British Poetry

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's speaker revisits her former sorrow to contrast her earlier "heavy heart" with the light heartedness she now enjoys because of her belovèd.

Dec 2, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker compares the negative attitudes of others to a "clasping knife" that she will simply close up to rid her love of danger and damage.

Nov 26, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker responds to love letter from her belovèd.

Nov 21, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

Sonnet 22 finds the speaker growing ever more fanciful as she paints a haven for the loving couple whose union is strengthened by soul force.

Nov 16, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker is growing accustomed to hearing her lover say, "I love you,"-so much so that she is now commanding him to repeat it again and again.

Nov 13, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

Sonnet 20 from Sonnets from the Portuguese finds the speaker in a pensive mood, dramatizing her awe at the difference a year has made in her life.

Nov 9, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

In six quatrains, Blake presents a speaker who dramatizes the pathetic plight of children forced to labor in squalid conditions in London during the 18th century.

Nov 5, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The two lovers exchange locks of hair, and the speaker makes a ceremony of the exchange as she again emphasizes the royalty of her lover's station and talent.

Nov 4, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

Auden's "Canzone" features five duodectains and a final cinquain. The speaker expounds poetically yet philosophically about the vicissitudes of the human condition.

Nov 2, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker gives a lock of her hair to her belovèd as she dramatizes and philosophizes about the significance of the gift.

Nov 1, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

In this nonsensical portrayal, William Blake's symbolism fails to achieve the desired result of castigating a religion for its sage guidance regarding self-control.

Oct 27, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

In sonnet 17, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's always melancholy speaker muses on the poetics of her relationship with her poet/lover.

Oct 14, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

According to the Shakespeare character, Jaques, in the play, As You Like It, a man's lifetime undergoes seven distinct ages.

Oct 11, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker finally capitulates to the all consuming love that she has tried to deny herself, allowing herself only a speck of doubt.

Oct 10, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker in Sonnet 15 concentrates on her ambiguous facial expressions that have yet to catch up with her overflowing heart

Oct 2, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker requests that her belovèd love her only for the sake of love and not for any qualities that she possesses, such as a smile or the way she speaks.

Sep 15, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker in Sonnet 13 toys with the notion of writing about her new-found feeling of love, but she demurs lest she touch that store of grief that still plagues her.

Sep 11, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker in sonnet 12 is growing comfortably into her realization that she is loved, but she gives to her suitor all the credit for her ability to love so deeply.

Sep 5, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

Dylan Thomas begged his father to rail against death in "Do Not Go Gentle"; in this poem, the poet dramatizes the truth that death cannot conquer the soul.

Sep 3, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker is still walking the path to self-acceptance, still looking for the courage to believe in her own good fortune at finding a love that she wants to deserve.

Aug 30, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

Through varied forms of the idiom, "give the lie to," the speaker's refrain emphasizes the disingenuity that is being decried throughout the poem.

Aug 28, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker of sonnet 10 is beginning to reason that despite her flaws, the transformative power of love can change her negative, dismissive attitude.

Aug 26, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

Continuing her lamentations over the gap in societal station between her suitor and herself, the speaker wonders if she has anything to offer the suitor.

Aug 22, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker continues to deny her good fortune as she reveals her gratitude for the attention of her illustrious suitor; she begins to accept her lot but reluctantly.

Aug 18, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes

Beholding the rushing waters of a rocky stream, the speaker is reminded of the rushing, chaotic thoughts that plague the human mind.

Aug 16, 2009 - Linda Sue Grimes