Introduction “The Burning Babe” is a lyric poem written by the English Jesuit priest, Robert Southwell. The poem was written in 1595 and was published posthumously in a poetry collection called St. Peter’s Complaint. This collection is famously known to contain poems that Southwell wrote while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. “The … Read more
Introduction George Herbert’s ‘Easter Wings’ is a straightforward but profound Christian poem on the fall of man and the speaker’s desire to ascend. The poet highlights the speaker’s experience of falling and rising by utilising the form of a bird’s wings. The speaker of the poem opens by talking about Adam’s creation and the creation … Read more
Introduction The speaker of Shelley’s poem meets a traveler from a bygone era. The traveler talks of the enormous remains of a statue belonging to a renowned pharaoh. He draws the surroundings in addition to observing how the statue’s components are positioned on the sand. The desert and the weathered monument together allude to the … Read more
Introduction The simple poem “On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book” by Charles Tennyson Turner contrasts the death of a fly with that of a human. Turner demonstrates his proficiency with and comprehension of the poetic verse in “On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book.” This particular poetry emphasizes how everyone … Read more
Introduction In his straightforward poem “He Never Expected Much,” Hardy addresses the ups and downs of life as well as its unavoidable conclusion. He explores the unfairness, sadness, and fleeting moments of enjoyment that characterize life. The speaker in Hardy’s opening lines remembers when he was younger and realized that life wouldn’t always be ideal, … Read more
Introduction On Another’s Sorrow is a poem written by the English poet William Blake. The poem appears in Blake’s famous work Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Published in 1789, this poem appears as the last song in the Songs of Innocence section. This is the only poem in the volume written in Blake’s own … Read more
Introduction Friends and Flatterers is a poem written by one of the most noted poets and playwrights in the history of English literature, William Shakespeare. The time when this work was released is not available or well-documented. The poem serves as a guide to us to distinguish between a real friend and a fake one … Read more
Introduction Our revels now are ended is the name given to the dialogue in William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. These lines are spoken by the character Prospero in Act 4, Scene 1. Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan and a powerful magician speaks these words as he reflects on the ephemeral and illusory nature of … Read more
Introduction Splendour in the Grass is the name attributed to the excerpt written by William Wordsworth. This excerpt appears in Wordsworth famous work Ode:Imitations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood, published in 1807 in his work Poems, in Two Volumes. This extract is actually the last twelve lines of the tenth stanza. Along with … Read more
Introduction The poem makes it apparent that despite the speaker’s intense affection for his beloved, time will inevitably pass. Time passes without stopping, as evidenced by the speaker’s continuous writing of his beloved’s name “upon the strand” (or shore), only for the ocean to swiftly sweep it away. The idea of her name vanishing from … Read more
