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Poetry Guides
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all 838 poetry guides.
Recently added
The Lost Mistress
by Robert Browning
Robert Browning's "The Lost Mistress" is a dramatic monologue (a poem in the voice of a particular character) told from the point of view of a man whose lover has just broken things off with him. T...
Punishment
by Seamus Heaney
"Punishment" appears in Seamus Heaney's 1975 collection North, in which it's one of several poems about ancient, fossilized bodies dug up from Ireland's bogs. This poem contemplates the body of an ...
A Birthday
by Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti's "A Birthday" celebrates the passionate joy of love. The "birthday" of the title is a figurative one: now that the speaker's "love" has arrived, they feel like their life has of...
The Lost Mistress
by Robert Browning
Robert Browning's "The Lost Mistress" is a dramatic monologue (a poem in the voice of a particular character) told from the point of view of a man whose lover has just broken things off with him. T...
Punishment
by Seamus Heaney
"Punishment" appears in Seamus Heaney's 1975 collection North, in which it's one of several poems about ancient, fossilized bodies dug up from Ireland's bogs. This poem contemplates the body of an ...
A Birthday
by Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti's "A Birthday" celebrates the passionate joy of love. The "birthday" of the title is a figurative one: now that the speaker's "love" has arrived, they feel like their life has of...
A Face
by Robert Browning
"A Face" is Robert Browning's subtly unnerving reflection on male attitudes toward female beauty. The poem's speaker reverently describes a lady's lovely face, imagining that she'd have made a perf...
The Lost Mistress
by Robert Browning
Robert Browning's "The Lost Mistress" is a dramatic monologue (a poem in the voice of a particular character) told from the point of view of a man whose lover has just broken things off with him. T...
Punishment
by Seamus Heaney
"Punishment" appears in Seamus Heaney's 1975 collection North, in which it's one of several poems about ancient, fossilized bodies dug up from Ireland's bogs. This poem contemplates the body of an ...
A Birthday
by Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti's "A Birthday" celebrates the passionate joy of love. The "birthday" of the title is a figurative one: now that the speaker's "love" has arrived, they feel like their life has of...
A Face
by Robert Browning
"A Face" is Robert Browning's subtly unnerving reflection on male attitudes toward female beauty. The poem's speaker reverently describes a lady's lovely face, imagining that she'd have made a perf...
Nearing Forty
by Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott's "Nearing Forty" was first published in his 1969 collection The Gulf and Other Poems, when the poet was indeed nearing 40. The poem can be considered autobiographical, as the speaker...
Renouncement
by Alice Meynell
"Renouncement," by Alice Meynell, is a Petrarchan sonnet that explores the agony of forbidden or unattainable love. The speaker spends all day fighting off thoughts of the person she loves, but as ...
A Face
by Robert Browning
"A Face" is Robert Browning's subtly unnerving reflection on male attitudes toward female beauty. The poem's speaker reverently describes a lady's lovely face, imagining that she'd have made a perf...
Nearing Forty
by Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott's "Nearing Forty" was first published in his 1969 collection The Gulf and Other Poems, when the poet was indeed nearing 40. The poem can be considered autobiographical, as the speaker...
Renouncement
by Alice Meynell
"Renouncement," by Alice Meynell, is a Petrarchan sonnet that explores the agony of forbidden or unattainable love. The speaker spends all day fighting off thoughts of the person she loves, but as ...
Half-Past Two
by U. A. Fanthorpe
"Half-Past Two," which appears in the English poet U. A. Fanthorpe's 1992 collection Neck Verse, contrasts the wonder and naivete of childhood with the rigid authority of the adult world. The poem ...
Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience)
by William Blake
The English Romantic poet William Blake wrote two poems entitled "Holy Thursday": the first appeared in Songs of Innocence, and the second—the poem we're treating in this guide—in his Songs of Expe...
Echo
by Christina Rossetti
The speaker of Christina Rossetti's "Echo" begs their departed lover to visit them in dreams, where they can see their lover's face again and relive all their past happiness. But while dreaming abo...
The Deliverer
by Tishani Doshi
Tishani Doshi's "The Deliverer" addresses the horrifying reality of gender discrimination and female infanticide in India. The poem illustrates how the cultural devaluation of women's lives combine...
Among the Rocks
by Robert Browning
Robert Browning's "Among the Rocks" is the seventh in a nine-poem sequence titled "James Lee's Wife" (or, in its original printing, plain old "James Lee"), the opening piece in Browning's important...
What mystery pervades a well!
by Emily Dickinson
Written around 1877 and first published in 1896, "What mystery pervades a well!" ponders nature, fear, and awe—themes dear to Emily Dickinson throughout her writing life. The poem reflects first on...
Eel Tail
by Alice Oswald
"Eel Tail," by the British author Alice Oswald, illustrates the surreal wonder of nature while also hinting at an uncrossable divide between humanity and the animal world. The poem's speaker discus...
Passion
by Kathleen Raine
"Passion" appears in Kathleen Raine's first volume of poetry, Stone and Flower (1943). Its speaker meditates on the world outside after experiencing "heartbreak." Wrestling with pain and longing, t...
Father Returning Home
by Dilip Chitre
Dilip Chitre's "Father Returning Home" reflects on the alienation of modern life, the disconnect between parents and children, and the desire for a sense of belonging. The father of the poem's titl...
Nearing Forty
by Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott's "Nearing Forty" was first published in his 1969 collection The Gulf and Other Poems, when the poet was indeed nearing 40. The poem can be considered autobiographical, as the speaker...
Renouncement
by Alice Meynell
"Renouncement," by Alice Meynell, is a Petrarchan sonnet that explores the agony of forbidden or unattainable love. The speaker spends all day fighting off thoughts of the person she loves, but as ...
Half-Past Two
by U. A. Fanthorpe
"Half-Past Two," which appears in the English poet U. A. Fanthorpe's 1992 collection Neck Verse, contrasts the wonder and naivete of childhood with the rigid authority of the adult world. The poem ...
Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience)
by William Blake
The English Romantic poet William Blake wrote two poems entitled "Holy Thursday": the first appeared in Songs of Innocence, and the second—the poem we're treating in this guide—in his Songs of Expe...
Echo
by Christina Rossetti
The speaker of Christina Rossetti's "Echo" begs their departed lover to visit them in dreams, where they can see their lover's face again and relive all their past happiness. But while dreaming abo...
The Deliverer
by Tishani Doshi
Tishani Doshi's "The Deliverer" addresses the horrifying reality of gender discrimination and female infanticide in India. The poem illustrates how the cultural devaluation of women's lives combine...
Among the Rocks
by Robert Browning
Robert Browning's "Among the Rocks" is the seventh in a nine-poem sequence titled "James Lee's Wife" (or, in its original printing, plain old "James Lee"), the opening piece in Browning's important...
What mystery pervades a well!
by Emily Dickinson
Written around 1877 and first published in 1896, "What mystery pervades a well!" ponders nature, fear, and awe—themes dear to Emily Dickinson throughout her writing life. The poem reflects first on...
Eel Tail
by Alice Oswald
"Eel Tail," by the British author Alice Oswald, illustrates the surreal wonder of nature while also hinting at an uncrossable divide between humanity and the animal world. The poem's speaker discus...
Passion
by Kathleen Raine
"Passion" appears in Kathleen Raine's first volume of poetry, Stone and Flower (1943). Its speaker meditates on the world outside after experiencing "heartbreak." Wrestling with pain and longing, t...
Father Returning Home
by Dilip Chitre
Dilip Chitre's "Father Returning Home" reflects on the alienation of modern life, the disconnect between parents and children, and the desire for a sense of belonging. The father of the poem's titl...
Half-Past Two
by U. A. Fanthorpe
"Half-Past Two," which appears in the English poet U. A. Fanthorpe's 1992 collection Neck Verse, contrasts the wonder and naivete of childhood with the rigid authority of the adult world. The poem ...
Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience)
by William Blake
The English Romantic poet William Blake wrote two poems entitled "Holy Thursday": the first appeared in Songs of Innocence, and the second—the poem we're treating in this guide—in his Songs of Expe...
Echo
by Christina Rossetti
The speaker of Christina Rossetti's "Echo" begs their departed lover to visit them in dreams, where they can see their lover's face again and relive all their past happiness. But while dreaming abo...
The Deliverer
by Tishani Doshi
Tishani Doshi's "The Deliverer" addresses the horrifying reality of gender discrimination and female infanticide in India. The poem illustrates how the cultural devaluation of women's lives combine...
Among the Rocks
by Robert Browning
Robert Browning's "Among the Rocks" is the seventh in a nine-poem sequence titled "James Lee's Wife" (or, in its original printing, plain old "James Lee"), the opening piece in Browning's important...
What mystery pervades a well!
by Emily Dickinson
Written around 1877 and first published in 1896, "What mystery pervades a well!" ponders nature, fear, and awe—themes dear to Emily Dickinson throughout her writing life. The poem reflects first on...
Eel Tail
by Alice Oswald
"Eel Tail," by the British author Alice Oswald, illustrates the surreal wonder of nature while also hinting at an uncrossable divide between humanity and the animal world. The poem's speaker discus...
Passion
by Kathleen Raine
"Passion" appears in Kathleen Raine's first volume of poetry, Stone and Flower (1943). Its speaker meditates on the world outside after experiencing "heartbreak." Wrestling with pain and longing, t...
Father Returning Home
by Dilip Chitre
Dilip Chitre's "Father Returning Home" reflects on the alienation of modern life, the disconnect between parents and children, and the desire for a sense of belonging. The father of the poem's titl...
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