116 Answered Questions for the topic Poetry

08/22/19

Why is the moon "angry" in e e cummings' "the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls"?
The e e cummings poem "the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls" mocks the titular ladies for their small-minded domesticity. The last four lines read:> .... the Cambridge ladies do not... more
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08/18/19

Why is the robin "sobbing"?
Blake's "The Blossom", part of his *Songs of Innocence* [which you can read online](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1934/1934-h/1934-h.htm), is a very short poem about a sparrow and a robin. The... more
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08/10/19

Why are some people dissatisfied with the titling of "The Red Wheelbarrow"?
I have read that many critics have been dissatisfied with the modern titling of XXII from *Spring and All* by William Carlos Williams as "The Red Wheelbarrow". Neil Easterbrook was displeased with... more
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07/31/19

What does "And others, whose breasts love the feel of scapulars," mean in Baudelaire's "Damned Women"?
> Et d'autres, dont la gorge aime les scapulaires,> > Qui, recélant un fouet sous leurs longs vêtements,> > Mêlent, dans le bois sombre et les nuits solitaires,> > L'écume du... more
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07/20/19

Did Poe plagiarise someone else's work when writing "The Raven"?
I've read that Poe's been accused of lifting significant elements from many authors including Elizabeth Barrett, Charles Dickens, Leo Penzoni, and Thomas Holley Chivers (and "unknown," of course).... more
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07/16/19

When and why did the practice of reading "Address to a Haggis" at Burns Night dinner originate?
Many people and institutions around the world hold [Burns suppers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_supper) on or close to Burns Night, 25 January. Part of these events is the traditional... more
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07/15/19

Why was Welsh nationalist poet RS Thomas so critical of the Welsh people?
Welsh poet R.S. Thomas was an ardent Welsh nationalist and advocate for independence. Although a native English speaker he learned and conversed in Welsh, although he never felt fluent enough to... more
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07/10/19

How is 'flash fiction' a distinctive genre?
***Flash Fiction*** is an umbrella term used to describe any fictional work of extreme brevity, including the *Six-Word Story*, *140-character stories* (also known as 'twitterature'), *the dribble*... more
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07/08/19

Why is this poem by Paul Auster entitled "Spokes"?
The poem "Spokes" by Paul Auster (of which you can read the first few verses [here](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=32184), or the whole poem... more
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07/07/19

What is the metrical style of Hungarian poetry?
While [reading about](https://www.jstor.org/stable/40142205?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents) Hungarian poetry, I [came... more
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Poetry Literature Meter

07/06/19

Significance of rising/falling meter?
If I am analyzing a poem and I realize that it has rising meter, what does that say about the poem. Like do happy tone poems have rising meters whereas sad poems have falling meter?
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07/01/19

Do the poisons in "Ode on Melancholy" have deeper meaning?
In "Ode on Melancholy", Keats uses the images of three poisons in the first stanza: Wolf's bane, nightshade, and yew-berries. Are these poisons simply meant to connote death/suicide, or might they... more
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07/01/19

What do the "mirror" and the "lake" represent in "Mirror" by Sylvia Plath?
In ["Mirror" by Sylvia Plath](https://allpoetry.com/poem/8498499-Mirror-by-Sylvia-Plath), the speaker in the poem says,> Now I am a lake.But, also at times implies that the speaker is a mirror.... more
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06/25/19

Who is the author of this contradictory poem starting "The night was dark and stormy"?
Does anyone know the name of or the author of the poem below? My grandfather used to say it all of the time and I would like to read it at his funeral. It's very silly and goes something like... more
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06/24/19

Did Rudyard Kipling Write "The Wrath of the Awakened Saxon"?
I came across a poem on a forum, attributed to Rudyard Kipling called "THE WRATH OF THE AWAKENED SAXON" (the title seems to be often posted in caps). A Google search indicates that where posted,... more
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06/24/19

How should I understand these lines from As You Like It?
I am currently on my second reading of *As You Like It*. I am having a really hard time comprehending lines 22-25 in Act 1, scene 2. Here are those lines as they appear in the version I am reading... more
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06/23/19

I need to figure out a wolf metaphor for a poem.
I need to figure out a new metaphor to use. It has to describe how the wolf is a hassle to human society. My original was,” While I’m an ant- a pest to your society” I got advice told to me that... more
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06/21/19

What is the deeper meaning of Blake's "The Lily"?
The poem "The Lily" by William Blake must be one of the shortest of his [*Songs of Innocence and of Experience* collection](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1934/1934-h/1934-h.htm), only four lines... more
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06/21/19

In Baudelaire's "Chant d'automne", why isn't the hidden rhythm better known?
I noticed something remarkable about one of Baudelaire's poems that I can't find any mention of on the web. My question is whether anybody has noticed this before, and whether there's some reason... more
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06/21/19

Meaning of this line in "On seeing the Elgin Marbles"?
>And each imagined pinnacle and steep >Of godlike hardship tells me I must die The "pinnacle and steep" represent the pillars of the Parthenon if I'm not mistaken. But the next line... more
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06/21/19

What does 'Gilead' mean in The Raven?
Poe's poem *The Raven* contains the following words in the fifteenth stanza: > [...] tell me truly, I implore— Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!" **What does... more
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06/14/19

What does "the sad height" represent in "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas?
In the final stanza of Dylan Thomas's *Do not go gentle into that good night*, he says, > And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. ... more
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06/13/19

What does "kettle at the heel" mean in this Yeats poem, "The Tower"?
> What shall I do with this absurdity — O heart, O troubled heart — this caricature, Decrepit age that has been tied to me As to a dog's tail? > Never had I more Excited, passionate,... more
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Poetry Literature Meter

06/13/19

Is there a name for version of trochaic tetrameter with lines of 8|7|8|7 syllables?
Is there a name for the meter used in Clementine: Drove she ducklings to the water Every morning just at nine Struck her foot against a splinter Fell into the foaming brine or in... more
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06/13/19

Why is "waistcoat" modified by "leering" in the poem “A German Requiem"?
In the fifth line from the third stanza of "A German Requiem", the word *waistcoat* is modified by *leering*. I can understand *waistcoat* is personified as a person here. Is this person the... more
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