Genre Essays

This paper addresses some the most prominent problematics of working with an established literary canon, including the extent to which, when implemented in universities worldwide, it represents the emerging concerns of diverse communities across the world. The main argument extended in this discussion is that, while the western-centred literary canon is being increasingly replaced by […]

In the poem “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church,” Emily Dickinson expresses the feeling that everybody practices their faith and religion in a different way. The narrator of this poem portrays the idea of self practice. Being able to completely understand and interpret the meaning of this piece of poetry was not a short […]

A literary work called a poem expresses emotion or ideas with a unique style and rhythm. Kenneth Slessor’s ‘Beach Burial’ and Bruce Dawe’s ‘Elegy for Drowned Children’ both explore death and mourning. While ‘Beach Burial’ reflects on the Battle of El Alamein in World War II, ‘Elegy for Drowned Children’ ponders the fate of those […]

The extract I have in front of me is a poem by Seamus Heaney. Heaney is an Irish poet who grew up in rural Ireland. His poems often deal with childhood, farm life, politics and traditional culture in Northern Ireland. The poem I have is called Storm on the Island. Heaney’s poem explores the power […]

Wires by Philip Larkin is an analogy of a society trapped by rules and limits and a demonstration that fear prevents humankind from following their desires. Larkin writes this poem in 1950 with the idea of showing his point of view of the world. In the poem the cattles are trapped by the wires imposed, […]

‘Lady Lazarus’ was written by Sylvia Plath. On a literal level, this poem is about death and attempting suicide. It is most likely that it was written from Plath’s personal experience as she was known for her suicidal nature. This poem has 28 tercet stanzas. There is no clear rhyme scheme yet rhyming can be […]

The environment people are put in often dictates their actions and reactions, which in turn shape who they are. Additionally, when a person is constantly degraded by their surroundings, it has a large, sweeping impact on their formation as a person. Bruce Weigl’s poem “Burning Shit at An Khe” is a manifestation of this concept […]

How does Judith Wright use particular technical features to explore ideas and emotions? Judith Wright is one of the greatest poets that Australia has ever produced. Most of her poems are based on social issues. Throughout her poetry Wright uses various techniques that explore different ideas and emotions. This can then be easily deciphered by […]

Whitman’s greatest legacy is his invention of a truly American free verse. His groundbreaking, open, inclusive, and optimistic poems are written in long, sprawling lines and span an astonishing variety of subject matter and points of view—embodying the democratic spirit of his new America. He uses a number of literary devices to accomplish his work. […]

An interesting aspect of this poem is that it can be read in couplets; though a few of the lines can be dissected separately, to understand the full meaning, the reader must look at the lines in groups of two’s. “I’m out here a thousand miles from my home” is the opening line of the […]

People’s eyes are never focused on what is in front of them. Instead, their eyes are forever astray, looking at their other desires. Yet an irony exists. Even when they obtain their desires, they are never content. Never satisfied with what they have. Always grasping with their greedy claws. In the poem “Icarus” by Edward […]

“Theme” is commonly described as the central idea for literary work or ideas explored within a piece of literature. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines theme as: “a subject or topic of discourse; an artistic representation; a written composition; a melodic subject of a musical movement. ” However, theme can also serve to convey a “moral” of […]

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Devon in 1772. His father, a clergyman, moved his family to London when Coleridge was young, and it was there that Coleridge attended school. Coleridge became the poet of imagination, exploring the relationships between nature and the mind as it exists as a separate entity. Poems such as “The […]

The importance of discovery is measured by the impact it has on people. Tim Winton’s “Big World” and “Aquifer”, short stories from his anthology, The Turning, and Lasse Hallstrom’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape illustrate that individuals learn from their mistakes and personal discoveries over time. Through the use of various techniques and devices, Winton and […]

Walt Whitman’s poem entitled “O Captain, My Captain” is a depiction of journey. The persona and her Captain went on a journey in an unknown land. When they get back to where they came from, the persona is very happy recalling the beauty of all the parts of the vessel before they left. As the […]

An individual can feel isolated and alienated if they don’t feel a sense of belonging to a certain community, place or even themselves. Feeling acceptance is an important aspect of belonging and can intensify an individual’s sense of belonging. Peter Skryznecki’s anthology Immigrant Chronicle, including poems ‘Migrant Hostel’ and ‘Feliks Skryznecki’. These poems explore how […]

The poem ‘Not Waving But Drowning’, by Stevie Smith, is a poem in which there is a drowning man at sea. In this poem, the poet is talking about the difficulty of communication and the fundamental isolation of the individual in modern society. The title of the poem gives us an immediate indication that the […]

Poetry is a distinctive form of artistic expression that stands out for its ability to convey intensity, beauty, and emotions derived from the poet’s original concept. Its purpose is to captivate and evoke passionate responses by presenting experiences, ideas, and emotions in a vivid and imaginative manner. One poet who effectively utilizes the power of […]

In the poems ‘To his coy mistress’ and ‘In Paris With You’, both of the poets are speaking about a relationship with their lover and they present love through the use of language in many different ways. Love is presented in ‘In Paris With You’ through repetition as ‘Paris’ and the mantra ‘In Paris with […]

What is the purpose of inner conflict (poet vs skinhead) in Tony Harrison ’s V? Tony Harrison by employing different voices and different linguistic styles he achieves to demonstrate the antithetic distinctions of personas belonging to different social and educational backgrounds. The shifts in linguistic styles in the poem, between his voice as a poet […]

Katherine Mansfield, an acclaimed English short-story writer of the 20th century, was born in New Zealand and died at the young age of 35. Her collection of work consists of many outstanding short stories that delve into the intricacies of human nature and psychology. A notable feature of her stories is her skillful use of […]

Robert Frost’s poem The Vantage Point tells of a man who is lost in the world of people so seeks refuge in nature. A vantage point is a viewpoint from which someone is able to see a wide range of things. The vantage point in the poem is where the man goes to watch the […]