The narrator is on his "death-bed" and recognizes that his youth was good and he lived a good life. The "glowing of such fire" seems like it would relate to Hell, but really it refers to the fire and passion of youth, that burns out as people grow o Continue Reading...
Shakespeare's Sonnets 18, 73, 97
Poets have often looked to nature for inspiration and as a vehicle for self-expression. Throughout his lifetime, William Shakespeare is known to have written 154 sonnets, which cover various topics such as love, mort Continue Reading...
Shakespeare Sonnets
In both Sonnet 71 and in Sonnet 73, the narrator contemplates old age and death. Both poems use rich and dark imagery to convey the theme of human mortality, although Sonnet 73 is more filled with metaphor than 71. However, both Continue Reading...
Greeenblatt also points out that to truly grasp the meaning of the poem and the transience alluded to therein, readers must consider the social code for homosexual love. The Church did not tolerate sodomy and it would make sense that men would be at Continue Reading...
The rhyme scheme of this sonnet follows Shakespeare's usual structure, wherein the quatrains all have an independent alternating rhyme (ABAB CDCD EFEF), and the final two lines form an heroic couplet (GG). This adds to the feeling of receiving disc Continue Reading...
Rhyming in Poetry
Ruba
Poetry Analysis of "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe and "Sonnet 73" by William Shakespeare
In poetry, the element of rhyming is an essential tool used by poets in order to provide their audiences further reiteration of the s Continue Reading...
Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound and My Father's Waltz by Theodore Roethke
Ezra Pound's poem In the Station of the Metro and Theodore Roethke's poem My Father's Waltz both reflect the darker side of human nature. Though these works paint a very d Continue Reading...
For the poet, Christianity must be devoid of the cultures of corruption and hypocrisy that prevailed during his time. Ideally, a religion, in order to be respected and followed by the people, must maintain a clean image -- that is, an image that ref Continue Reading...
Jewel Stairs' Grievance: Li PO / Ezra Pound
We can assume from the poet's heritage that the speaker is an Asian woman. However, there are further contextual cues that aid in the understanding of "The Jewel Stairs' Grievance." For one, the opening l Continue Reading...
Renaissance
The word renaissance means a complete change in modes of art, literature, music, and architecture, as well as an altered sense of morality and ethicality during a given period of time. This change stems from an expansion of thought and w Continue Reading...
To Tybalt, he cries: "I do protest I never injur'd thee, / but love thee better than thou canst devise." His language is insistent, but Mercutio's death is more than he can bear: he takes it personally and is blinded by the abuse he feels that he ha Continue Reading...
He "almost" despises himself but still seems not to think that his actions were absolutely wrong. Furthermore, the narrator of the Shakespeare Sonnet finds solace and comfort in thinking of his lover. By thinking of the one he loves, a human being, Continue Reading...
Road not Taken, Robert Frost uses the setting, mood, and characterization to help illuminate the theme of choice symbolized by the road not taken.
The poem uses various literary devices to describe choice.
The poem is set in the woods, where two r Continue Reading...
Last Duchess
Jealousy, Rage, and Possession in Browning's "My Last Duchess"
Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" emphasizes Victorian ideals of women and allows readers to understand how they were objectified. In this macabre poem, Browning uses th Continue Reading...
The same is true of politics, where there are few women political leaders, and the United States has never seen a woman president or vice-president. It is interesting to note that Wollstonecraft hopes women will "grow more and more masculine" in ord Continue Reading...