Summary The poem ‘The Darkling Thrush’ is a famous nature lyric composed by Hardy. It is composed at the turn by of the century. In this poem, the poet points out man’s inability to share the happiness of a bird singing in winter. In this poem, Hardy depicts the early 20th century as a period … Read more
Mending wall By Robert Frost Introduction: The poem Mending Wall by Robert Frost was first published in 1914. The poem is about two neighbours who meet each year in Spring to mend the stone wall dividing their fields. It is a dramatic lyric and a monologue. This poem presents a sharp contrast between two views, … Read more
The Lamb By William Blake Short Summary “The Lamb” is the simplest poem written by William Blake and was published in his collection Songs of Innocence in 1789. In the figure of the lamb, the poem finds the expression of God’s will and the beauty of God’s creation. The poem is told from the point … Read more
The Sick Rose by William Blake Summary of Sick Rose “The Sick Rose” is a poem written by William Blake first published in 1794 and like Blake’s other poems such as The Tyger and The Lamb, it was also included in Songs of Experience. The poem uses a narrator who addresses the rose, the symbol … Read more
The Tyger by William Blake Introduction “The Tyger” is a poem by William Blake that was first published in 1794 as part of the Songs of Experience collection. Alfred Kazin, a literary critic, describes it as “the most famous of his poems,” and The Cambridge Companion to William Blake describes it as “the most anthologized … Read more
London by William Blake Introduction London is a poem written by William Blake and published in Songs of Experience in 1794. It is one of the few poems in Songs of Experience that does not have a corresponding poem in Songs of Innocence. William Blake was a poet and artist most known for his illuminated … Read more
Introduction A Red, Red Rose by Rober Burns is a beautiful romantic poem first published in 1794 in A Selection of Scots Songs, edited by Peter Urbani. Burns ‘ poem was both influenced by a simple Scottish song he had heard in the country and by ballads written from that time. The poem is a … Read more
Composed upon Westminster Bridge, Sept. 3, 1802, by William Wordsworth Study Questions 1. What is the main theme of Westminster Bridge? Wordsworth’s claim that his vision of London is the best on the planet is clearly exaggerated, not to mention impossible to verify. But it is an innocent exaggeration, one that puts us “in the … Read more
A Hanging by George Orwell Introduction The essay ‘ A Hanging’ by George Orwell describes an incident of hanging one prisoner. Orwell describes the event in his usual dramatic and ironic style. The essay is remarkable for the vivid characters that Orwell has portrayed. Like ‘Shooting an Elephant’, the incident of hanging takes place in … Read more
Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley Summary to The Poem ‘Ode to the West Wind’ is one of the most engaging odes in English literature. The poem is a forceful, mind-blowing description of the West Wind. Shelley, here, presents the West Wind both as a creative and destructive force. According to Shelley, … Read more
“Crossing the Bar” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson About the poem This is a lyrical poem. Tennyson wrote it when he was 81, while crossing the river Solent after a serious illness. He explained to his son that the “Pilot” was the Divine, the Unseen who always guided us.The poem is considered the “Swan Song” of … Read more
Sonnet CXVI by William Shakespeare Vocabulary: impediments – obstacles tempests – storms sickle – a pole with a hook, used for farming grain Summary of Sonnet 116 Sonnet 116 is one of the most well-known poems in English literature first published in 1609. This sonnet, like so many others by Shakespeare, is centred on love. … Read more
