"A Dirge" by Christina Rossetti

 

A Dirge

Why were you born when the snow was falling?

You should have come to the cuckoo’s calling,

Or when grapes are green in the cluster,

Or, at least, when lithe swallows muster

For their far off flying

From summer dying.

 

Why did you die when the lambs were cropping?

You should have died at the apples’ dropping,

When the grasshopper comes to trouble,

And the wheat-fields are sodden stubble,

And all winds go sighing

For sweet things dying. 

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "Sonnets are full of love"?

Christina Rossetti (December 5, 1830 ~ December 29, 1894)

Christina Rossetti was an English poet who was lauded as one of the foremost female poets of the 19th-century Victorian era. She wrote romantic, devotional, and children's poems, marked by symbolism and intense feeling. Her literary status was often compared to that of Elizabeth Barren Browning, and upon Browning's death in 1861, Rossetti was hailed as Browning's rightful successor. She opposed slavery, cruelty to animals, and the exploitation of girls in under-age prostitution. Rossetti suffered from Graves' disease in the later decades of her life. In 1893, she was diagnosed of breast cancer and died of a recurrence in 1894.

"A Dirge" explanation

"A Dirge" by Christina Rossetti is a keen reflection on the timing of life and death, using the changing seasons as a metaphor. The speaker questions why the subject was born in winter, a time associated with coldness and death, rather than during the vibrant life of spring or summer. Similarly, the speaker laments the subject's death during spring, a time of birth and renewal, rather than in autumn or winter when nature itself is dying or dormant. This juxtaposition of life and death against the natural cycle of the seasons underscores the sense of loss and the harsh unpredictability of life.

"If Thou Must Love Me, let it be for nought" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

If thou must love me, let it be for nought

If thou must love me, let it be for nought

Except for love's sake only. Do not say,

"I love her for her smile—her look—her way

Of speaking gently,—for a trick of thought

That falls in well with mine, and certes brought

A sense of pleasant ease on such a day"—

For these things in themselves, Belovèd, may

Be changed, or change for thee—and love, so wrought,

May be unwrought so. Neither love me for

Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry:

A creature might forget to weep, who bore

Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!

But love me for love's sake, that evermore

Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.

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Who wrote the poem "To George Sand: A Desire"?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (March 6, 1806 — June 29, 1861)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an English poet of the Victorian era, famous in England and the U.S. during her lifetime. She was the eldest of 12 children and wrote poetry from 11. She was an avid reader and writer, and Shakespeare was her favorite. From 15, she suffered from frail health due to intense head and spinal pain and lung problems throughout her life. After her 1844 volume "Poems" had a great success, Robert Browning, an English poet and playwright, was inspired to write to her, praising her work. The two met in 1845, fell in love, and soon got married. Their special bond had an important influence on their respective subsequent writings. Her work also had a great influence on famous contemporary writers such as the American poets Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson.

"If Thou Must Love Me" explanation

In the poem, the speaker advocates for unconditional love. She urges her lover to love her not for her attributes or out of pity, as these can change or fade, but for love's sake alone. The poem underscores the idea of love as a constant, enduring force that exists independently of superficial or transient reasons.

"The Sun Has Long Been Set" by William Wordsworth

 

The Sun Has Long Been Set

 

The sun has long been set,

The stars are out by twos and threes,

The little birds are piping yet

Among the bushes and trees;

There's a cuckoo, and one or two thrushes,

And a far-off wind that rushes,

And a sound of water that gushes,

And the cuckoo's sovereign cry

Fills all the hollow of the sky.

Who would "go parading"

In London, "and masquerading,"

On such a night of June

With that beautiful soft half-moon,

And all these innocent blisses?

On such a night as this is!

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "To the Skylark"?

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.

"The Solitary Reaper" explanation

In the poem, the speaker contrasts the serene beauty of a rural evening with the artificiality of city life. The sensory language immerses the reader in the tranquil scene, while the critique of "parading" and "masquerading" in London reflects the poet's preference for the simplicity and purity of nature, embodying his Romantic ideals.

"As Imperceptibly as Grief" by Emily Dickinson

 

As Imperceptibly as Grief

As imperceptibly as grief

The summer lapsed away, —

Too imperceptible, at last,

To seem like perfidy.

A quietness distilled,

As twilight long begun,

Or Nature, spending with herself

Sequestered afternoon.

The dusk drew earlier in,

The morning foreign shone, —

A courteous, yet harrowing grace,

As guest who would be gone.

 

And thus, without a wing,

Or service of a keel,

Our summer made her light escape

Into the beautiful.

 

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "As Imperceptibly as Grief"?

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.

"As Imperceptibly as Grief" explanation

Emily Dickinson's poem "As Imperceptibly as Grief" uses the metaphor of the changing seasons to explore the nature of loss and the passage of time. The poem begins with the end of summer, which has slipped away as subtly and inevitably as grief. This transition is so gradual that it feels almost like a betrayal. The quietness of the changing season reflects the quietness that can descend in the wake of grief. As the poem progresses, the shift from day to night and the arrival of a foreign morning symbolize the profound changes that loss can bring. The final lines suggest a sense of acceptance and even beauty in this cycle of change and loss, as the summer escapes "into the Beautiful" without the need for wings or a keel. The poem thus captures the quiet, gradual, but profound impact of grief and change on our lives. Dickinson lived much of her life in relative isolation, and her poems often reflect a deep introspection and exploration of her own thoughts and feelings, as in "As Imperceptibly as Grief".

"The Solitary Reaper" by William Wordsworth

 

The Solitary Reaper

Behold her, single in the field,

Yon solitary Highland Lass!

Reaping and singing by herself;

Stop here, or gently pass!

Alone she cuts and binds the grain,

And sings a melancholy strain;

O listen! for the Vale profound

Is overflowing with the sound.

 

No Nightingale did ever chaunt

More welcome notes to weary bands

Of travellers in some shady haunt,

Among Arabian sands:

A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard

In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,

Breaking the silence of the seas

Among the farthest Hebrides.

 

Will no one tell me what she sings?—

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,

And battles long ago:

Or is it some more humble lay,

Familiar matter of to-day?

Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,

That has been, and may be again?

 

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang

As if her song could have no ending;

I saw her singing at her work,

And o'er the sickle bending;—

I listened, motionless and still;

And, as I mounted up the hill,

The music in my heart I bore,

Long after it was heard no more.

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poem video👇

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Who wrote the poem "To the Skylark"?

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.

"The Solitary Reaper" explanation

The poem made its first appearance in 1807 as part of Wordsworth's compilation titled "Poems in Two Volumes." The inspiration behind this poem can be traced back to an actual event that Wordsworth encountered during his travels through the Scottish Highlands in 1803.

While journeying, Wordsworth stumbled upon a young Highland girl who was working in the fields and singing a song in Gaelic. The song was melancholic and had a haunting quality to it. Wordsworth was deeply moved by the beauty and emotional depth of her song, which led him to immortalize the moment in his poem.

"The Solitary Reaper" delves into themes such as nature, music, and the evocative power of the human voice. It reflects Wordsworth's conviction in the transformative essence of nature and the capacity of simple, everyday experiences to forge connections to a deeper sense of beauty and spirituality.

"Summer Song" by William Carlos Williams

 

Summer Song

Wanderer moon

smiling a

faintly ironical smile

at this

brilliant, dew-moistened

summer morning,—

a detached

sleepily indifferent

smile, a

wanderer's smile,—

if I should

buy a shirt

your color and

put on a necktie

sky-blue

where would they carry me?

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Poem Video👇

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Who wrote the poem "Blizzard"?

William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963)

William Carlos Williams was an American poet, writer, and physician. As a family doctor and leading poet of Imagist movement, he practiced medicine by day and wrote at night. He was known for his experimental and innovative poetic style while maintaining a remarkably conventional life.

Summer Song

This poem is a reflection on the beauty of a summer morning and the wanderlust that it inspires. The moon is personified as a wanderer, and its smile is described as faintly ironical and detached. The poet wonders if wearing colors that reflect the beauty of the morning would take him to new places.

William Carlos Williams was not only a poet but also a practicing physician. He often wrote poetry in between seeing patients. His medical career influenced his poetry, as he was deeply interested in observing the details of everyday life, which is evident in the precise imagery of "Summer Song".

"Back Yard" by Carl Sandburg

 

Back Yard

Shine on, O moon of summer.

Shine to the leaves of grass, catalpa and oak,

All silver under your rain to-night.

An Italian boy is sending songs to you to-night from an accordion.

A Polish boy is out with his best girl; they marry next month;

to-night they are throwing you kisses.

An old man next door is dreaming over a sheen that sits in a

cherry tree in his back yard.

The clocks say I must go—I stay here sitting on the back porch drinking

white thoughts you rain down.

Shine on, O moon,

Shake out more and more silver changes.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

                                                    poem video👇

https://youtu.be/8SSmXseTL5E

Who wrote the poem "Who Am I?"

Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967)

 

Carl Sandburg was an American poet, biographer, novelist, journalist, and folklorist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes (two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln). He has often been compared to Walt Whitman for his use of free verse and admiration of the working class.

 "Back Yard" explanation

"Back Yard" by Carl Sandburg is a beautiful reflection on the simple pleasures of everyday life. In the poem, Sandburg captures the serene beauty of a summer evening in a back yard, using vivid and sensory imagery to bring the scene to life. It can be interpreted as a celebration of the beauty in everyday moments and an encouragement to slow down, observe, and appreciate the simple and often overlooked aspects of life.

"For Once, Then, Something" by Robert Frost

For Once, Then, Something

Others taunt me with having knelt at well-curbs

Always wrong to the light, so never seeing

Deeper down in the well than where the water

Gives me back in a shining surface picture

Me myself in the summer heaven godlike

Looking out of a wreath of fern and cloud puffs.

Once, when trying with chin against a well-curb,

I discerned, as I thought, beyond the picture,

Through the picture, a something white, uncertain,

Something more of the depths—and then I lost it.

Water came to rebuke the too clear water.

One drop fell from a fern, and lo, a ripple

Shook whatever it was lay there at bottom,

Blurred it, blotted it out. What was that whiteness?

Truth? A pebble of quartz? For once, then, something.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/benq7D7jYJU

Who wrote the poem "Dust of Snow"?

Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)

Robert Frost was an American poet who was born in San Francisco, California. Frost’s life was marked by grief and loss. When he was 11, his father died of tuberculosis, leaving just eight dollars. Frost’s mother died of cancer when he was 26. Mental illness ran in his family. He and his mother suffered from depression, and his sister and his daughter were committed to mental hospitals. Using realistic depictions of rural life, his poems often examined complex social and philosophical themes. Frost’s first book was published at the age of 40, but he ended up winning four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry and becoming the most famous poet of his time.

"For Once, Then, Something" explanation

In the poem, the poet grapples with his personal exploration and the questioning of the limits of human perception. Looking into a well, the speaker tries to see his reflection. This can symbolize the poet's attempt to deeply understand an object. However, being on the wrong side, he can't see into the well properly, which may symbolize the difficulties we face when trying to understand something beyond our perception. At one point though he saw something more. This could symbolize the truth itself or merely emphasize the importance of personal understanding rather than seeking truth itself. This poem is another example of Frost’s exploration of human life and understanding, and their limits through the lens of nature.