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Poetry Guides
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all 706 poetry guides.
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Nature is what we see
by Emily Dickinson
The American poet Emily Dickinson wrote "Nature is what we see" around 1863. The poem praises the beauty and wonder of the natural world while also arguing that human beings lack the ability to ful...
Binsey Poplars
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
"Binsey Poplars" is Gerard Manley Hopkins's memorial for a row of riverside trees cut down in 1879. The poem's speaker—a voice for Hopkins himself—is appalled to discover that the "aspens" he loved...
Once the World Was Perfect
by Joy Harjo
"Once the World Was Perfect" was written by former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, and published in the 2015 collection Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings. The...
Nature is what we see
by Emily Dickinson
The American poet Emily Dickinson wrote "Nature is what we see" around 1863. The poem praises the beauty and wonder of the natural world while also arguing that human beings lack the ability to ful...
Binsey Poplars
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
"Binsey Poplars" is Gerard Manley Hopkins's memorial for a row of riverside trees cut down in 1879. The poem's speaker—a voice for Hopkins himself—is appalled to discover that the "aspens" he loved...
Once the World Was Perfect
by Joy Harjo
"Once the World Was Perfect" was written by former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, and published in the 2015 collection Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings. The...
Requiem for the Croppies
by Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney's "Requiem for the Croppies" is based on the Battle of Vinegar Hill, a 1798 Irish uprising against British rule. The poem depicts the Irish rebels, nicknamed "Croppies" for their shor...
Nature is what we see
by Emily Dickinson
The American poet Emily Dickinson wrote "Nature is what we see" around 1863. The poem praises the beauty and wonder of the natural world while also arguing that human beings lack the ability to ful...
Binsey Poplars
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
"Binsey Poplars" is Gerard Manley Hopkins's memorial for a row of riverside trees cut down in 1879. The poem's speaker—a voice for Hopkins himself—is appalled to discover that the "aspens" he loved...
Once the World Was Perfect
by Joy Harjo
"Once the World Was Perfect" was written by former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, and published in the 2015 collection Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings. The...
Requiem for the Croppies
by Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney's "Requiem for the Croppies" is based on the Battle of Vinegar Hill, a 1798 Irish uprising against British rule. The poem depicts the Irish rebels, nicknamed "Croppies" for their shor...
Five Bells
by Kenneth Slessor
"Five Bells" is Australian poet Kenneth Slessor's autobiographical reflection on grief, time, and memory. The poem's speaker can hardly believe that his friend Joe (who drowned in Sydney Harbor) is...
A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown
by Walt Whitman
"A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown" is American poet Walt Whitman's horrified look at the disasters of war. The poem's speaker, a soldier retreating from a lost battle, encounte...
Requiem for the Croppies
by Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney's "Requiem for the Croppies" is based on the Battle of Vinegar Hill, a 1798 Irish uprising against British rule. The poem depicts the Irish rebels, nicknamed "Croppies" for their shor...
Five Bells
by Kenneth Slessor
"Five Bells" is Australian poet Kenneth Slessor's autobiographical reflection on grief, time, and memory. The poem's speaker can hardly believe that his friend Joe (who drowned in Sydney Harbor) is...
A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown
by Walt Whitman
"A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown" is American poet Walt Whitman's horrified look at the disasters of war. The poem's speaker, a soldier retreating from a lost battle, encounte...
The Flowers
by William Brighty Rands
"The Flowers" was written by Victorian author William Brighty Rands and originally published as part of a collection of poetry for children. A sweet, parable-like poem, "The Flowers" celebrates lov...
Bogland
by Seamus Heaney
"Bogland" is the final poem in Seamus Heaney's second collection, Door into the Dark (1969). It describes the peat bogs (wetlands composed of dead plant matter) that cover a large fraction of Irela...
Confessions
by Robert Browning
English poet Robert Browning's "Confessions" is a tale of love and memory. The poem's speaker, an old man on his deathbed, makes a last confession to a visiting priest—but perhaps not a very contri...
Earth's Answer
by William Blake
The visionary English poet William Blake published "Earth's Answer" in the Experience section of his most popular work, Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794). The poem personifies the Earth a...
The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants
by Emily Dickinson
"The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants," by the American poet Emily Dickinson, is a celebration of one of nature's most fascinating life forms as well as the tricksters, rebels, and nonconformists whom...
I cannot live with You –
by Emily Dickinson
"I cannot live with You" is one of American poet Emily Dickinson's longest poems—and perhaps one of her most tormented. The poem's speaker tells a beloved that they "cannot live" together, not beca...
The Day Lady Died
by Frank O'Hara
"The Day Lady Died" is a celebrated poem from Frank O'Hara's classic collection Lunch Poems (1964). An unconventional elegy for the jazz singer Billie Holiday (a.k.a. "Lady Day"), it dates to the a...
MCMXIV
by Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin's "MCMXIV" looks back on England in the year 1914, creating an evocative snapshot of life just before the horrors of the First World War. Young men line up to enlist in the army, chil...
Hap
by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy's "Hap" laments the fact that life is governed by chance ("happenstance"). The poem's downtrodden speaker argues that even a cruel god would, in a way, be preferable to random bad luck...
Five Bells
by Kenneth Slessor
"Five Bells" is Australian poet Kenneth Slessor's autobiographical reflection on grief, time, and memory. The poem's speaker can hardly believe that his friend Joe (who drowned in Sydney Harbor) is...
A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown
by Walt Whitman
"A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown" is American poet Walt Whitman's horrified look at the disasters of war. The poem's speaker, a soldier retreating from a lost battle, encounte...
The Flowers
by William Brighty Rands
"The Flowers" was written by Victorian author William Brighty Rands and originally published as part of a collection of poetry for children. A sweet, parable-like poem, "The Flowers" celebrates lov...
Bogland
by Seamus Heaney
"Bogland" is the final poem in Seamus Heaney's second collection, Door into the Dark (1969). It describes the peat bogs (wetlands composed of dead plant matter) that cover a large fraction of Irela...
Confessions
by Robert Browning
English poet Robert Browning's "Confessions" is a tale of love and memory. The poem's speaker, an old man on his deathbed, makes a last confession to a visiting priest—but perhaps not a very contri...
Earth's Answer
by William Blake
The visionary English poet William Blake published "Earth's Answer" in the Experience section of his most popular work, Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794). The poem personifies the Earth a...
The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants
by Emily Dickinson
"The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants," by the American poet Emily Dickinson, is a celebration of one of nature's most fascinating life forms as well as the tricksters, rebels, and nonconformists whom...
I cannot live with You –
by Emily Dickinson
"I cannot live with You" is one of American poet Emily Dickinson's longest poems—and perhaps one of her most tormented. The poem's speaker tells a beloved that they "cannot live" together, not beca...
The Day Lady Died
by Frank O'Hara
"The Day Lady Died" is a celebrated poem from Frank O'Hara's classic collection Lunch Poems (1964). An unconventional elegy for the jazz singer Billie Holiday (a.k.a. "Lady Day"), it dates to the a...
MCMXIV
by Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin's "MCMXIV" looks back on England in the year 1914, creating an evocative snapshot of life just before the horrors of the First World War. Young men line up to enlist in the army, chil...
Hap
by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy's "Hap" laments the fact that life is governed by chance ("happenstance"). The poem's downtrodden speaker argues that even a cruel god would, in a way, be preferable to random bad luck...
The Flowers
by William Brighty Rands
"The Flowers" was written by Victorian author William Brighty Rands and originally published as part of a collection of poetry for children. A sweet, parable-like poem, "The Flowers" celebrates lov...
Bogland
by Seamus Heaney
"Bogland" is the final poem in Seamus Heaney's second collection, Door into the Dark (1969). It describes the peat bogs (wetlands composed of dead plant matter) that cover a large fraction of Irela...
Confessions
by Robert Browning
English poet Robert Browning's "Confessions" is a tale of love and memory. The poem's speaker, an old man on his deathbed, makes a last confession to a visiting priest—but perhaps not a very contri...
Earth's Answer
by William Blake
The visionary English poet William Blake published "Earth's Answer" in the Experience section of his most popular work, Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794). The poem personifies the Earth a...
The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants
by Emily Dickinson
"The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants," by the American poet Emily Dickinson, is a celebration of one of nature's most fascinating life forms as well as the tricksters, rebels, and nonconformists whom...
I cannot live with You –
by Emily Dickinson
"I cannot live with You" is one of American poet Emily Dickinson's longest poems—and perhaps one of her most tormented. The poem's speaker tells a beloved that they "cannot live" together, not beca...
The Day Lady Died
by Frank O'Hara
"The Day Lady Died" is a celebrated poem from Frank O'Hara's classic collection Lunch Poems (1964). An unconventional elegy for the jazz singer Billie Holiday (a.k.a. "Lady Day"), it dates to the a...
MCMXIV
by Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin's "MCMXIV" looks back on England in the year 1914, creating an evocative snapshot of life just before the horrors of the First World War. Young men line up to enlist in the army, chil...
Hap
by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy's "Hap" laments the fact that life is governed by chance ("happenstance"). The poem's downtrodden speaker argues that even a cruel god would, in a way, be preferable to random bad luck...
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