LitAide

 The poem was written by Wilfred Owen, a distinguished poet and foremost, a soldier of the first world war.  The poem alludes to a biblical "parable", which refers to a short religious/morality-based story. The biblical character of Abraham climbs to Mount Moriah along with his son, Isaac. It is the command of the Almighty that Abraham shall offer his firstborn, i.e. Isaac as a sacrifice at Mount Moriah. Abraham doesn't flinch at this unusual and pitiless command, but as he begins to undertake this act, an Angel appears and points to a ram and says that it could be offered as a sacrificial gift in place of his son, and thus Isaac's life is saved. Owen amended the parable and compares it to mass death and destruction due to the erstwhile first world war (1914-19). The poem begins with Abraham and Isaac approaching near their destination, Mount Isaac. Abraham carries a knife and a fire with him. Isaac is done with the preparation of the sacrifice and his asks his father...

Nissim Ezekiel, known as the father of modern Indian English poetry, wrote "The Patriot" in an Indianized English. The poem doesn't seem British in style and diction. In fact, there are a lot of Hindustani words used in the poem to give a native and humorous taste. It can be said that it is written keeping in mind of the English-speaking Indians. The poem satirizes Indian conventions yet the narrator is ready to embrace Indian culture and its diversity. The narrator hails and supports the Gandhian principles of peace and non-violence. He is fed up of all "fightings" (conflicts) sprouting in the world. He criticizes people who ignore Mahatma Gandhi and his principles. The narrator then proclaims the "Ancient Indian wisdom" and its authenticity. He takes a jibe at the modern generation's tendencies featuring nothing but excessive flaunting of fashion and imported items. He reveals that he reads Times of India to improve his English language skill...

The narrator notices a crow at his window, cawing exactly three times. It exhibits sinister look in its eyes and posture. It stares the narrator in an awkward manner like it is trying to say something to him. He compared it with "a nagging woman" who dominates with her personality and voice wherever she goes. The crow's cawing of exact three times hints the narrator that a visitor is going to come over his house. In Indian culture, there is a belief that a crow's arrival marks the arrival of a guest. Believing it, this knowledge of a coming visitor keeps looming in his head while sleeping. He begins to prepare his house to make way for a visitor. The idea of having a guest prevents him to be attentive to his "muddy clothes". He knows that he will have to compromise on his own terms with the choices or preferences of the guest. The narrator waits all day for his upcoming visitor. He thinks about the belief and wonders if the visitor would be "an angel in...

Keats reveals that in his journey, he has travelled in some of the most prominent and prosperous cities and kingdoms of the world. There, he also meets many poets who have the grace of Apollo, the Greek god of music and poetic inspiration. He has heard that the great poet, Homer, author of Odyssey and Iliad resided in this great land (ancient Greece). Keats couldn't believe if this land belonged to the bard. It doesn't have "pure serene". Only when he read George Chapman's translation of Homer's work, he comes to imagine the glory of the work and the ancient place which it represents. George Chapman was a 16th-century playwright and a translator. His realization is just like an astronomer when he discovers a new planet. He resembles himself like Hernan Cortez (establisher of Mexico city) when he first envisages a land beyond the Pacific and take a brave step in seeking this land and afterwards this land hosts people from other lands. Keats' fascination...

The poem narrates the story of a newly-wedded bride in her own words who tells about the incidents of her wedding night and the following day. The wind blew heavily that day and the next day witnessed too the same weathering phenomenon. This blowing of the wind symbolises the passion arisen in the heart of the bride. On her wedding night, she is with her husband and then someone knocks the door to call her husband and he leaves his bride alone in the light of "candlestick". It is raining and she felt stupid upon his husband's act of leaving her alone on their wedding night. After his return, he tells her the reason for his departure i.e. their horses were growing restless and he had to tame them. She sarcastically feels that on her special day, every man and creature should be as happy as her husband. For any girl, the wedding is the most special and anticipated day of her life. She wishes to love her husband and receive the same in return. The next day, the newly-wed...

"Church Going" is written by Philip Larkin, a Movement poet. He was a prominent English literary figure of the second half of the twentieth century. In this poem, the poet wrote about the disillusionment of the church and its calming mysterious atmosphere despite its unworthiness. Stanza 1 The narrator visits a church whenever he finds that no one is inside or nothing important is going on in the church. In other words, he wants to be alone and reflects in the church. Perhaps, people might find him there and he doesn't want them to know it. From the beginning of the poem, it seems that he is an atheist who doesn't believe in Christ, but still, he goes to the abode of the god. He describes the interior of the church and things kept there - "little books", "brownish flowers". "Another church" shows his indifferent attitude towards this holy place. An "unignorable silence" prevails there for a long time. He enters the church ...

Stanza 1 The narrator heard the sound of blowing trumpet in a ballroom. It draws his attention and he visits there to watch the show. All the dancers in the room are under the age of twenty-five. They are dancing in couples on the jubilant beat. Stanza 2 He can feel the nervousness caused by the presence of beautiful girls there. The question of entering the ballroom and attending the dance party or being out there bewilder the narrator. In the party, the presence of female sex attracts and cheers him. He points out that the couples dancing in the room are happy in their pursuit. But, at the same time, he disagrees with this thought. He found it "sheer inaccuracy". Stanza 3 One person who prefers to go to the dance party says that he is present there only for Art, a "rough-tongued bell" fascinates him. The narrator makes a point that he is also an individual and he and other people can hear the sound of that unusual bell. It can't be the sole reason for s...

The poem is written by Larkin after reading about an incident of a rape of a girl. He used a rape victim's statement from a magazine named "London Labour and the London Poor" of the 1840s as an epigraph.  Larkin feels the agony suffered by the victim and consoles her. The narrator consoles the rape victim and supports her in her worst encounter with hell itself. He says that he can feel her agony even this far from her. He can imagine the ordeal which the rapist put her through. It was a sunny day when she was raped and the place where she was raped was near the road which has a lot of hustle and bustle with vehicles moving continuously. The narrator wants to highlight this fact that her chastity was destroyed under broad sunlight, no one came to her rescue. It is not possible for her to forget that day, she is unable to cast out the memories of her worst nightmare. The stark daylight when she was raped forbids the scars to heal. She was so devastated that her mind is ...

The poem "Next, Please" written by Philip Larkin has both literal and symbolic meaning which sends a philosophical and realistic message to the readers. It makes a criticism on our unrealistic expectations. The poem uses a recurring rhyme scheme of aabb throughout the poem. According to the poet, in our long pursuit of leading a happy and desirous life, we inculcate some unsound habits in our character. We are always too hopeful about the coming future and we add various fantasizing expectations to it. We long for better prospects in future. It doesn't matter what we say as "something is always approaching us; every day" whether it's acceptable to us or not. The poet finds this common human nature quite absurd and it seems to us that he is a pessimist but we should note that he is a  practical man. The narrator standing on a bluff (a high steep bank), watches a fleet of ships arriving towards the shore. He finds them too slow, wasting precious time. He...

The poem "To the Cuckoo" is written by William Wordsworth, the famed Romantic poet who is also known as Nature poet. The poem is all about the admiration of Cuckoo bird and how its voice affects positively on the poet. It cheers the mood of the poet and takes him to his childhood memories. It again confirms Wordsworth's known love for nature. It has eight-stanza with a recurring rhyme scheme of abab. Wordsworth addresses the Cuckoo bird and praises its lovely voice which fills him with joy. He calls it a "wandering Voice" because it sings its song wherever it goes. Cuckoo flies from hills to hills mesmerizing the landscape with the song. He can hear the bird's voice while lying on the grass. It occurs to him that the cuckoo is communicating with the valley of sunshine and flowers but it also arises visionary tales in his mind, for hours he sit and visualize. For Wordsworth, the cuckoo is not just an ordinary bird, he finds something mysterious in th...

The poem “The Tables Turned” hails the philosophy of “back to nature”. Wordsworth instructs his friend and perhaps the readers to learn from nature itself, it has more wisdom than the books we read which will only make us “double.” Everything a human being needs is already present in nature — good health,wealth and peace of mind. Even the great sages lag behind the Mother Nature in terms of possession of wisdom. Our human intellect, by overhauling and transforming the exquisite surrounding into something of his own choice, is destroying what truly nurture and relieve us. In a sort, Wordsworth was an environmentalist in his days, he was very ahead of his age, a foresighted being. Wordsworth's well known love for Nature and rustic arena is visible in the poem. His denouncing of the books may strike a chord in the readers' mind, particularly children's. Children, see now, why Wordsworth is your friend? The speaker addresses his friend and urges him to stop reading books....

Wordsworth remembers John Milton, the famed Puritan literary master who is also known as "man of thought" during his age. The poet believes that England, his country is in dire need of Milton at the time. England has become "a fen of stagnant waters" It has lost all her ancient glory and inherent joy. Britons have become selfish and immoral. He pleads with Milton to return to his motherland and instill the old virtuous temperament in people in again. He praises Milton and calls his soul "a star" who lives far from the material people of England. His voice was majestic and magnanimous like the sea (simile). According to Wordsworth, Milton's voice is pure and unusual. Despite being a special person he is, Milton still walked and lived among common men in his pious way. He pulled the duty of reforming British people on himself.

The poem was written by William Wordsworth on 3 September in 1802 standing on Westminister bridge. Unlike his other poem where he sings his hymn dedicating to nature, this poem is the praise for the urban life and its features of London. Explanation The narrator says that the view in front of him is undisputably exquisite and the person who is not moved by such sight must be soulless. The city i.e. London in the narrator's words, "wear the beauty of the morning." Here Wordsworth uses metaphor to describe the morning as a garment for the city. As the morning symbolises freshness and quietness. The man-made objects like ships, towers, domes etc. are laid open to the sky. The freshness in the "smokeless air" makes the atmosphere "bright and glittering" i.e pleasant. The first sunrays of the day falling on the earth looks charming. Rivers too flow with its own slow pace.  All these mesmerizing visuals make the narrator filled with serenity. Som...

The poem "To his Mistress going to bed" written by a noted metaphysical poet, John Donne. It deals with the poet and his mistress's sensuous act in their bedroom. The poem is a love poem in which the poet cherish the features of the female body. He urges his beloved to shed all her clothes which conceal her exquisite naked figure. He considers all these clothing as an obstacle which prevents him from reaching his beloved. Throughout the poem, he attributes the lady as a tressure. Explanation The poet asks his beloved to come as it's bedtime for her. His manly strength is eroded by excessive rest and he intends to "labour" i.e to test his strength otherwise it will be a waste. When an enemy faces his opponent on a battlefield, it's difficult for them to just stand and watch their enemy without a fight. He requests her to remove her girdle (a women garment). He employs a simile by comparing the girdle with the "glistering" heaven zone but the...

The poem "The Good Morrow" written by John Donne is a love poem and features the strong love between Donne and his beloved. In Donne's view, all other pleasures are nothing in comparison to love and being in love is the ultimate awakening. He takes pride in finding his beloved who is no less than the whole world. He finds other enterprises in this world futile. Donne employs the rhyme scheme of ababccc recurring in each stanza. The phrase "were we not weaned" is a metaphor for an infant who had not left the practice of sucking of mother's milk. "Seven Sleepers’ den" is an allusion referring to seven men who hide in a cave for three hundred years. "two better hemispheres" is a metaphor pointing to Donne and his beloved. Explanation Stanza 1 Donne wonders what he and his beloved have been doing all those years before falling in love. He speculates that they were satisfied with little pleasures of life like an infant preoccupied with...

The poem "Death Be Not Proud" is written by John Donne, a noted metaphysical poet. It is a sonnet, a fourteen-line poem. In the poem, Donne challenges death to restrain from boasting of its might against mankind. He refuses to bow before the might of death and emphasizes the death's usage of dirty tricks to kill people. He gives reasons to prove his points and conclude that death, in the end, will die. The poem employs the literary devices of conceit. Death is personified. Donne uses metaphor to compare dying with "short sleep". The rhyme scheme of the poem is: abba abba cddcae. Explanation Donne reprehends death for his pride of being mighty and creating fearfulness among people. The death might think that it can bring down anyone it claims. He ridicules Death by saying that it can't neither eliminate them nor him. Death is helpless. "Rest and sleep" symbolise the picture of the death. They are the desirable activities for men so death is not drea...

The poem "The Canonization" written by John Donne, the leading metaphysical poet of the Elizabethan age. The poem reflects the poet's defence of his love against all sorts of bad happenings in the world. The title refers to the Christian religious act of admitting a dead person into the line of saints. But the subject matter doesn't reflect the religious pursuit of the narrator instead it discusses the power and piousness of romantic love of the narrator and his beloved. The poem depicts the highness of love over other things, Donne believes that his love can achieve the blessings of God and attain canonization and legacy. Donne uses his signature styled literary device of conceit to show how lofty and tall his love is. He employs the recurring rhyme scheme of abbacccaa. Explanation Stanza 1 The narrator scolds his companion, perhaps his friend for interrupting him in between his love-making. Instead of it, he can mock his physical disabilities and shortcoming...

The poem "The End and The Beginning" is penned by a Polish author named Wislawa Szymborska who was a Nobel laureate for Literature in 1996. The poem depicts the impact of a war on the affected region and upon its inhabitants and huge destruction and problems it causes. After the end of every war, native people have to work hard to clean the mess and ruins caused due to this violent business. People must clean the roads blocked by rubble so that the vehicles carrying corpses can pass through. Someone has to work through sludge and pick all the trash including sofas, shards of glasses, blood-stained rags. Weak and damaged walls need to to be repaired and the windows need new glass to be fitted into it. The doors have to be set back into its frame. During the war and just after it, a lot of media coverage reached the region so as to make an exclusive story out of this and show the situation to the outer world. As there is a universal fact that negativity gets the maximum att...

The poem presents a vivid yet eye-opening description of an elementary classroom in poverty-stricken slums. He gives us an clear imagery of the children living away not just from the luxury of life but also the basic amenities. Through the poem, Spender makes a satire on the system where these children have no bright future The faces of the children sitting in the classroom reflect a bleak picture of their degraded health and undernourishment. As the poet says that these children's faces have a squeezed faces unlike a healthy child's puffy and round face, their hair seems to him "rootless weeds" and their skin is pale due to. sickness. In the classroom, a tall girl seated with her head down, a skinny boy with "rat's eyes" due to undernourishment, another one suffering from a hereditary disease of his father's recites a lesson from his desk. In the classroom marked by the gloomy conditions of these kids, among them is an unusually sweet and young ch...

The poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tiger" was written by Adrienne Rich, an American poet. The poem subtly reflects the burden of a woman due to the responsibilities and duties of married life on her. A woman has to handle the family and adapts herself to her husband and everything there. The poem begins with the narrator describing the "chivalric" and bright yellow-coloured tiger walking like a royal king upon its green world i.e. forest. These tigers are not afraid of human beings who sit beneath the trees. They just roam there in their care-free and elegant gait. The Tigers the poet is talking about are not real tigers, they are the creative work of Aunt Jennifer who used her sewing and pattern designing skill to create them on screen i.e a cloth. Aunt Jennifer's fingers faint while pursuing her hobby. Now she has a hard time even pulling the needle. Perhaps, it's due to her mental and physical fatigue of carrying out the marriage and its demands. The wor...