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

1744 total results

Recognizing the Historical Context in Afternoon Rain in State Street by Amy Lowell (517 words, 2 pages)

Reading Amy Lowells Afternoon Rain in State Street was an exercise in recognizing historical context. Lowells piece called into question my previous conceptions about the relevance of historical context, and whether or not literature is best examined as influential to or revelatory of the society within which it was produced, ... Read More

The Death of One of the Greatest Leaders in America in O Captain My Captain, a Poem by Walt Whitman (796 words, 3 pages)

A great leader is the one who drives the motivation on their followers heart. The civil war was one of the bloodiest and worst wars in the history of the world, because it is not defined by the number of deaths, but because family members were fighting each other just ... Read More

The Use of Metaphors, Iambic Tetrameter, and Symbolism in The Road Not Taken, a Poem by Robert Frost (837 words, 3 pages)

The first stanza of Robert Frosts poem The Road Not Taken presents the speaker in a forest. He must choose between diverging paths that head in different directions. He wishes he would be able to travel both ways, but pauses for a while to wisely consider his choices. After carefully ... Read More

The Issue of Perfect Image in Barbie Doll, a Poem by Marge Piercy (516 words, 2 pages)

In the poem, Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy, the girl is viewed, at first, as a usual little girl with dolls and bright lipstick. Next, the girl is called names until she resorts to the mindset that she is not perfect, but needs to be. This is an issue that ... Read More

Multiple Real Life Themes in August, a Free Verse Poem by Mary Oliver (1007 words, 3 pages)

BlackberriesIn Mary Olivers free verse poem August, there are multiple real life themes. Due to Olivers complex style of writing, in order to truly understand the piece, textual analysis must be conducted. During the piece, oliver describes the process of picking blackberries from the brandles in the woods. She uses ... Read More

The Pain of Losing a Loved One in the Sonnet of Edna St. Vincent Millay (739 words, 3 pages)

As an old woman takes time to reflect on her past, the loss of love, and loss of loved ones is present in her mind. This is seen as the main point in the sonnet Edna St. Vincent Millay has written, What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and ... Read More

The Attitude in One Art, a Poem by Elizabeth Bishop (506 words, 2 pages)

One ArtIn One Art by Elizabeth Bishop an attitude is expressed in the first 15 lines that emphasizes the effect of the last 4 lines. The overall attitude can be best described as pessimistic. She shows this pessimism by writing in a loose villanelle form. Language also contributes to the ... Read More

Poetry and Theme of Travel by Edna St.Vincent Millay (673 words, 3 pages)

Poetry and Theme of Travel by Edna St. Vincent MillayIn her poem Travel, Edna St. Vincent Millay talks about the adventures and sensations when it comes to traveling. She describes her journey aboard trains and things to come in the perspective future. Everyone has travel at one point in their ... Read More

The Horrors of War in The Zookeeper’s Wife, a Non-Fiction Book by Diane Ackerman (881 words, 4 pages)

There is war going on in the book called The Zookeepers Wife By Diane Ackerman. In the reading Horrors Stories from the Gas Chambers of Auschwitz The elderly were loaded onto dump trucks and then dumped into burning trenches while still alive (Weiss 1). My thoughts are that Hitler could ... Read More

The Unusual Style of Writing in Body Clock, a Book by Eleni Sikelianos (900 words, 3 pages)

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary poetry is writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm (Merriam-Webster). For those not familiar with poetry, this definition makes sense. When most think of poetry they may ... Read More

The Concept of Time and Change in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Elliot (527 words, 2 pages)

I have read The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Elliot many times before and it is a poem that I get new insight from every time. Throughout the poem there is an emphasis on the concept of time and the chaos of things changing. I have chosen ... Read More

A Comparison of the Walt Whitman’s Poems, A Noiseless, Patient Spider, When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer and Song of Myself (2568 words, 8 pages)

Poetry Packet 4The title of Walt Whitman's poem, A Noiseless, Patient Spider, implies that the poem will be about a spider that is most likely working on its web since this is the most common representation of spiders. The poem does turn out to be about a spider working on ... Read More

A Biography of Maya Angelou, an American Poet (1108 words, 4 pages)

Maya Angelou, The Singing Caged BirdI've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel (Angelou, via brainyquote.com). Maya Angelou is a renowned 20th century author, and her first book, I Know Why the Caged ... Read More

An Analysis of the Thoughts, Concepts, and Theme Of “Facing It”, a Poem by a War Veteran Yusef Komunyakaa (957 words, 3 pages)

Merriam-Webster defines sorrow as, a feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others. How long can a person grieve? And besides these words, what else defines sorrow? The thoughts of a remorseful soldier, maybe. In his poem Facing It, Yusef Komunyakaa shares ... Read More

The Use of Intense Description in the Poems of Elizabeth Bishop (1442 words, 3 pages)

In Elizabeth Bishops poetry, intense description leads to the uncovering of universal truths. DiscussI agree wholeheartedly with this statement. It is clear to me from my reading of Elizabeth Bishops poetry that her use of acute description in her poetic works leads to the revealing of universal truths.This is achieved ... Read More

A Biography of Robert Frost, an American Poet (746 words, 4 pages)

Irony, Structure, and Figurative Language in Robert Frosts Fire and IceRobert Frost is a famous poet born in on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco. Frost became interested in writing poetry for the first time back when he was in high school in 1982. Frost returned to the United States ... Read More

A Depressing, Cynical View of Love in the Poems Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold and Dover Bitch by Anthony Hecht (838 words, 3 pages)

The poems Dover Beach and Dover Bitch were written by Matthew Arnold and Anthony Hecht respectively. Although having two different authors the poem is referring to the same couple and the relationship these two people have. The first poem focuses on inside the relationship, between the man and woman and ... Read More

The Maturity of the Narrator in Unveiling, a Poem by Linda Pastan (359 words, 1 pages)

Unveiling Poetry AnalysisIn Unveiling, Linda Pastan creates an optimistic, hopeful point of view of the after-life in a surprisingly mature form due to the fact that the narrator longs to see her deceased family yet again. The reader is proven the idea that wisdom is a long process to obtain, ... Read More

An Interpretation on Acquainted with the Night, a Poem by Robert Frost (703 words, 2 pages)

Interpretation of Acquainted with the NightAcquainted with the Night by Robert Frost is a melancholy poem depicting a lonely ritual. The poet tells of journeying into the night away from the city. He describes the sights and sounds heard on this nightly venture and implies how it makes one feel. ... Read More

The Changes in an Individual’s Identity or Personality When Influenced by Others in Departure, a Poem by Carolyn Forche (549 words, 2 pages)

To Make Ends MeetOnes identity or personality easily changes when afflicted by outside influences. Carolyn Forche makes this evident in her piece Departure, in which a man and woman embark on a long journey where they not only depart physically, but also spiritually. The woman conveys that they are on ... Read More

Race, Hopefulness, and Confidence in the Poem I, Too by Langston Hughes (867 words, 3 pages)

In Langston Hughes poem, I, Too, Hughes addresses an audience and a topic without directly stating it. The poem, itself, is about the segregation of African-Americans and whites in America around the time Jim Crowe Laws were in place. Hughes wrote this poem in order to express his feelings about ... Read More

An Analysis of the Poem The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot (1258 words, 4 pages)

The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot has been and is a vastly discussed topic, it can be interpreted in many ways and all of those ways have various arguments supporting their claim, for example whether this poem is hopeful or pessimistic. To fully grasp the poem, you also need to ... Read More

The Themes of Darkness in the Poems We Grow Accustomed to the Dark by Emily Dickinson and Acquainted With the Night by Robert Frost (755 words, 3 pages)

The poems We grow accustomed to the Dark by Emily Dickinson and Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost are both distinctly about darkness. Both authors relate the darkness to real life emotions such as sadness and depression, but the way they both describe it as is different than one ... Read More

An Analysis of the Poem The Case by Tim Seibles (1307 words, 5 pages)

The Case Textual AnalysisThe piece, The Case, is a poem written by the author Tim Seibles. The poem begins with stating that white people are unaware that they are white. It then goes on to mock the routines and the stereo typical voice that white people have. The author states ... Read More

Comparing the Similarities and Differences in In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet and On My Dear Grandchild Simon Bradstreet (722 words, 3 pages)

Anne Bradstreet Poem ComparisonAnne Bradstreet is a fashionable writer, in the fact that her poems are unique and the time of which she wrote her poems. Two specific poems of hers are In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and Half Old ... Read More

The Life and Literary Works of Robert Frost, an Unofficial Poet Laureate for the United States (563 words, 2 pages)

A Poet Living Across the PondRobert Frost is unique in that he spent significant time in both England and the United States and uses a New England dialect in his poems. Robert Frost was born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874 to a father who was an alcoholic and ... Read More

The Use of Lexical Choices, Literary Devices, and Poetic Form to Present Nebraska as an Idyllic Countryside in So This is Nebraska, a Poem by Ted Kooser (1268 words, 2 pages)

Commentary So this is Nebraska by Ted KooserHow is Nebraska portrayed in the poem and how is it achieved?In So this is Nebraska, Kooser presents Nebraska, one of the Midwestern states in the US, as an idyllic countryside remote, and relaxed, but also hints at the desolation common to under ... Read More

The Inspiration and Influence behind the Poem “Manners” for a Child of 1918 by Elizabeth Bishop (328 words, 1 pages)

Reading poems can be really relaxing at times, especially when it is good. Sometimes poems can be long, others short, but what they all have in common is an overall message. Take the poem Manners For a Child of 1918 by Elizabeth Bishop. This poem was created to help people ... Read More

The Theme and Imagery of Death in a Poem by Kevin Powers (483 words, 2 pages)

Death has inspired artists for generations to create masterful works of art. There are numerous ways to depict death such as the peaceful patient with translucent papery skin taking his last breath or the compressed bodies mangled with car parts on the side of the road. The artist describes a ... Read More

The Impact of Time on People and the Relationships Between Them in the Story Early Autumn by Langston Hughes (610 words, 2 pages)

In the story, Early Autumn, Langston Hughes employs different techniques to help convey the message that time can alter people and their relationships immensely. Using elements including varied syntax and descriptions of the characters, Hughes shows how the two characters attitudes of one another changed from the time they last ... Read More

American Poetry Essay Examples