Anyone can be a poet. Democracy is a wonderful thing, but it comes with responsibilities. So too with poetry, despite the modern trailblazers like Walt Whitman andEmily Dickinson, who made their art look simple, more natural and spontaneous, than the formalistic work of their predecessors, especially a Chaucer, a Shakespeare’s and a Keat. The term ...
Usually when Philip Larkin writes about religion and death, he speaks about the erosion of religion and the loneliness of death, but in this elegy he offers comfort to the widows and hopefulness for the future. Philip Larkin was asked to write this poem for the memorial service of miners that died in a mine ...
In this class, we have read three poems that were written by Anne Bradstreet upon the deaths of three of her grandchildren: Elizabeth, Simon, and Anne. In each of these poems, Bradstreet ends with a typically-Puritan assertion of God’s divine will and purpose concerning the deaths of these children. However, these last, optimistic, God-praising lines ...
The story of Phillis Wheatley is one of tragedy, though it can also be deemed one of the greatest stories about the excellence of the human spirit ever told. Born circa 1754, Wheatley was kidnapped from Africa and into slavery and sold to John and Susannah Wheatley of Boston, MA, around 1761. During captivity the ...
When we think of Irish poetry, W.B. Yeats and James Joyce come to mind. Oscar Wilde would probably be further down the list. Known mostly for his plays, epigrams (“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance”), and his scandalous imprisonment, Wilde writes solid poetry. And, arguably is my favorite Irish poet. Life ...
Monday January 19, 2009 is a special day in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. The classroom is the perfect place to recognize the life and works of this respected leader. Teachers can easily plan their lessons around Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by using some of the lesson plan ideas described below. “Writing an ...
