Pied Beauty
Pied Beauty Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) Overview All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small! This is about the only hymn I remember from my days at a Church of England primary school, but what a belter. No, I am not looking back on a missed opportunity of becoming a choir singing sensation. […]
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, […]
Sonnet 18 (Shakespeare)
Sonnet 18 William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Overview First of all, this is one of the most celebrated and oft quoted poems in the world. Personally, I think the sentiment is a bit much, but sweet as well I suppose. This is a celebration of a girl’s beauty through comparison with the Summer, a reflection on mortality […]
Spring, the Sweet Spring
Spring, the Sweet Spring Thomas Nashe (1567-1601) Overview This is about praising the beauty and life that Spring produces (if you live in a country without seasons… Uganda… be aware that the English Spring is the time trees blossom, lambs are born and everything starts to warm up). However, it is also praising some of […]