Poetry Essays

What contrasting purposes did the poets have as they wrote, and how are those purposes reflected in the language they used? Jessie Pope wrote ‘Who’s for the Game’ to encourage young men into joining the British army. She wrote it as she believed one hundred percent in the war and …

The purpose of this essay is to critically analyse William Shakespeare’s Sonnet #116. Throughout this essay I will be referring often to text of the poem William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” exploits conventional sonneteering (Kerrigan ,1986,1995:11) to speak of his perception and judgement of love. The sonnets structure, three quatrains and …

I have listened to ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2 a number of times and each time the message Bono, the writer and lead vocalist, is sending out becomes clearer and clearer. The message behind this song is the environment and how it has changed as a result of how people have …

Two poems, Roger McGough’s “Being-In-Love”, and “Stop All the Clocks” by W.H Auden, are similar and different in a variety of ways. Both poems however, share the main theme; Love. The first poem, explores the idea of ‘unrequited love’, while the second poem is an expression of grief for someone …

This essay will consider the similarities and differences between the two poems ‘London’ by William Blake and ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth. It will focus upon their structures, content and poetic features. Finally, I will come to my own conclusion to which poem is most effective and how …

“Hawk Roosting” is one of the many poems published by Ted Hughes during his literary career dealing with animal and nature. In this poem we have a Hawk who thinks that everything in nature is inferior to him and he will allow no change in his life. The stylistic devices …

Thomas Gray is generally and rightly regarded as a transitional figure in 18th century poetry, providing a bridge between the poetic sensibility of his own generation and the Romantic revolution of the future. His work shows the relation between the poetry of the new age and that of the 18th …

Louis MacNeice expresses his strong views on the human life by writing a poem through an unborn child’s voice. He starts off by asking God to protect him from various dangerous animals that could harm him such as blood sucking bats and land rats. The poet uses vivid language through …

In his poem “Ode to a Nightingale,” John Keats uses powerful, distinct symbolism and imagery. The nightingale, for instance, is interpreted by many to be a symbol of Keats’ poetic inspiration and satisfaction. This symbolism can be seen by the vivid descriptions Keats hives the nightingale. However, the nightingale is …

In William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 87, Shakespeare appears to be bidding goodbye to the mysterious young man whom he writes so much about. The opening word of ‘Farewell’ could almost stand as a sufficient summary to the entire poem. As in Shakespeare’s previous sonnets about the young man, it is in …