The Bat
The Bat Ruth Pitter (1897-1992) Overview Batman has got a lot to answer for really. Fancy getting the whole world to think of bats as some sort of scary monsters! What an outrage. We should probably put some blame on Bram Stoker as well. This poem is about the poetic voice’s preconceptions about bats as […]
Ants (from Dryades)
Ants (from Dryades) William Diaper (1685 -1717) Overview Aren’t ants smashing? Yes, yes, they are! This poem is an ode to ants and asks us to appreciate our little six legged troopers. The poem shows us that they are not just industrious little buggers, but humanises them and asks us to think of their cleverness, […]
The Fly
Little Fly William Blake (1757-1827) Overview Bloody flies, always sitting on our food and making irritating buzzing noises. Squashing or swatting one of these buggers is normally one of the happiest moments of our lives, making us feel like untapped ninja talent, but Blake spoils all this by getting philsophical about it. This poem is […]
A Different History
A Different History Sujatta Bhatt (1956-) Overview This poem is autobiographical and is an expression of Bhatt’s conflict between her Indian heritage and her life in the English speaking world. The first stanza talks about India; she values the way gods and nature are respected and allowed to thrive, but contrasts this, quite angrily, with […]