W.B. Yeats’s “When You Are Old” is a gentle yet poignant address to a beloved, offering a glimpse into the future when the person has aged. The poem invites the reader to⋯ Read the full article

W.B. Yeats’s poem “Sailing to Byzantium” reveals the speaker’s quest to transcend the physical confines of aging and the sensual distractions of youth. He contrasts a lan⋯ Read the full article

W.B. Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” envisions a world gripped by chaos and unraveling order, written in the aftermath of World War I. Yeats paints a vivid scene of socie⋯ Read the full article

W.B. Yeats’s “Easter 1916” is a reflection on the Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin, where Irish nationalists launched a rebellion against British rule. The poem grapples w⋯ Read the full article

W.B. Yeats’s “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” reflects a yearning for escape from urban life into the calming embrace of nature. The speaker imagines building a humble cabin,⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s poem “In Time of The Breaking of Nations” was composed during World War I, but it carries a timeless message about the endurance of ordinary life even agai⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s “The Convergence of the Twain” powerfully contrasts the grandiose design of the RMS Titanic with the eerie inevitability of its encounter with an iceberg. ⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s “Beeny Cliff” captures a moment in time when the poet and his beloved traversed the coastal cliffs of Cornwall. The imagery is vivid and evocative: an open⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s “Wessex Heights” depicts the speaker’s reflective journey upon high ground where everyday burdens momentarily dissolve. The poem begins with Hardy noting h⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s “Under the Waterfall” explores the potent connection between a physical sensation—in this case, plunging an arm into water—and the sudden recall of cherish⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s “Shut Out That Moon” is a poignant reflection on lost joy, the persistence of memory, and the human urge to suppress painful recollections. Throughout the ⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s “The Going” is one of his renowned 1912–13 poems written in the wake of his wife Emma’s death. It conveys the shock and turmoil Hardy experienced when she ⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s ballad-like poem “A Trampwoman’s Tragedy” recounts a bleak and fateful journey undertaken by four travelers: the narrator (the so-called “Trampwoman”), two⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s “To Lizbie Browne” is a reflective poem in which the speaker laments a lost opportunity for love. Addressing Lizbie directly, he recalls how enchanting she⋯ Read the full article

Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Voice” captures the speaker’s acute sense of loss and longing for a loved one—commonly understood to be Hardy’s late wife, Emma. The poem opens w⋯ Read the full article