Poems Literature 2

SONNET 20

Poetic Form

• Shakespearean sonnet (14 lines). Unusual because it uses feminine endings (extra unstressed syllable)

Poet

• William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

Period

• English Renaissance / Early Modern (Elizabethan era)

Analysis

• Addresses the “master-mistress” of the poet’s passion—an androgynous young man. Explores gender fluidity, beauty, and desire. Suggests emotional love vs. physical impossibility (“But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure…”). Challenges traditional gender binaries.

SONNET 130

Poetic Form

• Shakespearean sonnet, Parody of Petrarchan love poetry

Poet

• William Shakespeare

Period

• English Renaissance

Analysis

• Rejects exaggerated metaphors (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”). Celebrates realistic, human love. Anti-idealization: love is grounded, not fantastical.

Incandescent War Poem Sonnet

Poetic Form

• Experimental sonnet

• Breaks traditional meter and rhyme

• Fragmented, stream-of-consciousness

Poet

• Bernadette Mayer (1945–2022)

Period

• Contemporary / Postmodern (1970s)

Analysis

• Blends love, politics, and war imagery. Challenges what a “sonnet” can be. Emotional intensity + linguistic experimentation.

The Tempest

Poetic Form

• Play (tragicomedy / romance)

• Written mostly in blank verse

Author

• William Shakespeare

Period

• Early Modern (1611)

Analysis

• Themes: colonialism, power, magic, forgiveness. Prospero as colonizer; Caliban as colonized subject. Explores control, knowledge, and freedom.

Caliban

Poetic Form

• Free verse

• Caribbean dialect rhythms

Poet

• Kamau Brathwaite (1930–2020)

Period

• Postcolonial literature (20th century)

Analysis

• Reclaims Caliban as a symbol of colonized peoples. Uses Caribbean Creole rhythms to resist colonial language. Identity, oppression, and cultural survival.

The Flea

Poetic Form

• Metaphysical poem

• Three stanzas, rhymed couplets

Poet

• John Donne (1572–1631)

Period

• Metaphysical poetry / Early 17th century

Analysis

• Uses a flea as an extended metaphor for seduction. Blends logic, wit, and erotic persuasion. Argues that since their blood is already mingled in the flea, 6 would not be a sin.

To His Coy Mistress

Poetic Form

• Carpe diem poem

• Iambic tetrameter couplets

Poet

• Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)

Period

• Metaphysical / 17th century

Analysis

• “If we had world enough and time…” → argument structure. Urges the mistress to seize the moment before death. Mixes romantic imagery with dark humor and mortality.

Paradise Lost

Poetic Form

• Epic poem in blank verse

Poet

• John Milton (1608–1674)

Period

• 17th century / English Civil War era/ metahpysical poetry

Analysis

• Retells the Fall of Man. Satan as a complex, charismatic figure. Themes: free will, obedience, ambition, divine justice.

A Modest Proposal

Poetic Form

• Satirical essay

Author

• Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)

Period

• Enlightenment (18th century)

Analysis

• Extreme satire: proposes eating Irish children to solve poverty. Critiques British colonial exploitation. Uses irony to expose moral hypocrisy.

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Poetic Form

• Philosophical treatise / proto-feminist essay

Author

• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)

Period

• Enlightenment (1792)

Analysis

• Argues women are not naturally inferior but made so by lack of education. Advocates rationality, equality, and social reform. Foundational feminist text.

Ode to a Nightingale

Poetic Form

• Ode (8 stanzas, 10 lines each)

Poet

• John Keats (1795–1821)

Period

• Romanticism

Analysis

• Escapism vs. mortality. Nightingale symbolizes immortal art. Sensory richness, melancholy, longing.

The Tyger

Poetic Form

• Lyric poem with strong rhythm and repetition

Poet

• William Blake (1757–1827)

Period

• Early Romanticism

Analysis

• Explores creation, good vs. evil. The tiger as symbol of sublime, terrifying beauty. Questions divine intention (“Did he who made the Lamb make thee?”).

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Poetic Form

• Lyric poem in quatrains

Poet

• William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

Period

• High Romanticism

Analysis

• Nature as spiritual nourishment. Memory and emotion intertwined. Daffodils symbolize joy and tranquility.

Preface to Collection of Hymns (1779)

Poetic Form

• Religious preface / theological prose

Author

• John Wesley (1703–1791)

Period

• 18th century / Romanticism

Analysis

• Emphasizes emotional sincerity in worship. Hymns as tools for spiritual discipline. Advocates accessible, heartfelt religious expression.

Jane Eyre

Poetic Form

• Novel (Bildungsroman, Gothic elements)

Author

• Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855)

Period

• Victorian era (1847)

Analysis

• Themes: independence, morality, gender, class. Jane’s moral and emotional development. Critique of patriarchal power (Rochester, Brocklehurst).

Wide Sargasso Sea (excerpt)

Poetic Form

• Postcolonial novel

Author

• Jean Rhys (1890–1979)

Period

• Postcolonial / 1966 / victorian novel

Analysis

• Rewrites Jane Eyre from Bertha Mason’s perspective. Explores race, colonial trauma, identity. Challenges Eurocentric narratives.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Poetic Form

• Comedy of manners / play

Author

• Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

Period

• Victorian era (1895)

Analysis

• Satire of social conventions, marriage, identity. Wordplay, paradox, wit. Critiques superficial morality.

In an Artist’s Studio

Poetic Form

• Petrarchan sonnet

Poet

• Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)

Period

• Victorian era

Analysis

• Critique of the male gaze. Model is idealized, objectified, erased. Art as a form of possession.

My Last Duchess

Poetic Form

• Dramatic monologue

Poet

• Robert Browning (1812–1889)

Period

• Victorian era

Analysis

• Duke reveals his cruelty through speech.Themes: power, control, jealousy. Irony: the Duke condemns himself while trying to appear noble.