Essays and Research Papers on Poetry

A 4 page paper which discusses John Donne's sonnets # 5 and 11 using the method of examination displayed by Stanley Archer. Archer describes some of Donne's sonnets by using the descriptions of two separate individuals. The essential qualities that Archer illustrates as being important in evaluating the sonnets are issues which ...

This 2 page essay discusses poet John Donne's 'The Anagram' and explores the ways in which it relates to Donne's ideas of female beauty and language. No bibliography.

6 pages in length. It is a paltry attempt to employ the use of logic in both John Donne's The Flea and Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress; however, despite the lack of ingenuity on their parts, the men have somewhat successfully achieved this goal. Indeed, one must utilize a decent amount of ...

In 5 pages, the author investigates the trope of song in the works of Derek Walcott. Several passages are taken from Walcott's writing. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper comparing Derek Walcott's poem 'Omeros' to Homer's works, particularly the Iliad, and comparing Homer himself to Walcott's personification of him, the blind fisherman Seven Seas. The paper concludes that both personas exhibit an extraordinary greatness of spirit, and show that even ordinary men can be heroes. Bibliography lists three sources.

A 5 page paper that posits that in the duality of her terminology and placement of lines in prose, Edna St. Vincent Millay underscores the workings of a 'heart's' reaction to an impending separation from a lover. She at once makes it clear that she is sorrowful and prideful, weak and strong, hurtful and ...

This 5 page paper considers the nature of opposition as it is presented in two works, P.K. Page's 'Stories of Snow' and Gretel Ehrlich's essay 'The Smooth Skull of Winter.' This paper considers components of each work, including the focus of each writer, as a means of relating the concept of opposition and also ...

A 5 page paper showing how the Biblical allusions in this poem by Robert Wrigley cast additional light on the themes of sexuality and sin. Bibliography lists two sources.

A 5 page analysis of three poems, William Blake's 'London,' Maya Angelou's 'My Arkansas,' and Carl Sandburg's 'Chicago.' Concentrating primarily on 'London' and 'Chicago,' the writer shows how two poets in two different ages looked on similar circumstances and saw very different things. Quotations from the source. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper discussing and comparing the two poems 'The Meal' by John Berger and 'My Father in the Navy; A Childhood Memory' by Judith Ortiz Cofer. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper on this groundbreaking poetic work. Alice Notley's 'The Descent of Alette' traces its narrator's metaphoric journey to the depths of modern hell. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

A 6 page paper on one episode described in William Wordsworth's long poem The Prelude. The paper notes how the episode of the drowned man, which the poet actually experienced as a boy, helped him come to terms with death and loss. Bibliography lists one additional source.

A 1 page essay on theme, imagery, and symbolic expression in this work by Dickinson. The writer also evaluates her technique and use of allusion. No Bibliography.

A 5 page paper looking at the way Emily Dickinson’s reclusive lifestyle affected her poetry. Poems discussed include in “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died,” , “Further in Summer Than the Birds,” and “I Send Two Sunsets”. Bibliography lists four sources.

A 5 page paper examining the role of tradition versus innovation in various works by T.S. Eliot and Derek Walcott. Works mentioned are Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent” and 'The Waste Land,' as well as Walcott’s “A Far Cry from Africa,” “Names (for Edward Braithwaite),” “Omeros,” “A Sea Chantey,” and “The Castaway.” No additional ...

A 2 page paper looking at Sappho’s poems in terms of her evocation of the powerful bonds between women. Sappho shows that the love that exists between best friends of the same sex is just as strong, just as powerful, as the love that exists between the more traditional pairings such as husband and wife, ...

A 2 page paper contrasting John Milton’s Book IX of “Paradise Lost” with Amelia Lanyer’s “Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum”. The paper notes that while Milton places the blame for the Fall of Man on Eve’s shoulders, and Lanyer attempts to deflect it back onto Adam, it is Milton who has the stronger argument.

A 5 page paper which examines the use of imagery in the works titled “The Wanderer” and “The Song of Roland.” Each of these works illustrates a different use of imagery. Where “The Wanderer” gives the reader many easily depicted illustrations of imagery, “The Song of Roland” and its use of imagery are much more subtle and evasive. The ...

This 4 page paper considers the fact that the attitudes poets convey in their works often addresses social, moral and political issues. Two poems by Tennyson, “The Poet” and “The Palace of Art” are used as a set which demonstrates one theme. No bibliography.

A 5 page analysis of the poetry of the eighteenth century poet, William Blake. The writer demonstrates how Blake's belief that opposition or 'contrary' forces promoted growth was an underlying metaphor in his work. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page paper on this poem by Walt Whitman, in the broader context of Whitman’s life and work. The paper observes that Whitman believed that our unique ability as Americans to use our creativity to reach out to one another -- like a spider spinning its web -- was both our defining characteristic and ...

A 3 page paper examining this well-known poem by Robert Frost, asking the question “Do fences make good neighbors?” The paper concludes that Frost feels they do not; walls isolate the person who has built them, keeping them from sharing their experiences, and prevent the wall-builder from establishing any intimacy with others. No additional sources; ...

A three page paper closely explicating the theme of this poem by Robert Burns. The paper concludes that the human’s ability to strategize may not be all it is cracked up to be, because in the end we are still not in control of our destinies, and our efforts are often fruitless. No additional sources; ...

A nine page paper looking at the way Robert Browning subtly undermines Victorian ideology in this poem. The paper argues that Browning’s generous acceptance of sexual expression; his insistence on the natural world as the true manifestation of God’s presence; and his advocacy of the importance of an artist’s right to individual expression all characterize ...

An 8 page paper looking at Robert Frost’s classic poem as explicated by a number of critical sources. The paper shows how the use of outside sources can give the reader a deeper understanding of the subject material. Bibliography lists seven sources.