American Poetry Essays Examples For College & High School Students in PDF

1744 total results

An Interpretation of The Fish, a Poem by Elizabeth Bishop (363 words, 1 pages)

Elizabeth Bishops poem The Fish is one about a speaker that catches a huge boat in a tiny, rented, possibly old and crusty, boat. However Bishop seemed determined to make the story more elaborate than this she managed to represent the fish with elaborate imagery and to switch things up ... Read More

Homoeroticism and Sexuality in Leaves of Grass, a Poem Collection by Walt Whitman (1593 words, 7 pages)

American poet, essayist and journalist, Walt Whitman, worked to exposehis readers to his unique, personal thoughts on the body, nature, and thehuman experience. Whitman was a humanist, and incorporated bothtranscendentalism and realism in his work. He is often referred to as thefather of free verse. Whitman's most praised work, and ... Read More

The Poison of a Lie in The History Teacher, a Poem by Billy Collins (591 words, 2 pages)

What if you found out that everything you learned in school was a lie? The entire time you sat learning math, in vein, all of the facts about the government only a softened truth, the wars that were fought to make America a great country all lies. Well in this ... Read More

Winston Churchill and the Narrator in When I Heard the Learned Astronaut by Walt Whitman as the Superior People (447 words, 2 pages)

"The illusion of self-awareness. Happy automatons, running on trivial programs. I'll bet you never guess. From the inside, how can you?" -Vernor Vinge Ninety-nine percent of the world's current population is just living.They're ordinary human beings who go about their days working and eatingand all the other things necessary for ... Read More

A Symbiotic Relationship: An Analysis of the Verbs in Walt Whitman’s Poem When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer (1117 words, 5 pages)

A Symbiotic Relationship Propelling subjects into action, inciting inanimate objects intomovement verbs meet and surpass these functions. Without verbs a sentencewould fail to be such, a clause would fall in rank down to a phrase or asimple phrase. There are three, generalized categories of verbs thatpertain to "When I Heard ... Read More

The Theme of Music in the Poem Weary Blues by Langston Hughes (332 words, 1 pages)

During the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans were very involved with music. It was the only thing that African Americans could rely on to express their themselves without having to say anything to anyone. Music was, and still is the way people channel their feelings, thoughts, or emotions like the musician ... Read More

Nature Imagery in The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (701 words, 3 pages)

The Red Badge of Courage is a novel by Stephen Crane about a young man who enlists in the army to distinguish himself and earn respect. During the bloody battles of the Civil War, young Henry Fleming must adjust to the horrors of war, and learn to overcome his own ... Read More

An Analysis of the Poem Original Barbie by Paige Huckstep (1635 words, 6 pages)

Original BarbieThere are many different types of Barbie dolls that have gone into production throughout the years, beginning with the first Barbie in 1959, to the most recent, Birthday Wishes Barbie, of 2014. Though Barbie dolls have been given a history, friends, and family by productionists as well as fans, ... Read More

The Parent-Child Relationship in the Poem I Go Back to May 1937 by Sharon Olds (1742 words, 5 pages)

Parent-child relationships are complicated. Most of the time, these relationships are topics of discussion that are treaded on lightly. A lot of these bonds are loving, and yet many others can be flaky, materialistic, tricky, or downright destructive. In Sharon Olds poem I Go Back to May 1937, the narrator ... Read More

An Analysis of Transcendentalism in the Poems by Walt Whitman (1091 words, 4 pages)

During the 17th century, Walt Whitman wrote his most well-known work, Leaves of Grass, which is a collection of his poems. These poems conveyed an idea of transcendentalism. Walt Whitman, along with two other transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, questioned the way that American people thought and ... Read More

An Analysis of the Poem Whoever You Are Holding Me Now In Hand by Walt Whitman (876 words, 3 pages)

Whoever You Are Holding Me Now In Hand.Upon reading the Calamus cluster, one poem that stood out to me was Whoever You Are Holding Me Now In Hand. The poem, one of the longer ones in the group, features Walt addressing the reader who seems unable to release him, and ... Read More

The Emotions and Fear for a Daughter’s Safety During Her Illness in Portrait of a Daughter, a Poem by Sharon Olds (890 words, 3 pages)

Portrait of a Daughter by Sharon Olds caught my attention the moment I started reading it. In the poem, Olds describes what it is like when her daughter is ill. At first, I did not quite understand what it was about the poem that moved me. Olds does an incredible ... Read More

The Life and Works of Emily Dickinson Depicting Positivity amidst Dark Themed Poems (1293 words, 4 pages)

Thesis Despite the fact that Emily Dickinsons poems were mostly dark, there was always positivity in them. Emily Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, she was born a family with great knowledge and success, but somehow, not a very wealthy family. She mostly lived in a reserved ... Read More

An Analysis of the Struggles of Gilgamesh and His Quest to Find Utnapishtim in Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse, a Book by David Ferry (1168 words, 4 pages)

In the new rendering of the book Gilgamesh, written by David Ferry, the main character Gilgamesh, struggled with different tasks. In the first half of the epic poem, Gilgamesh bonds with his friend Enkidu and sets out to make a great name for himself. In doing so, he faces the ... Read More

The Elements of Romanticism and Modernism in Sunflower Sutra, a Poem by Allen Ginsberg (778 words, 3 pages)

Allen Ginsbergs Sunflower Sutra (1955) elicits images of the romantic era, while still grounding the reader within the harsh, modern, industrial setting of the piece. This paper will explore that juxtaposition between romanticism and modernism within Ginsbergs Sunflower Sutra. By doing so, I hope to illuminate Ginsbergs motivation for the ... Read More

The Use of Abstract Language to Portray the Theme of Freedom vs. Confinement in Howl, a Poem by Allen Ginsberg (1040 words, 3 pages)

The poem Howl by Allen Ginsberg is exactly what the title suggests. Its a raw, aggressive, and painful shout directed at the culture that Ginsberg believed had destroyed many of his close friends at the time. After rereading it multiple times I have come to the conclusion that each of ... Read More

Henry’s View of War in The Red Badge of Courage, a Novel by Stephen Crane (682 words, 2 pages)

Henry Flemming, an inexperienced soldier, is the main focus of Stephen Cranes novel The Red Badge of Courage. Following the common misconception shared by many people of the time, in the beginning of the novel, Henry believes war is a place where one can become a hero, prove courage, and ... Read More

The Theme of Death in the Poems Because I Could Not Stop for Death, To My Dear and Loving Husband, and Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night (967 words, 4 pages)

Death is something that everyone thinks about at some point in time.Death is just a part of life. It's inevitable. While the concept of deathis accepted by some people, it is immensely feared by others. What comesafter death is something that everyone questions and has a different beliefabout. Some people ... Read More

The Message in the Literary Works of Allen Ginsberg (1710 words, 6 pages)

When Allen Ginsberg writes he does not just write beautiful, appealing, poetry to sell. Ginsberg writes with a message in mind. Ginsberg steals the readers attention with his aggravated cursing and startling openness. Through his lack of structure, rhyme and rhetoric, Ginsberg portrays chaos not only through the words of ... Read More

My Experience of Reading Danielle Legros Georges’ Poem Still Life with Orbs (540 words, 2 pages)

My poem hunting experience ended a little bit unsatisfactory. Peyton and I gathered a good four water bottles full of water between us and traveled together toward the Boston Public library. I believe our plan was to just pour water everywhere and hope we got lucky, but that didn't turn ... Read More

The Works of Samuel Allen, a Boston Poet (952 words, 3 pages)

After realizing that all the poems had been washed away, I was wondering how I was going to complete the assignment, when I got the email that we could analyze any poem about Boston or by a Boston poet. I remembered that a couple of weeks ago, I had seen ... Read More

An Analysis of the Poem Boston by Aaron Smith (549 words, 2 pages)

Like many other students, my poem search unfortunately ended with reading and analyzing a poem on the sidewalk of Newbury. Although hoping to begin my search of these hidden Boston poems early, I traveled to a family reunion in Vermont for the weekend, causing me to postpone my search until ... Read More

A Personal Review of the Poem Still Here by Langston Hughes (531 words, 2 pages)

Fortunately for me, though unfortunately for my participation in this project, I spent the weekend away from Boston, back at home in Alabama. I was therefore unable to go out into the city and search for the rain poetry. However, I did read the poem "Still Here", by Langston Hughes, ... Read More

When I Was Small, a Woman Died by Emily Dickinson: a Comparison of the Original and Edited Version of the Poem (414 words, 2 pages)

The edits made to the poem "When I was Small, A Woman died" greatly impact both the reading of the poem and its overall quality. The dashes in the original provide a breathy quality to the poem that makes the poem feel more intimate and heartfelt. Likewise, the lack of ... Read More

My Personal Experience in Finding Still Here, a Poem by Langston Hughes (508 words, 2 pages)

Sadly, when I arrived at the Dudley Caf this morning the poem I sought had washed away. This is somewhat ironic considering the poem was Still Here by Langston Hughes. Beside me there was an old black women playing the piano and singing gospel which would have made a wonderful ... Read More

The Differences between Versions of Emily Dickinson’s Poem When I Was Small, a Woman Died (542 words, 2 pages)

Emily Dickinson's poem, "When I was small, a woman died", tells the story a young man and his heroic death in a time of bloody battle. In the first stanza, the reader discovers that the boy's mother died a while ago, and now he has joined the army, a decision ... Read More

A Critical View on the Changes Made in Emily Dickinson’s (538 words, 2 pages)

Within the world we live in today, many important stories or events often get skewed, due to the popularity they would obtain if either worded or appeared a bit differently. One often skewed image throughout todays society, is the way the media continuously alters the truth. Although many may have ... Read More

A Personal Reflection on Boston’ Rain Poetry and Langston Hughes’s Poem Still Here (668 words, 3 pages)

I had read articles about the Boston's rain poetry and immediately thought it was a brilliant idea. Most people don't like when it rains as can negatively affect their mood. Me, on the other hand, I love the rain! It is so relaxing to stay home and read a book ... Read More

The Impact and Review of Still Here by Langston Hughes (505 words, 2 pages)

Still here, ironically, was not still here, or at the very least I couldnt find it. That was the unfortunate fact I was confronted with when I took twenty minutes yesterday morning to walk to dudley cafe, the only landmark I had to go by as I tried to find ... Read More

Original and Edited Version of Emily Dickinson’s Poem When I Was Small, a Woman Died: How the Difference in the Number of Stanzas Change the Poem’s Meaning (536 words, 2 pages)

The discrepancy between Emily Dickinsons original When I was small, a Woman died and the version of the poem edited and published by her family is that the former poem has five stanzas, and the latter has only four stanzas, with the fifth removed. One stanza can of course represent ... Read More

American Poetry Essay Examples