“Disabled” is a Poem about a Soldier who lost his limbs in World War I. It was written by Poet Wilfred Owen in 1917 during World War 1. “Out Out” is about a Boy who loses his life because of a tragic accident with him having his hand cut off. “Out Out” is based on…
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” is a sinister tale of revenge. Betrayal and retaliation are horrific ways to express anger toward friends, but what happens when they lead to a painful death? “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 328). This is how Montresor explained the importance of killing his…
Oxymoron – a figure of speech in which contradictory terms are used in the same sentence/ subject. “I must be cruel, only to be kind” (Hamlet; 3; 4; 180) Hamlet is speaking to the ghost of his father and himself. He is talking about being cruel to others, more specifically his mother, in order to…
The soldier is highly revered when he dies for his country. He is labeled as a “true patriot”, a man that went to ultimate lengths for his nation. While the term “patriot” is used ubiquitously, its meaning remains in fluctuation. According to renowned former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, “[t]rue patriotism [is the] belief in the…
Obsession: it is an amazing curse. When one is obsessed over a project, it can become an all-consuming focus to the exclusion of anything else. However, that single mindedness, if allowed to control one, can be harmful and eventually bring ruin. Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein tells the horrific tale of the struggles between a…
If you are looking for a story portraying undying love and a completely unexpected finish,
What is a hero? While many envision a muscular man wearing a cape with super powers, the definition of a hero is much simpler. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a hero is “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities.” Bilbo Baggins was the hero introduced in The Hobbit. This adventurous story, by J.R.R.…
Theme: Vivid imagery & Religion Type: Six quatrains of rhyming couplets Background Made of questions Addressing the tiger, the speaker questions its creation Often interpreted to deal with issues of inspiration, mystical knowledge and God Blake contemplates about what kind of God could design and create such an awesome creature First verse – clearly evokes…
Theme: Prejudice/discrimination & How people learn hard lessons Type: Blank verse Background Written by Wole Soyinka – first African to win the Nobel Prize for literature The poem is about a man trying to rent a flat from an English landlady Her attitudes towards him change when she hears he is African She is clearly…
Type: Dramatic Monologue Background Written by Gabriel Okara Addressed from a father to his son in a relatively straightforward style Father is dismayed by the insincere forms of communication developed Wants his son to “unlearn” these false ways The poem is about people changing, becoming falser and more untrustworthy; also influence of Western values on…
Theme: Childhood Type: Free Verse Background Tells the story of an incident in a young boy’s life – told to stay back in class as punishment for “Something Very Wrong” he had done Forgetting is another key theme of the poem The boy knows the important times of the day (to him) – doesn’t think…
Theme: Love & Loyalty Type: Sonnet Background Shakespeare is Britain’s most famous poet/playwright Sonnet suggests that love is forever -this didn’t conform with the idea of the time – instead of obedience/subservience it focuses on faithfulness, forgiveness and equality Language Compares (simile) love to the North Star – eternal and unchanging Paradox – he says…
Theme: Love (obsessive, the enchantment of being in love rather then enduring love), Death, Abandonment, Sad/sentimental Type: Ballad Background Written by John Keats – one of the Romantic poets The title means “the beautiful lady without pity” Sees a knight on the verge of death because of his romantic encounter – showing the dangers of…
Themes: Death/Human Suffering, Parent/child, Courage, Religious Imagery, Vivid Imagery Type: Blank Verse Form – 2 stanzas – different lengths – lines aren’t long – clearly explains with simple meanings Background Written by Chinua Achebe This is a heartbreaking poem about a young mother in a refugee camp and her devotion to her dying child Language…
Themes: War, Death/Human Suffering, Vivid language/imagery, Religious Imagery Type: Regular form Background Written by Carol Ann Duffy – first female Poet Laureate The poem explores the differences between Rural England and a warzone The photographer doesn’t feel at home in the warzone – “impassively” “where he earns his living” – but doesn’t feel at home…
Themes: Marriage/Love, Men seeing women as possessions, Jealousy, Madness, Power Type: Dramatic Monologue/ Rhyming Couplets Background Written by Robert Browning Inspiration for the poem was Alfonso II whose wife died of suspicious circumstances Lucrezia was a Medici “Didn’t have a nine-hundred-year-old name” Power Fictional speech by a Renaissance Duke who is conducting a marriage negotiation…
Themes: Death Type: Villanelle Background Written by Dylan Thomas when his father was dying, and the poem is addressed to him It is a vigorous, impassioned diatribe against the inevitability of death The poet is encouraging his father to fight against death with all this strength Describes valiant and praiseworthy behaviour of different kinds of…
Theme: Love/Loss, Death, Grief, Hope – that death is not the end Type: Sonnet Background Written by Christina Rossetti – suffered from illness and so it isn’t surprising that she explores the theme of death As a Christian, she believed that death isn’t the end – in this poem She is clearly talking to a…
Themes: Childhood, Parent/Child, Parental Love, Nostalgia & memories Type: Rhyming Couplets Background Written by D. H. Lawrence (wrote over 800 poems) His childhood was dominated by poverty and the friction between his parents these became strong influences on his writing In Piano he describes a woman singing to him at dusk and is transported back…
