Poet Laureate Essays

  • Poetry Analysis: "The Lanyard"

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rough Draft We have all had those memorable moments that send us back in time; a song on the radio, the smell of cookies baking, driving in the car. They make you think of good times passed. But Billy Collins’s poem, “The Lanyard”, is not only a recollection of the past, but a personal insight to about the things his mother has done for him and what he has done in return. The poem starts off with the speaker recounting an event that occurred the other day. We see him moving about a blue-walled

  • Infant Mortality in We are Seven by William Wordsworth and On My First Sonne by Ben Johnson

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wordsworth's poem is to try and inform people, not only about infant mortality but of everyday judgements that are made. Jonson's poem is one that was probably written for himself, as a way of coping with grieve he was faced with. Although the poets have very different opinions we can see in both how infant mortality was a major fact in live before 1900. We can also see how it affected the people who were involved. This was in very different ways, as people react to different situations differently

  • Compare And Contrast Dover Beach And Sea Fever By John Masefield

    1624 Words  | 4 Pages

    trained to go to sea (“John Masefield” par 1). Masefield is a British poet, which is crucial to the setting of the poem, “Sea Fever” (par 1). In early times the sea was the most important aspect of humans’ life, allowing exploration of foreign lands (Dawson 1101). But before the sea, faith once was the center of humans’ life (1101). The word “Beach” is more significant than “Dover” in the poem’s title (1101). In the poem, the poet turns to his love in desperation, looking for meaning and stability

  • Carol Ann Duffy's Poetry

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Carol Ann Duffy and Phillip Larkin use ambiguity and emotive language in their poetry to express their attitudes towards women. The poets utilize many congruent and contradictory techniques in the way they explore the theme of women which can be showed in Larkin’s Collection ‘’Whitsun wedding (1964)‘’ and Duffy’s collection ‘’Mean Time(1993)’’.The poems I chose from both poet’ collection coevals the theme of women in detail which I analyse in detail. The poem Sunny Prestatyn by Philip Larkin mainly focuses

  • Robert Penn Warren: Distinguished American Writer and Poet

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Distinguished American Writer and Poet Robert Penn Warren, born in Guthrie, Kentucky in 1905, was one of the twentieth century's most eminent American writers. He was a distinguished novelist and poet, literary critic, essayist, short story writer, and coeditor of numerous textbooks. He was also a founding editor of The Southern Review, a journal of literary criticism and political thought. The primary influences on Robert Warren's career as a poet were probably his Kentucky boyhood

  • The Eye and Poem to my Husband from my Father's Daughter

    1668 Words  | 4 Pages

    French 1 In this paper I will discuss two poems by Sharon Olds. They are both taken from her collection “The Dead and the Living” and are entitled “The Eye” and “Poem to My Husband from my Fathers Daughter.” Olds is a contemporary writer who expertly maneuvers her work through modern life. In this particular collection, written in 1983, she takes us on an explorative journey through both the past and present of family life. I will explore the role of the family in both these poems and how, through

  • Coleridge and the Relation in-between Poet and Critic

    4808 Words  | 10 Pages

    Introduction Is it possible, fruitful, or confusing to view Coleridge's aesthetic ideas as fragments (parts) toward the composition of a kind of larger theoretical poem (whole)? In other words, can one use Coleridge's art criticism to comment upon his practice as a theorist? Are his aesthetic ideas applicable to his practice as a critic of the practice of poetic composition? Is it possible that some leverage could be obtained by torquing Coleridge's theoretical statements about poetry in particular

  • In the poem Compose upon Westminster Bridge and London the poets present

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the poem Compose upon Westminster Bridge and London the poets present two very different. In the poem Compose upon Westminster Bridge and London the poets present two very different and contrasting views of the same city. William Wordsworth view of London is positive and optimistic. William Blake on the other hand presents a very negative dismal picture of the city. William Wordsworth was born in 1770 and has always had a love of nature. He studied at Cambridge University, which later

  • Lawrence Ferlinghetti: An American Poet

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet best known as a leader of the beat movement of the 1950's. The beats were writers who condemned commercialism and middle-class American values. Ferlinghetti writes in colloquial free verse. His poetry describes the need to release literature and life from conformity and timidity. He believes drugs, Zen Buddhism, and emotional and physical love can open the soul to truth and beauty. Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1919. After spending

  • The Poet

    2821 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Poet The Poet is about a search for a serial killer that the FBI names “The Poet” due to this person’s signature of forcing the victims to write suicide notes in the form of a quote from Edgar Allen Poe. Jack McEvoy, a newspaper reporter from Denver, is the brother of a victim who was killed by the Poet. In an attempt to avenge his brother’s death McEvoy, and the FBI, form a nation-wide manhunt in search of this cunning illusive killer. The Poet begins with the Rocky Mountain Newspaper

  • Free College Essays - Shakespeare's Sonnet 76

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    itself as a lasting expression of love. In the first quatrain, the poet questions himself about his poetic style. He makes reference to it being "barren" (unproductive, dry, lacking richness or interest) of "new pride" which is an archaic expression for "ornament." He questions the lack of variety or innovation. Then he asks himself why he doesn't follow the current fads (trends) and new methods of expression. Within these lines the poet begins on a path of self-examination into what he is doing specifically

  • Comparing the way two poets, John Claire and Ted Hughes, write about

    1644 Words  | 4 Pages

    Comparing the way two poets, John Claire and Ted Hughes, write about the theme of nature and the season of summer. Through out my essay, in which is to follow, I will be comparing the way two poets, John Claire and Ted Hughes, write about the theme of nature and the season of summer. The two poems that I am to study are Work And Play written by Ted Hughes and Summer Images written by John Claire in the 1800's. In both the poems the poets are talking directly to us (the reader). Although

  • Kurt Cobain & Jim Morrison - Poets Of A Generation

    2199 Words  | 5 Pages

    leads of great bands. They were heros of their generations. They had so many talents and each influenced a multitude of people. Aside from being singers and song writers Kurt was also a musician, guitarist and mass-media phenomenon, and Jim was also a poet, film maker and writer. Their groups also had about a twenty year span in between them. Even though it seems you could not compare them you actually can. Unlike fictional writers their material comes more from their life experiences and feelings. Even

  • The Poet's Tool - The Words of Emily Dickinson

    2293 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Poet's Tool - The Words of Emily Dickinson A poet couched in mystique and controversy--that is Emily Dickinson. But amidst all the disagreement, one idea critics seem to agree upon is the recognition of this remarkable poet's love of language. Emily Dickinson's love affair with words fed her desire to master their use whether individually or combined in phrases until they said exactly what she wanted them to say. For Emily Dickinson words were a fascination and, in her hands, they

  • A Poet Protesting the Persecution of the Palestinian People

    2650 Words  | 6 Pages

    A Poet Protesting the Persecution of the Palestinian People Poets from every part of the world from all times of history have written about the issues of oppression and hardships of unfairness and discrimination. It is easy to find writings and poetry by African Americans, Hispanics, Japanese, Chinese, and even Native American poets. These nationalities are very well represented when it comes to poets shouting of the unfair treatment of their ethnic group. However, to find poetry and poets

  • Spiritual Views in Emerson's The Poet

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    Views in Emerson's The Poet Transcendental, and therefore pantheist, views run fluidly throughout Emerson's texts, especially as he attempts to define his image of the perfect poet in his essay, The Poet. He continually uses religious terms to express his feelings, but warps these terms to fit his own unique spirituality. This technique somewhat helps to define his specific religious views which mirror the view of transcendentalism and pantheism. Emerson's ideal poet is a pantheist who can

  • The Works Of Poet Carl Sandburg And His Effect On American Poetry

    1862 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Works of Poet Carl Sandburg and His Effect on American Poetry The beloved poet, Carl Sandburg, changed the course of American poetry. He was a poet, novelist, journalist, and songwriter, yet the influence of his works have not always been acknowledged. Carl Sandburg's evocations of American urban and rural life, compassion for people, and his love of nature, through his works have made an enormous contribution to the American literary scene. Carl Sandburg was born on January 6, 1878

  • e.e. cummings: The Life of America's Experimental Poet

    1939 Words  | 4 Pages

    e.e. cummings: The Life of America's Experimental Poet Edward Estlin Cummings was born October 14, 1894 in the town of Cambridge Massachusetts. His father, and most constant source of awe, Edward Cummings, was a professor of Sociology and Political Science at Harvard University. In 1900, Edward left Harvard to become the ordained minister of the South Congregational Church, in Boston. As a child, E.E. attended Cambridge public schools and lived during the summer with his family in their summer

  • Beat Poets

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beat Poets The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America. Incorporating influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy and religion, the beat writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way a generation of people sees the world. That generation is mow aging and its representative voices are becoming lost to eternity, but the message is alive and well. The Beats have forever altered

  • Whitman and Neruda as Grassroots Poets

    1819 Words  | 4 Pages

    Whitman and Neruda as Grassroots Poets “The familial bond between the two poets [Walt Whitman and Pablo Neruda] points not only to a much-needed reckoning of the affinity between the two hemispheres, but to a deeper need to establish a basis for an American identity: ‘roots,’ as Neruda referred to his fundamental link with Whitman” (Nolan 33). Both Walt Whitman and Pablo Neruda have been referred to as poets of the people, although it is argued that Neruda with his city and country house