"In the Fog" by Hermann Hesse

 

In the Fog

Strange to walk in the fog!

Every bush and stone is lonely,

no tree can see the other,

each one is alone.

 

The world was full of friends

when my life was still light;

now that the fog is falling,

no one is visible anymore.

 

Truly, no one is wise

who does not know the darkness

that quietly and inescapably

separates him from everything.

 

Strange to walk in the fog!

Life is loneliness.

No person knows the other,

each one is alone.

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "In the Fog"?

Hermann Hesse (July 2, 1877 – August 9, 1962)

Hermann Hesse was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. His works were deeply influenced by Eastern mysticism and explored such themes as individuals’ search for authenticity, identity, and spirituality.

"In the Fog" explanation

In the poem, the speaker describes the intrinsic loneliness we all sometimes feel in our life. It was written in 1905 when the poet was in his late 20’s.

"No Man Is An Island" by John Donne

 

No Man Is An Island

No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe

is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as

well as any manner of thy friends or of thine

own were; any man's death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom

the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

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Who wrote the poem "No Man Is An Island"

John Donne (January 24, 1572 – March 31, 1631)

John Donne was an English poet, scholar, soldier, and cleric in the Church of England. He was one of the leading poets of the Metaphysical school. He was also famous for his love poems, religious verse and treaties, and sermons.

"No Man Is An Island" explanation

In the poem, the speaker addresses the interconnectedness of human beings. We all are, as a member of our species, a part of a whole. The death of a single person amounts to the loss of ourselves.

"Miracles" by Walt Whitman

 

Miracles

Why, who makes much of a miracle?

As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,

Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,

Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,

Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,

Or stand under trees in the woods,

Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,

Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,

Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,

Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,

Or animals feeding in the fields,

Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,

Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,

Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;

These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,

The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

 

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,

Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,

Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,

Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

 

To me the sea is a continual miracle,

The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the

ships with men in them,

What stranger miracles are there?

 

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "Miracles"?

Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892)

Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. Whitman is one of the most important American poets, often called the father of free verse. His major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 at his own expense and became popular and controversial due to its overt sensuality. Whitman greatly admired Abraham Lincoln, and on Lincoln’s death, he wrote famous poems, “O Captain! My Captain!” and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.” Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman “America’s poet… He is America.”

"Miracles"  explanation

The speaker in this poem finds miracles in seemingly mundane aspects related to humanity and nature. Whitman grew up as a Quaker, which perhaps is why the poem shows somewhat religious undertones.

"Have You News of my Boy Jack?" by Rudyard Kipling

 

Have You News of my Boy Jack?

"Have you news of my boy Jack?"

Not this tide.

"When d'you think that he'll come back?"

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

 

 

"Has anyone else had word of him?"

Not this tide.

For what is sunk will hardly swim,

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

 

 

"Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?"

None this tide,

Nor any tide,

Except he did not shame his kind -

Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

 

 

Then hold your head up all the more,

This tide,

And every tide;

Because he was the son you bore,

And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!

  

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "Have You News of my Boy Jack?"?

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 - January 18, 1936)

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, novelist, and poet. He was one of the most popular writers in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in India, and his work including "The Jungle Book" showed much Indian influence. 

"Have You News of my Boy Jack?" explanation

In the poem, the speaker, the father of a sailor, asks for news of his son, seemingly lost at sea. The answers suggest that he will never return. It was written for Jack Cornwell, the 16 year old sailor killed in action during the WWI, who posthumously received the Victoria Cross. The poem is perhaps also affected by the tragic death of the poet’s own son, John Kipling. John was killed in action at the start of the WWI, at the age of 18. John’s initial attempts to enlist were rejected due to his poor eyesight. It was only the after his influential father requested that he was accepted into the military. The moderation and simplicity of the poem makes the overall feeling all the more poignant.

"A Complaint" by William Wordsworth

 

A Complaint

There is a change—and I am poor;

Your love hath been, nor long ago,

A fountain at my fond heart's door,

Whose only business was to flow;

And flow it did; not taking heed

Of its own bounty, or my need.

 

What happy moments did I count!

Blest was I then all bliss above!

Now, for that consecrated fount

Of murmuring, sparkling, living love,

What have I? shall I dare to tell?

A comfortless and hidden well.

 

A well of love—it may be deep—

I trust it is,—and never dry:

What matter? if the waters sleep

In silence and obscurity.

—Such change, and at the very door

Of my fond heart, hath made me poor.

 

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poem video

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Who wrote the poem "A Complaint"?

William Wordsworth  (April 7, 1770 – April 23, 1850)

William Wordsworth was an English poet who pioneered the Romantic Movement with his close friend and fellow poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He famously defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Using the ordinary language “really used by men,” he wrote beautiful poetry with sweet imagery, often based around the natural world. He suffered from depression, which was reflected in somber undertones in his poems. He was the Poet Laureate for Queen Victoria from 1843 until his death from pleurisy in 1850.

"A Complaint" explanation

In the poem, the speaker talks about loss of love or friendship toward an unspecified person (his lover or friend). Some scholars believe that the poem was about the poet’s friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who pioneered the Romantic Movement in England with Wordsworth. Coleridge suffered from various mental and physical illnesses including anxiety, depression, possibly bipolar disorder, and rheumatic fever. He was treated with laudanum, which made him a lifelong opium addict.

"Each Life Converges to some Centre" by Emily Dickinson

 

Each Life Converges to some Centre

Each Life Converges to some Centre --

Expressed -- or still --

Exists in every Human Nature

A Goal --

 

Embodied scarcely to itself -- it may be --

Too fair

For Credibility's presumption

To mar --

 

Adored with caution -- as a Brittle Heaven --

To reach

Were hopeless, as the Rainbow's Raiment

To touch --

 

Yet persevered toward -- sure -- for the Distance --

How high --

Unto the Saint's slow diligence --

The Sky --

 

Ungained -- it may be -- by a Life's low Venture --

But then --

Eternity enable the endeavoring

Again.

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Who wrote the poem "Each Life Converges to some Centre"?

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886)

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet who was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She spent most of her adult life at the family home in isolation, attending to her ill mother. Introverted and timid, she never married or sought a permanent romantic relationship all her life. Although she wrote nearly 1,800 poems during her lifetime, her poetry was largely misunderstood or underrated while she was alive. Her poems were quite original and disregarded many conventional rules, containing short lines, typically lacking titles, and often using imperfect rhyme and odd-looking syntax. Her poetry however captures universal feelings in a simple sentence with unique but resonating metaphors and reflects the poet’s lively, imaginative, and dynamic inner world. Her poetic genius began to be appreciated only after her death when her sister published her works. Now Dickinson is regarded as one of the most important American poets.

"Each Life Converges to some Centre" explanation

The speaker in the poem mystically describes the soul’s journey from the spiritual world to the physical world. Some believe the poem is about the relationship between one’s life and the central goal, with possible religious nuances. Others believe the poem alludes to the concept of reincarnation.

"All for Love" by Lord Byron

 All for Love

O talk not to me of a name great in story;

The days of our youth are the days of our glory;

And the myrtle and ivy of sweet two-and-twenty

Are worth all your laurels, though ever so plenty.

 

What are garlands and crowns to the brow that is wrinkled?

‘Tis but as a dead flower with May-dew besprinkled:

Then away with all such from the head that is hoary—

What care I for the wreaths that can only give glory?

 

O Fame! if I e’er took delight in thy praises,

‘Twas less for the sake of thy high-sounding phrases,

Than to see the bright eyes of the dear one discover

She thought that I was not unworthy to love her.

 

There chiefly I sought thee, there only I found thee;

Her glance was the best of the rays that surround thee;

When it sparkled o’er aught that was bright in my story,

I knew it was love, and I felt it was glory.

 

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "All for Love"?

 Lord Byron (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824)

George Gordon Byron, a.k.a. Lord Byron, was an English poet and politician. He was one of the leading figures of Romantic Movement (attempts to dispel the effects of scientific, rational trend and to restore magic and wonder to the humanistic world) and often considered as one of the greatest English poets. He travelled extensively across Europe, which inspired most of his works. He fought in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire and was revered as a national hero by the Greeks. He died at the age of 36 from a fever contracted during the war.

"All for Love" explanation

The speaker in the poem cherishes the beauty and glory of youth. He likes fame not for its own sake but for the sake of his beloved’s love and admiration.

"Music, When Soft Voices Die" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

 

Music, When Soft Voices Die

Music, when soft voices die,

Vibrates in the memory –

Odours, when sweet violets sicken,

Live within the sense they quicken.

 

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,

Are heap’d for the belovèd’s bed;

And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,

Love itself shall slumber on.

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "Music, When Soft Voices Die"?

Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822)

Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets. His literary reputation steadily grew after his death, and he greatly influenced subsequent poets such as Browing, Hardy, and Yeats. He had suffered from family crises, ill health, and a backlash against his atheism and radical political views. His second wife, Mary Shelley, was the author of "Frankenstein." He died at the age of 29 in a boating accident.

"Music, When Soft Voices Die" explanation

In the poem, the speaker cherishes the power of memories associated with various experiences such as music and scents. This short poem (or perhaps a poetic fragment to be reworked later) was written in 1821, but published in 1824 (two years after the poet’s unexpected death) by his wife. T. S. Elliot praised the poem for having ‘a beauty of music and a beauty of content.’

"My Inner Life" by Robert William Service

 

My Inner Life

'Tis true my garments threadbare are,

And sorry poor I seem;

But inly I am richer far

Than any poet's dream.

For I've a hidden life no one

Can ever hope to see;

A sacred sanctuary none

May share with me.

 

Aloof I stand from out the strife,

Within my heart a song;

By virtue of my inner life

I to myself belong.

Against man-ruling I rebel,

Yet do not fear defeat,

For to my secret citadel

I may retreat.

Oh you who have an inner life

Beyond this dismal day

With wars and evil rumours rife,

Go blessedly your way.

Your refuge hold inviolate;

Unto yourself be true,

And shield serene from sordid fate

The Real You.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "My Inner Life"?

Robert W. Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958)

Robert William Service was a British-Canadian poet and writer. As a bank clerk, he had to travel widely in the Western U.S. and Canada. When his bank sent him to the Yukon, he wrote poems about the Klondike Gold Rush and achieved an immediate and great commercial success. His poems had often been criticized as literarily inferior by the critics, as in the case of Rudyard Kipling, and he was nicknamed “the Canadian Kipling.” This, however, didn’t bother Service, who classified his work as “verse, not poetry.”

"My Inner Life" explanation

In our life, we all face many adversities: accidents, diseases, ruined relatsionships, financial difficulties, or even deaths. Often we feel helpless and upset, watching the best and the most innocent suffer the cruelties of fate. Although we can’t control what will happen to us, we can control our reaction to it. The ancient Stoic concept of inner citadel refers to this mental fortress we can build within ourselves where we can be free from any emotional panic or perturbation, remain calm, and make the most out of any situations. It is a practical skill that anyone can learn and can give us a great deal of courage and wisdom to overcome many adversities in our life.

"Nature" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Nature

As a fond mother, when the day is o'er,

Leads by the hand her little child to bed,

Half willing, half reluctant to be led,

And leave his broken playthings on the floor,

Still gazing at them through the open door,

Nor wholly reassured and comforted

By promises of others in their stead,

Which, though more splendid, may not please him more;

So Nature deals with us, and takes away

Our playthings one by one, and by the hand

Leads us to rest so gently, that we go

Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay,

Being too full of sleep to understand

How far the unknown transcends the what we know.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "Nature"?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882)

 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator. He was one of the most famous American poets of the 19th century, both domestically and internationally, and was one of the few American writers honored in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine (then still part of Massachusetts). He studied at Bowdoin College and became a professor there and later at Harvard University. His poems were known for their musicality, often including stories of mythology and legend.

"Nature" explanation

In the poem, the speaker compares man’s life, guided by nature, with a child, led to bed by its mother. Just like a child, half willing to go to bed due to fatigue, half reluctant because of its desire to play more, man is guided through life by nature towards the final destination: death (or afterlife).