Poetry > W Poetry

Advantages: insightful visionary inspired
Disadvantages: cryptic if you're thick

Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an enlightening piece of literature. Blake is a visionary well ahead of his times in his opinions on sexism, racism, individualism, religion, free love, sexuality, equality, unity etc etc. Blake was inspired by the old testement and christianity but his views were so radical and controversial that he was ostriced by the christians of his time. Songs of innocence and of experience reflects this in many of its ...
...cryptic man and although his songs had their lullaby appeal they also had something very deep and very serious to say. if you've ever wondered about the progression of man from a basic animal with simple needs to the complicated creature living in a metropolitan world abiding by rules, working for the rat race, then you'll identify with this collection of songs and you have to read it. if you only ever read one poem from this collection make it ... Read review

Advantages: very good poem with a hidden meaning
Disadvantages: some words/lines are hard to understand

...wrote over 33 poems. Disabled is just one of his great poems. It was written in 1917 (when he was aged 24) and he wrote it when he visited a hospital during WW1. The poem is dedicated to another war poet called Jessie Pope. Disabled is a poem about a soldier in a hospital who has no legs and possibly got one/two arms. So Wilfred Owen would have been in one of these hospitals in Britain. The title itself is negative, so this may mean that the poem ...
...is a victim of war. He has no legs and arms “sewn short at elbow.” Owen shows that the soldier is a victim because he says he waits for dark. This means that the soldier waits for night, so he can sleep and forget about his disability. Then there’s an image of young boys playing in the park. The boys are echoes of his youth because he’s jealous as he can’t do anything no more. He can’t walk or play anymore. Then it says “Till gathering sleep had ... Read review

Advantages: ...
Disadvantages: May be in the wrong place!

A sensitive and influential poem, "Anthem For Doomed Youth" captures the underlying true aspects of war. The first hand account written by Wilfred Owen is a powerful indictment of war, in which Owen uses codes and conventions to construct meaning. The poem is written in a form of a sonnet. The octave deals mainly with sound images and good depiction of atmosphere, whereas the sestet is more heart-felt, with visual images to convey the sorrow of death. ...
...He establishes the seriousness and solemnity of his purpose by using the word "Anthem" which is an important sacred song. However, it has a touch of irony in it, as the word a"Anthem brings to mind a country's national anthem, which gives thoughts of hope and glory. There is no hope or glory in this poem. With the phrase "Doomed Youth" he believes the soldiers have no hope of survival, a whole generation are destined to die right from the outset. ... Read review

Advantages: his poetry can transport you
Disadvantages: none

...work, life and opinions. Three poems that I feel illustrate this idea very successfully include, “The Pity of Love”, “The Sorrow of Love” and “When You Are Old”. These three poems where also included in a special manuscript along with “White Birds” which Yeats gave to Maude Gonne as another expression of how he felt. Another aspect of Yeats’ poetry shows how, over time his actual attitude towards ...
...this poem as in other poems by Yeats, the idea of the weather is used centrally along with ethereal imagery to convey deep power, thus reflecting Yeats’ pain. The poem has also been described as a mystical encapsulation of Yeats’ insecurities over his beloved. This is also reflected in the idea Yeats conveys that Maude actually has a vulnerable frigidity toward his love, a fragile love. The actual language Yeats uses to convey these ... Read review

Advantages: It's Blake, He's wonderful! Fantastic Poems, Insightful, Prophetic, Meaningful, Cheap!
Disadvantages: It takes a while to read them all, but well worth it!

...few days ago when browsing the poetry I discovered there was no William Blake! This site is insane, I thought to myself… but upon several minutes of deep breathing and reflection I realised, ok, no big deal, I'll just make sure I damn well get it added! And I have to give a round of applause to Ciao for adding 3 categories under William Blake and the day after I suggested it too! My first opinion was very general, and now they've added a category ...
...So, here's my opinion on the "must reads" from Blake's complete works. There are hundreds and hundreds of titles in all, so obviously, I'm only going to pick the really spectacular ones. Auguries of Innocence - a very thought provoking and moving poem, (very long too) which includes revalations on natural life, on religion and on mysticism. Blake starts the poem with a visionary statement "To see the world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a flower, ... Read review