Poem Examples

Constructed as if written in the format of an actual handbook, ‘The New Poetry Handbook’ is Mark Strand’s list of rules on reading and writing poetry. Indeed, each stanza is numbered, keeping in accordance with the overall instructional theme of the poem. But there is more to it than that. The New Poetry Handbook BY MARK STRAND 1 If a...

Allen Ginsberg was a modern American poet and one of the most important writers of the so-called Beat Generation and the counterculture which soon appeared in the 1950s. Ginsberg is mostly known to the audience for his 1955 epic poem “Howl,” in which he describes the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the US as he understood them. Howl...

"The Waste Land" is T. S. Eliot’s ultimate masterpiece and has long been considered to be one of the most important poems of the twentieth century. Published in 1922, it was meant to be reflection of the devastating after effects of the First World War, revolving around the themes of trauma and dismay. The Waste Land BY T. S. ELIOT...

Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” was published in 1798 in the “Lyrical Ballads.”  It is about how a Mariner pays for his cruel and impulsive killing of an Albatross, and how the punishment of Life in Death is reserved for him. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner BY SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE Part I It...

“Invictus” was written when Henley was in the hospital being treated for Tuberculosis of the bone, also known as Pott’s disease. The poem is about showing undivided courage in the face of death and keeping the dignity against all the hardships in life. The poem was dedicated to Robert Thomas Hamilton Bruce, a Scottish flour merchant. Invictus BY WILLIAM ERNEST...

Dream Deferred BY LANGSTON HUGHES What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

Phenomenal Woman BY MAYA ANGELOU Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I'm...

The great Australian poet Henry Lawson depicted his brutal experience in the poem “One Hundred and Three” where he elaborated on his moments of despair, torment, and misery. The title refers to a prisoner’s cell number, and the poem is meant to drive home the fact that prisoners were tormented in the Victorian era. One Hundred and Three BY HENRY...

Dedication BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON My first gift and my last, to you I dedicate this fascicle of songs - The only wealth I have: Just as they are, to you. I speak the truth in soberness, and say I had rather bring a light to your clear eyes, Had rather hear you praise This bosomful of songs Than that...

In Arthur's House BY WILLIAM MORRIS In Arthur's house whileome was I When happily the time went by In midmost glory of his days. He held his court then in a place Whereof ye shall not find the name In any story of his fame: Caerliel good sooth men called it not, Nor London Town, nor Camelot; Yet therein had...