lightlike the careful undressing of love.

Here. It will blind you with tears like a lover.It will make your reflectiona wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,possessive and faithfulas we are,for as long as we are.

Take it.Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,if you like.

Lethal.Its scent will cling to your fingers,cling to your knife.

LondonPoverty London

Meaning The poem describes a journey around London, offering a glimpse of what the speaker sees as the terrible conditions faced by the inhabitants of the city. Child labour, restrictive laws of property and prostitution are all explored in the poem. The poem starts with a criticism of laws relating to ownership. The 'charter'd Thames' is a bitter reference to the way in which every aspect of life in London is owned, even the river, so often in other poems a symbol of life, freedom and the power of nature. Blake's poem also criticises religion and its failures. The speaker draws attention to the cry of the chimney sweeper and the blackening of church walls, implying that the church as an institution is inactive, unwilling to help those in need. It ends with a vision of the terrible consequences to be faced as a result of sexually transmitted disease.

Context: William Blake was a poet and artist who specialised in illuminated texts, often of a religious nature. He rejected established religion for various reasons. One of the main ones was the failure of the established Church to help children in London who were forced to work. Blake lived and worked in the capital, so was arguably well placed to write clearly about the conditions people who lived there faced. In 1789, the French people revolted against the monarchy and aristocracy, using violence and murder to overthrow those in power. Many saw the French Revolution as inspirational - a model for how ordinary, disadvantaged people could seize power. Blake alludes to the revolution in London, arguably suggesting that the experience of living there could encourage a revolution on the streets of the capital.

Imagery Blake uses the metaphor of “charter’d street” and “charter’d Thames.” This is a reference to the charters that allocated ownership and rights to specific people. Many, including Blake, saw this as robbing ordinary people of their rights and freedoms. He also uses a metaphor around the idea of "marks". This has a dual meaning: it refers to the physical marks carried by people as a result of the conditions they endure, and is also suggestive of the speaker recording evidence during his walk through the city streets. The speaker also uses a metaphor to make it clear that "every" sound he hears is evidence of the "mind-forg'd manacles". Manacles are like handcuffs. The speaker is suggesting that people's minds are restricted and confined - that the city has robbed them of the ability to think and criticise the restriction and poverty that they suffer.

Tone Blake's speaker has a very negative view of the city. For Blake, the conditions faced by people caused them to decay physically, morally and spiritually. For Blake, buildings, especially church buildings, often symbolised confinement, restriction and failure. In this poem, the lines "the Chimney-sweeper's cry / Every blackening church appals" provide an association which reveals the speaker's attitude. Money is spent on church buildings while children live in poverty, forced to clean chimneys - the soot from which blackens the church walls. To Blake, this makes a mockery of the love and care that should characterise the Christian religion. The poem is pessimistic. It is without hope for the future.

Structure London is presented in a very regular way, much like a song. There is a strict abab rhyme scheme in each of the four stanzas. The four stanzas offer a glimpse of different aspects of the city, almost like snapshots seen by the speaker during his "wander thro'" the streets. The regular structure of the poem may reflect the restrictions the people experience living in London.

Language The poem is full of negative words: "weakness", "woe", "cry", "fear", "appals", "blood", "blights", "plagues" and "hearse" are just some of them. The poem ends with a startling contrast in the language chosen: "marriage hearse". To Blake, marriage should be a celebration of love and the beginning of new life. Yet here it is combined with the word "hearse" - a vehicle associated with funerals. To the speaker of the poem, the future brings nothing but death and decay. “Blood down Palace walls” offers the only hope for the people by rebelling and rising up against the people who restrict their lives.

I wander thro' each charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow. And mark in every face I meet

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear

How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every blackening Church appals, And the hapless Soldiers sigh

Runs in blood down Palace walls

But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the marriage hearse

Living Space Poverty Living Space

Meaning The poem describes a ramshackle living space, with its lack of 'straight lines' and beams 'balanced crookedly on supports'. In this poem, Imtiaz Dharker celebrates the existence of these living spaces as a miracle. The lines of the buildings are slanting and unstable, balancing precariously between dangerous and 'miraculous'.

Context: Imtiaz Dharker has explained that the poem describes the slums of Mumbai, where people migrate from all over India in the hope of a better life. The slum areas are living spaces created out of all kinds of found materials: corrugated sheets, wooden beams and tarpaulin. She works to raise awareness of issues in other countries.

Imagery The poet uses the image of the egg to show the fragility of the people’s existence in these irregular houses, “fragile curves of white hung out over the dark edge.” The shape of the egg is used to highlight how precarious the buildings are as they hang over “dark edges” suggesting there is nothing below the fragile basket as it hangs in the air. The eggs in a basket that hang out 'over the dark edge' are an act of faith, not only because someone has so delicately placed them in such a ramshackle environment, but also because they contain new life. The eggs, like the buildings are miracles. It may seem like an act of faith to live in one of these rough structures - a daring attempt to live in such a place. In this way the poem represents the fragility of human life and celebrates the way that faith brings boldness. The writer also uses the “thin walls of faith” to suggest the people exist in these houses in hope rather than logic which would suggest they should fall down.

Tone The tone of the poem is hopeful and optimistic. Against all odds, the house stay upright and the poem links this miracle to faith. The faith the people have in their lives improving perhaps or in the continued faith that their homes remain upright, “thin walls of faith.”

Structure ‘Living Space’ is written in one long thin stanza with 22 short lines. Each line varies in length. The longest, 'The whole structure leans dangerously', appears considerably longer on the page than the others, perhaps echoing the fact the whole structure is leaning over. The effect of this is to create a poem that appears as precarious as the physical structures it describes. The lines of different lengths seem to jut out into the page like some of the crooked beams the poet presents. Dharker uses enjambment throughout this poem with lines spilling over into one another. This reflects the way the slum structures lean over and on top of each other. The first half of the poem describes the structure. From line 11 onwards, we are presented with an image of something inside: people living in the space, and the eggs hanging in a basket. This makes the second half of the poem more hopeful, as if showing the power of faith.

Language The poet presents us with a picture, like a snapshot or photograph of a moment in time. The language used is simple and focuses on the shape of the structure. Words like 'crookedly', 'balance', 'leans' and 'slanted' emphasise the instability of the living space. There is a contrast between dark and light with the bright image of the curved smooth eggs standing out against the darkness of the 'slanted universe'. The eggs are a symbol of hope. The 'bright' eggs contrast with the 'dark edge/ of a slanted universe.' They stand out as something white, pure and whole against a broken dark world. Faith is precarious too. The 'walls of faith' are 'bright' which implies something positive, but they are also 'thin' which suggests fragility. Perhaps the poet feels that faith, like the shell of an egg, is easy to break.

There are just not enoughStraight lines. Thatis the problem.Nothing is flator parallel. BeamsBalance crookedly on supportsThrust off the vertical.Nails clutch at open seams.The whole structure leans dangerouslyTowards the miraculous.Into this rough frame,someone has squeezeda living spaceand even dared to placethese eggs in a wire basket,fragile curves of whitehung out over the dark edgeof a slanted universe,gathering the lightinto themselves,as if they werethe bright, thin walls of faith.

The Manhunt War The Manhunt

Meaning ‘The Manhunt’ is written from the perspective of the wife of a soldier who has sustained serious injuries at war and has returned home. The poem explores the physical and mental effects of living with injuries sustained when on active service in the armed forces.Context: Simon Armitage uses colloquial (everyday, informal) language and autobiographical material. He has worked on several television programmes including a documentary on permanently injured soldiers and their lives. This poem was first broadcast as part of that documentary. His poetry demonstrates a strong concern for social issues, as well as drawing on his Yorkshire roots. Armitage is often noted for his "ear" - holding a strong sense of rhythm and metre.

Imagery The speaker refers to parts of the husband's body metaphorically, comparing them to inanimate objects rather than to living things. His jaw is a "blown hinge", suggesting that he is no longer open to her, perhaps unable to talk of his feelings and experiences. His collar bone is "damaged, porcelain", a metaphor that brings to mind something hard but also easily chipped and cold, a reminder of the "frozen river which ran through his face".There are lots of sensual, loving verbs in the poem, reflecting the intimacy of husband and wife, and keen devotion from the wife hoping to heal her husband. The wife says that she is able to "climb the rungs of his broken ribs", a closely observed detail of her hands exploring the altered body of her husband. The idea of the ladder is reflective of the effort involved in the wife's gradual search for answers.

Tone The tone of the poem is tentative as the wife gently traces the physical wounds that lead her to explore the mental wounds her husband has suffered. The final line “only then, did I come close” suggests the delicate, difficult journey she has had understanding her husband again after his injuries and experiences in war.

Structure The poem is made up of a series of couplets, mostly unrhymed. This creates a sense of fragmentation, which matches the feelings of the soldier's wife as she seeks to understand the man her husband has become.The poem describes the phases of a wife's search for answers from her injured husband who has recently returned from a war zone. The poem ends when the search is brought to a close.

Language The title puns on the idea of the 'manhunt', meaning literally a hunt to capture a man, often a criminal. Here the wife's search is for the husband she knew so well but who seems lost to her, metaphorically, after his experiences at war. Many of the first lines of the couplets have prominent verbs, reflecting the activities of the wife as she conducts her "search". Words and phrases like "explore", "handle and hold", "mind and attend" are all references to careful treatment of her husband's injured body, as well as suggesting her patient care for his mental state.

After the first phase,after passionate nights and intimate days,only then would he let me tracethe frozen river which ran through his face,only then would he let me explorethe blown hinge of his lower jaw,and handle and holdthe damaged, porcelain collar-bone,and mind and attendthe fractured rudder of shoulder-blade,and finger and thumbthe parachute silk of his punctured lung.Only then could I bind the strutsand climb the rungs of his broken ribs,and feel the hurtof his grazed heart.Skirting along,only then could I picture the scan,the foetus of metal beneath his chestwhere the bullet had finally come to rest.Then I widened the search,traced the scarring back to its sourceto a sweating, unexploded mineburied deep in his mind, around whichevery nerve in his body had tightened and closed.Then, and only then, did I come close.

A Wife in London War A Wife in London

Meaning It is about a woman, a wife, in London who is waiting for her husband to come back from the war (the Second Boer War 1899-1902). This poem was written during the second Boer war, and it describes the view and emotions from a wife whose husband has gone to war and she's anticipating his return.

Context: The second Boer War started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. The UK defeated two Boer states in South Africa: the South African Republic (Republic of Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. The UK was aided by its Cape Colony, the Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The UK was overconfident and under-prepared. The Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the UK brought in large numbers of soldiers and fought back.

Imagery The use of imagery provides the reader a sense of mourning and darkness. The words “cold,” “fog,” and “firelight” illustrate winter, a time when the weather is dull and gloomy and many stay by their fire for comfort. The comfort of the “firelight flicker” adds pathos. The simile “Like a waning taper the street-lamp glimmers cold” compares the waning light of the street lamp to the life of a soldier that is fading away. The poet also uses irony when the wife reads “Page full of his hoped return.” The letter describes the hope and excitement of the husband’s return home. But, in fact, the husband will never return.

Tone The tone is sombre and gloomy. The weather in the poem is described as having "tawny vapour" and being foggy; this kind of weather is depressing and represents the mournful mood of the poem, and the "fold on fold" suggests that the fog is like an entrapment.

Structure The structure of the poem creates a sense of time for readers. The first part and second part narrate different events. While the first two stanzas tells of the woman receiving information about her husband's death, the last two stanzas tell of the woman receiving a posthumous letter from her deceased husband. Although the poem has a regular rhyme scheme, the changing meter and irregular pattern of rhyme doesn't create a "sing song," playful tune. This emphasizes the depressing mood and the emotion behind the poem's message.

Language First, Hardy describes the 'tawny vapour' and then, the 'fog' which 'hangs thicker'. This language reflects the immediacy of misery. The second stanza explains her sadness ~ and the whole mournful feel of the poem; 'hehas fallen in the far south lands’. It is stated shortly and sharply. There is nothing to misunderstand, yet the young wife feels dazed by it and doesn't feel able to fully comprehend the news. She is too stunned. She is in shock. Hardy conveys this in just a few simple words: 'Of meaning it dazes to understand‘. Hardy's poem is full of the language of misery and of winter ~ words such as 'vapour' and 'fog' and the 'street light' which 'glimmers cold' and the 'firelight' of winter. There is that ironic mention of 'summer weather' and hope, but the reader already knows that the soldier will never experience that English summer and will never fulfil his hopes and dreams. This soldier has 'fallen'.

--The Tragedy

She sits in the tawny vapour That the City lanes have uprolled, Behind whose webby fold on fold

Like a waning taper The street-lamp glimmers cold.

A messenger's knock cracks smartly, Flashed news is in her hand Of meaning it dazes to understand

Though shaped so shortly: He--has fallen--in the far South Land . . .

II--The Irony

'Tis the morrow; the fog hangs thicker, The postman nears and goes: A letter is brought whose lines disclose

By the firelight flicker His hand, whom the worm now knows:

Fresh--firm--penned in highest feather -Page-full of his hoped return, And of home-planned jaunts by brake and burn

In the summer weather, And of new love that they would learn.

The Soldier War The Soldier

Meaning The soldier in the poem is considering his own death, but is neither horrified nor regretful. Rather, religion, patriotism and romanticism are central to distracting him from the reality of war.The poem written in 1914, anticipates the vast numbers of soldiers whose bodies, torn to shreds or buried by shellfire, remain buried and unknown as a result of the methods of fighting that war. It is one of the most acclaimed poems of its time, due to the way in which Brooke represents the patriarchy of fighting or even dying for your country as being the most admirable and noble thing a man can do.

Context: When The Soldier was written, the bodies of servicemen were not regularly brought back to their homeland but buried nearby where they had died. In World War I, this produced vast graveyards of British soldiers in "foreign fields," and allows Brooke to portray these graves as representing a piece of the world that will be forever England. For a nation desperate to turn the senseless loss of its soldiers into something that could be coped with, even celebrated, Brooke’s poem became a cornerstone of the remembrance process, and is still in heavy use today.

Imagery Brooke uses incredibly descriptive imagery in his poem, ‘The Soldier,’ to portray the message of how honourable it is to fight for your country, and what a great country England is, through to the reader in an extremely captivating way. ‘A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware.’ In this line of the poem, Brooke has cleverly personified England as being almost motherly towards the soldier. He does this by implying that England give birth to and raised the soldier in the way a mother would, which represents that the solider has a strong emotional connection to his country and explains why the soldier feels so compelled to protect it – because to him England, ‘the mother country,’ is family.

Tone The tone of the poem is uplifting, hopeful in spite of the grim content of the poem.

Structure It is written in traditional sonnet form, consisting of two stanzas. The key themes of the poem are death and love. Death, as he is a soldier going into battle, and love in the sense of the love he feels for his country. Sonnets were associated with love poetry from Shakespeare's time and therefore seems a fitting form for Brooke’s patriotic poem.

Language The patriotic message of the poem is evident in its repeated mention of ‘England’ and ‘English’ – six times in all. The repetition of “rich” in that “rich earth a richer dust” implies the foreign land is improved by the spilling of English blood. But a closer analysis of the poem reveals that it also offers subtler hints of its proud patriotism. For example, ‘foreign’, in the ‘foreign field’ of the second line, finds itself echoed and elongated into ‘for ever England’ in the next line, neatly bringing home the fact that, although English soldiers may die quickly and horrifically on the fields of France, the English values that led to them giving their lives for a cause – courage, pride, pluck – will last forever.

IF I should die, think only this of me:That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is forever England. There shall beIn that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England's, breathing English air,Washed by the rivers, blest by the suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

She Walks in Beauty Love She Walks in Beauty

Meaning She Walks in Beauty is a poem celebrating female beauty. The beauty of the woman the speaker describes is in both her external appearance and her inner goodness. Although it might generally be classified as a love poem the poet never actually declares that love. He concentrates on the subject’s captivating attractiveness and purity. The speaker is keen to emphasise that it is not all about outward appearances. The early description of her physical beauty is matched by the description of her inner beauty or 'goodness' towards the end of the poem. She almost seems to be unobtainable and, to some extent, we may sympathise with the poet’s sense of longing.

Context: Byron was one of the leading poets of a group known as the Romantics. Byron is believed to have been inspired to write the poem after seeing a woman with very good looks at a fashionable London party. His poem is, therefore, a very personal one which responded to a personal situation. He was famously described as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know.'

Imagery Byron avoids conventional symbols to describe the subject’s beauty, e.g. flowers or a sunny summer’s day. It is a less conventional appearance that is described, ‘the nameless grace/ Which waves in every raven tress.’ The woman is a raven-haired beauty. The word ‘raven’ perhaps gives her a darker aspect as it is traditionally associated with a bird of bad omen. The speaker’s sense of wonder is not directly expressed but comes from the nature of the comparisons he makes between the woman and aspects of the natural world. 'She walks in beauty, like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies.‘ In the opening two lines the poet uses a simile (a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to create a vivid image to compare the subject’s beauty to something vast, uncontained and almost unimaginable.

Tone The tone reflects the balance of the woman’s beauty and the first of two lines of stanza two is exactly balanced. Each half has the same number of words and syllables and contrasting opposites are used - 'shade'/'ray'; 'the more'/'the less' just as the woman’s beauty is perfectly balanced is seen as perfect. One tiny change either way could ruin her perfection. The woman’s beauty is not quite as perfect as it at first appears. The words ‘impair’d' and 'nameless' adds a slightly negative tone though.

Structure The poem has three stanzas, each consisting of six lines. The rhyme scheme is regular and follows the pattern ababab. The rhythm of the poem is highly regular. This consistent rhythm emphasises the regularity of the subject’s walk but also her faultless perfection. Working against this rhythm, Byron makes much use of enjambment. It is almost as though the speaker cannot pause for breath in trying to tell the reader about how beautiful this woman is.

Language The poet uses rich and varied language which draws attention to itself through literary devices such as alliteration and assonance. For instance, in the first stanza there are two examples of alliteration in the second line ‘Of cloudless climes and starry skies’ while a pattern of assonance weaves around this (the ‘i’ sounds of: ‘night’, ‘climes’, ‘skies’, ‘bright’, 'eyes', ‘light’ and ‘denies’). All but one of these words is brought to the reader’s attention by being placed at the ends of the lines. There are several references to day- and night-time, to aspects of the natural world which create light (stars) and to an inner light or radiance. And ‘all that’s best of dark and bright/ Meet in her aspect and her eyes.’ The best features of light and its opposite darkness, meet to form something even greater in the subject’s extraordinary beauty. It is especially noticeable in her eyes.

She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!

As Imperceptibly as Grief Death As Imperceptibly as Grief

Meaning Emily Dickinson, poet to As Imperceptibly as Grief, is renowned for her unique ability to produce deep and meaningful feelings with just a few short words. With this poem, Dickinson takes the feeling of “grief” and compares it to the passing away of the summer. This is interesting take on grief. She compares grief as something that doesn’t last. Rather it will “lapse away” like the summer. This offers comfort to those experiencing grief. Even if the effects of grief never truly go away, the speaker here seems to promise that grief itself will not last forever, but will pass away quickly like the summer fades into autumn.

Context: Born in 1830, Emily Dickinson was an American poet raised in a Puritan New England household.She wrote many poems during her life in letters to friends and acquaintances but her work was only ever published posthumously, that is, after her death in 1886. Some of her poems were inspired by nature and are about moments which bring surprise or inspiration.

Imagery Dickinson provides many nature examples to bring forth an understanding of her happiness escaping. “The dusk grew earlier in” represents the darkness that is over-taking her happiness. The theme of darkness as almost over-powering and taking happiness away is explored in the poem. “As Twilight long begun / Or Nature spending with herself / Sequestered afternoon” suggests that her happiness was almost visible. Just as in twilight, there is a little light showing, there was a little bit of her happiness showing. But it was just enough to be ripped away, as “the Dusk drew earlier”.

Tone Dickinson writes this poem to represent her own emotions and struggles. She makes her own happiness and pleasure disappearing seem as if it is a beautiful thing by her words. Her words provide a sense of beauty in the darkness. The tone is melancholy.

Structure The poem is written in one stanza. The use of enjambment emphasises the link between the poets thoughts and nature. She writes in a poetic form to almost bring a bit of irony to her situation, as if her unhappiness is something that can be mocked and belittled by beautiful ideas.

Language Dickinson is comparing the passing of summer to grief. She uses seasons changing to represent the different stages of life. The passing of summer could also represent lost happiness. The adjective 'Imperceptibly' suggests that we don't notice life passing it just suddenly happens. Dickinson writes about “Summer” as if Summer is a symbol for happiness. Dickinson counterparts the happiness of “the Summer” with the imperceptible “Grief”. Although the line “As imperceptibly as Grief / The Summer lapsed away” seems to be just an innocent statement about the summertime, there is a much deeper meaning behind Dickinson’s words. Dickinson employs many different words such as “perfidy” and “sequestered” to bring forth an isolated and untrustworthy feel. These word suggest that the “Summer” that is “escap[ing]” is truly Dickinson’s happiness. The “Summer made her light escape / Into the Beautiful” suggesting that the “Beautiful” is a place Dickinson longs for, and longs to be.

As imperceptibly as GriefThe Summer lapsed away—Too imperceptible at lastTo seem like Perfidy—A Quietness distilledAs Twilight long begun,Or Nature spending with herselfSequestered Afternoon—The Dusk drew earlier in—The Morning foreign shone—A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,As Guest, that would be gone—And thus, without a WingOr service of a KeelOur Summer made her light escapeInto the Beautiful.

Sonnet 43Love Sonnet 43

Meaning Sonnet 43 is about being in love and the object of the poet's affection. It presents the ways in which she loves and offers the idea of this continuing into the afterlife. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnet sequence was written before she married Robert Browning to express her intense love for him. Sonnet 43 is the most famous of the 44 sonnets. In it, Browning attempts to define her love. The opening of the poem suggests it arises from a question: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!"

Context: Elizabeth Barret Browning was a prominent Victorian poet. She suffered from lifelong illness, despite which she married the poet and playwright Robert Browning, who was a major influence on her work, and to whom Sonnet 43 is addressed. Sonnet 43 is part of a longer sonnet sequence of 44 sonnets called Sonnets from the Portuguese.

Imagery Sonnet 43 presents the idea of love as powerful and all-encompassing; her love enables her to reach otherwise impossible extremes: “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height/My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight/For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.” As well as the use of lists to imply the comprehension of her love, "feeling out of sight" tells us that the speaker sees her love not as something tangible but instinctive or even spiritual. The poem is autobiographical: it refers to "my old griefs". (Browning had strong disagreements with her parents and was eventually disinherited.) The passion she applied to these "griefs" has been applied more positively to her love, demonstrating that she sees love as a positive, powerful and life-changing force.

Tone Love is presented as a positive and powerful force. Sonnet 43 uses positive language to convince us - and the poet's lover - of the strength of her love. Sonnet 43 presents the speaker's lover as a sort of spiritual guide, an inspiration so the tone is very positive and uplifting.

Structure Sonnet 43 is the length of a traditional sonnet (14 lines) but otherwise does not follow the rules. There is a fairly regular rhyme scheme, but this is flexible, and Browning often makes use of assonance (for example "Praise" and "Faith"), which is striking because the poem is about defining the perfect love, and yet the poem avoids perfection. Perhaps this is deliberate.

Language The poem makes use of repetition: "I love thee" is used eight times and reflects the devotion the poet feels for her lover as well as the persistent nature of that love. Repetition is also used in a list on line 2 "depth and breadth and height" to suggest this poem is comprehensive; it aims to fully define the poet's love. Repetition here also suggests breathlessness and excitement. Love is compared to weighty, important concepts like "Being and ideal Grace", "Right" and "Praise". Browning's use of capital letters emphasises these words. The opening rhetorical question implies a conversation between lovers, and the exclamation mark at the end of the first line makes the poem seem light-hearted and playful. The speaker is responding enthusiastically to the challenge of listing the ways in which she experiences love. Lines become frequently broken up by punctuation by the end of the poem, another suggestion that the speaker is excited. "I love thee with the breath,/ Smiles, tears, of all my life!". She is passionate in her explanation.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! -I love thee to the depth and breadth and heightMy soul can reach, when feeling out of sightFor the ends of Being and Ideal Grace.I love thee to the level of everyday’sMost quiet need, by sun and candlelight -I love thee freely, as men strive for Right, -I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise;I love thee with the passion, put to useIn my old griefs, ... and with my childhood's faith:I love thee with the love I seemed to loseWith my lost Saints, - I love thee with the breath,Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,I shall but love thee better after death.

To Autumn Nature To Autumn

Meaning In To Autumn, John Keats paints three perfect autumnal landscapes in three powerful stanzas. He also highlights the impact on the senses which occur to the patient observer. Keats composed this poem after a countryside walk and was excited and moved by what he saw. He has clearly captured the sights, sounds and smells that he experienced here. However, the speaker’s attitude throughout the poem gradually and subtly changes. At the start, he is full of joy and wonder at the natural world as he describes the rich abundance that nature offers. By the time he reaches the third stanza, there is a shift in his perspective. He becomes more reflective and melancholy as he considers what the passing of time actually means both to himself and humans in general.

Context: Keats initially trained as a surgeon but gave it up to write poetry. Six months after completing To Autumn, he experienced the first signs of the tuberculosis that would end his life. In the poem, it is almost as though the medically-trained poet has understood that his life will soon end and he is preparing himself for death. Keats died in 1821 aged just 25. Despite his short life, Keats has had a major impact on poetry and is regarded as one of the most important poets in literary history.

Imagery The poem is written in a highly formal pattern and combines rich imagery with clever use of personification. The natural world: unsurprisingly, in a poem about autumn there are references made to fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees and other. “Hedge-crickets sing, and now with treble soft/ The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;/ And gathering swallows twitter in the skies’ vegetation.” Animals are represented by various birds, insects and 'full-grown lambs'. The closing section of the poem is alive with the noises that various birds and insects make, reminding the reader that though the year may be drawing to a close, life still goes on. Ripeness: autumn is seen as a time when the fruit is ready for picking and the grain for harvesting. It is a time to prepare for the onset of winter. ‘To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells/ With a sweet kernel’ Time passing: as well as the seasons themselves, direct or indirect reference is made to the passing of days, hours and to whole lives. ‘While barrèdclouds bloom the soft-dying day.’

Tone The speaker addresses autumn directly and personifies it as a woman. The poem moves from the early stages of autumn to the coming of winter. It includes detailed descriptions of different aspects of the season which is seen as beautiful and full of natural wonder. The tone is one of awe and wonder at the natural world. The tone changes towards the end of the poem to one of regret as time, the seasons pass.

Structure The first four lines of each stanza follow the regular rhyme scheme abab, but the other seven show more variation, with lines 9 and 10 having rhyming couplets, echoing back to a rhyme earlier in each stanza. This relatively complex rhyme scheme allows the poet to introduce the focus of each stanza, then explore the ideas in a more leisurely and considered way.

Language The vocabulary Keats has chosen is rich and sensuous. The opening line is warm and inviting with its combinations of ‘m’ and ‘s’sounds. The two key literary devices which Keats makes use of in the poem are personification and rhetorical questions. Although never explicitly stated, Keats seems to visualise the season of autumn as a woman. In the first stanza, she is described as a ‘Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun’. The male summer and the female autumn form a union to produce abundant crops which characterise the season. In the second stanza she is shown at rest ‘sitting careless on a granary floor' or 'on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep’. Although sometimes hard at work the season is also one for rest and relaxation. In the final stanza, the personified figure of autumn faces the end of its life as winter starts to approach. Autumn thinks back wistfully to spring and there is a sense of regret as life passes.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;Conspiring with him how to load and blessWith fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,And ¬fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shellsWith a sweet kernel; to set budding more,And still more, later flowers for the bees,Until they think warm days will never cease,For Summer has o’erbrimm’d their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may findThee sitting careless on a granary floor,Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hookSpares the next swath and all its twinèd flowers;And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keepSteady thy laden head across a brook;Or by a cider-press, with patient look,Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Aye, where are they?Think not of them, — thou hast thy music too,While barrèd clouds bloom the soft-dying day,And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mournAmong the river sallows, borne aloftOr sinking as the light wind lives or dies;And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;Hedge-crickets sing, and now with treble softThe redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.