Stanza College Essays Samples For Students

Insrtuctor’s Name

It is truth universally acknowledged that the theme of the human’s choice has always been popular with the poets and writers. It is not surprising that Robert Frost, an iconic American poet, addresses it in his most famous and most quoted poem, The Road not Taken (“The Norton Anthology of Poetry” 1232-1233). In spite of the widely spread opinion that the poem raises the problem of “being an individual” or “taking a different road from the masses” (Fagan 293), I strongly believe that the poet’s major intention is to emphasize that no matter what choice we make ...

An African-American writer, Nikki Giovanni, wrote the poem under consideration. She was born on June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is important to note that she has won numerous awards for her work as a poet, writer, educator and activist. People refer to her as the new voice of African Americans (Nikki Giovanni). This particular poem represents a remarkable piece of writing due to several reasons: it clearly has no rhyme, it is quite long and it has an unusual structure. Visually, one perceives the lines of the poem as steps of some stairs. In terms of the ...

Tennyson, “The Eagle”. Discussion Question: How is the solitary eagle’s strength emphasized in the first stanza? Does the reader “join” the eagle in the second stanza? How or how not?
The reader joins the eagle in his dive in the second stanza through the metaphorical comparison with a thunderbolt. Captivated by the bird’s masterful and exact description in the first part of the poem, the reader has no choice but to follow the eagle’s majestic fall towards the water. This is also achieved by the personification of the predator, as the author uses pronouns “he”, and “ ...

“Courage” features in Anne Sexton’s eighth and last original poetry collection, The Awful Rowing Toward God, published by Houghton Mifflin. This collection was published in 1975, a year after her suicide (biography). In “Courage,” Sexton takes the reader through four stages of life, using a sequence of symbolic metaphors to illustrate the courageous ways in which humans counter adversity.
Sexton uses the enticing title “Courage” as a theme that she then goes on to explain in the poem. In the first stanza, the “it” is courage and the examples of courage are listed after “it.”
“Courage,” contains four freeverse ...

Emily’s Dickinson “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” is a six stanza poem that talks about the narrator’s experience with death. This essay focuses on the third stanza of this poem, which provides a vivid description of the voyage in the company of Death. Although the entire poem reflects contrasting perspectives between life and death, this particular stanza is special because it captures the discrepancy between the two, while creating a harmony.

“We passed the School, where Children strove

At recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –”
This four line stanza is written in ...

As I Walked Out One Evening

Concerning iambic pentameter, the poem only meets these requirements part of the time. For example, during lines like, “Walking down Bristol Street,” one could say it is akin to iambic pentameter, as the first syllable is quick, and the second long. However, most of the lines, like this one, “I heard a lover sing,” at the beginning of stanza two, does not meet the requirements at all. Therefore, the poem could not be a sonnet.
Typically the rhyming words are not forced or obvious, but instead rather subtle despite the fact that they do indeed obviously rhyme. For example, “ ...

Most like an arch this marriage

A poem by John Ciardi a true testament to a matrimony. Shown through symbolical prism of architecture it depicts the way marriages work in most precise way. In sixteen lines, the author describes the theme so well, showing us his true mastery.
Looking closer at the technical aspect, the poem consists of four quatrains. Being the most widespread type of stanza, it underlines the traditional side of the theme discussed. The enclosed rhyme wraps the middle two lines between the first and the last, and rhyming them by pairs. This makes the reading not as fluent as if it ...

The poem, Money, by Dana Gioia, talks about a subject that preoccupies the hearts of many. She describes the many names used to refer to money and at the same time gives the different emotions that money elicits. Gioia describes the satisfaction that is derived from money, while at the same time, brings out the frustration that lack of it or misuse can breed. Her poem is full of descriptions and comparisons, using common money-language that is identified with many people. Through diction and figurative language, Dana Gioia communicates and infatuated tone and conveys the theme that money is ...

Both poems express the griefs of speakers who have lost their loves, discuss the similarities and differences in the methods of these poems and the ideas they suggest.

Both ‘The Raven’ and ‘Annabel Lee’ deal with the speaker’s memories of a loved one and both, perhaps necessarily because of their subject matter, reveal an obsession with death. Poe, to a certain extent, uses similar methods in both poems and yet the tone and mood of each poem is rather different, and, this essay will argue, the effect on the reader is different as well.

Both poems make extensive use of ...

Abstract

The basic principle of Marxist criticism is that society is divided in social classes that are in an antagonist relation, wherein the rich and strong exploit the poor and weak. In this sense, Walt Whitman’s poem “A Noiseless Patient Spider” does not reflect the exploitative relation that Marx sees as representative for society, but he rather describes the society of one, hence an atypical society. The solitude, isolation and desolation are feelings that appear throughout the story, so the reader can understand that possession, or a high social status is not as important as companionship, or when one ...

In this paper I chose to write on the song “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman. I ultimately chose this song because I had a three-way tie going between it and “Hurt” the Johnny Cash version and Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah”. As much as I love “Hurt” I felt that it may be a bit too dark for this assignment. I chose not to do “Hallelujah” because this is only a three-page paper and I tend to get obsessed when I analyze that song. So I am looking at “Fast Car” which in my opinion is one of ...

The poem "Warning" is a sensational sonnet which communicates feeling to portray something. The ballad depicts the life of old individuals which is not usually entertaining. Old individuals act like kids in light of the fact that the fun is not there anymore. They should take after social standards so individuals can acknowledge them. They can't make the most of their life since they become more seasoned and they are not as solid as youngsters. Through the lyric, Jenny tries to tell individuals that despite the fact that obligations and responsibilities must be complied, individuals require a period to ...

There can be no denial about the fact that poetry has immense power to inculcate the masses with the revolutionary thoughts that have the potential to bring out the immoralities or shortcomings of the society. The literary artists grip over the form of art to appeal to the readers of their poetry and incite their minds with the revolutionary thoughts that have the capacity to bring change in the society or the system. As such, one can look into specific texts that embody this passion of subversive attitude. The paper aims to explore the potential of the form of ...

The poem “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold was written in nineteenth century, when the new era of industrialization and progress began and the usual world started to change. The social order and values became more dependent on the historical processes of Victorian era, while the religion and faith faced crisis. The historical background of the author caused the focus of his poetry on the themes of decay, alienation and depression. Facing the changes that were happening, seeing how two absolutely different worlds clash have stimulated Arnold to write “Dover Beach” that expresses the attitudes and moods of English population ...

Comparison of W.H. Auden and John Dryden
One of the differences in the stylistic choices of the two poets is the use of rhyme. In his elegy, John Dryden employs a rhyme scheme after every two sentences throughout the poem.

Thus Nisus fell upon the slippery place,
While his young friend perform'd and won the race.
O early ripe! to thy abundant store
What could advancing age have added more?. (Dryden)
As seen in the first six lines of the poem, every two sentences maintain the same rhyme scheme. John Dryden employs an intricate and deliberate choice of words ...

The “Ave Merris Stella” is a pure, sacred hymn was produced by the “Guillame Dufay”. This beautiful hymn is about 600 years old. The form of this hymn is Strophic in nature and display the medieval mode. It is such an incredible piece of music as one can feel that how it would sound in the Cathedrals of the Middle Ages, because of its unique acoustics.
This hymn is an excellent display of the Early Renaissance “Style” and “Sound”. The start of Dufay’s setting of “Ave Maris Stella” displays the use of fauxbourdon. The initial and the last ...

To His Coy Mistress – Poem Explication

In the Andrew Marvell poem “To His Coy Mistress,” the speaker is attempting to woo a woman who does not return his advances. His ultimate argument, told over three stanzas, is that life is short and they must make the most of it.

The first stanza focuses on the man’s desire to explore every aspect of their love throughout all time, if they had it. The opening phrase “had we but world enough and time” is the most well known of this poem, and has entered the cultural lexicon as an expression of the lament that that we do ...

Analysis of the poem “To His Coy Mistress” By: Andrew Marvell

The poem “To His Coy Mistress” By: Andrew Marvell is a lyrical poem. It can also be classified as a metaphysical poem which is a brief, intense meditations employing wit, irony and elaborate comparisons. The speaker is requesting that the coy lady yield to hi passion. The poem is split into three radical parts. The first stanza describes the writer’s great feelings of love for a young lady. The second stanza shows how time is fading very fast by using words like “fading of beauty and death.” The third stanza presses the question to the mistress whether she will accept the writer’ ...

‘Safe in their Alabaster Chambers’ is unusual because a version of it was published in Dickinson’s lifetime on March 1st, 1862 in The Springfield Republican. However, the punctuation was changed, the unorthodox use of capital letters was rectified and the lineation was also changed (Sewell 489). The editor was keen to publish more poems in the following winter, but Dickinson refused, reluctant perhaps to allow her poems to be changed so radically. This poem also exists in different versions – as Dickinson kept returning to it and re-drafting it. The version that is being used for this paper will be ...

In the poem “Easter Wings” by George Herbert, form is used effectively to convey the mood and attitude of the poem. It is a religious-themed poem, in which the speaker is praising God for His gifts to man and the world. At the same time, it discusses the frailty and fragility of mankind, as he ages and loses more and more. The grace of God, however, helps man to overcome these obstacles and “feel this day Thy victorie.” (line 18)

Herbert makes use of carmen figuration in order to properly convey the message of the piece; shaped verse like this ...

Thesis: Through a first person speaker, Collins uses language, imagery and form to convey his theme of lonely, one-sided love.

Introduction
First person speaker
Failing relationship
Speaker still in love
Language and Imagery
“boat rides” etc
“sometimes” and “more often than not”
Form and Rhyme
Free verse
Occasional slant rhyme
5. Conclusion
“The Breather” by Billy Collins is an interesting poem which conveys the theme of lonely love. Not that many poems cover the darker, isolated side of love, and this could be partly what makes this poem so memorable. Collins uses a seemingly mild-mannered, pensive speaker to narrate the poem, which creates a contemplative, conversational tone for the reader. Conversational language and imagery are also noticeable throughout, allowing ...

When unpacking poetry, readers should make themselves aware of the multiple denotations words may have, especially words that feel very familiar. Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” stands as a perfect example of why this practice is crucial in gaining the entire meaning of a poem. After realizing how the words “rosebuds” and “flower” potentially mean more than just their botanical connotations, the reader discovers a deeper understanding of the poem, noticing a shift in the speaker’s audience, the poem’s tone, and the speaker’s character. Ultimately, the poem reveals itself to ...

Audre Lorde’s Litany for Survival and James Baldwin’s Letter to my nephew fall into different literature categories. The first work is a poem and the second is an article written in the form of a letter. But these writings have several similarities.
First, both works were created by African-American writers. They also address the same topic of marginalization and people’s reaction to this process. Authors made similar comments about the anxiety caused by the destruction of usual environment. “When the sun sets we are afraid it might not rise in the morning” (Lorde, n. d. l. ...

Langston Hughes Poems

Life is not just a perfect picture with all puzzles joining together at once. One time it opens you the door of paradise, but other one throws you to the chasm of disappointment and loneliness. If people learn to find joy in every day and keep on going in spite of any life troubles, they will reach beautiful destination and create their own happiness. Only the most courageous ones, who are ready to follow their dreams and run the risk, will definitely choose the quickest and easiest path in the fascinating life journey.
Dreams of course can not magically ...

The relationship between a son and his father is usually complicated. Even though society pushes people to believe that it should always be rose colored, reality is often otherwise. Theodore Roethke had a very complicated link to his father, who died when he was only a teenager. He portrayed this connection in many of his texts, including his poems. In keeping with his true emotions, and those of many others, he did not present a cut and dry position with regards to he who had given birth to him.
There is evidence, like his use of the word papa, ...

Mid-Term Break is a lyric poem written by an outstanding Irish poet and playwright Samuel Heaney. The poem is autobiographical as it is written in the first person, so the narrator coincides with the author and is a participant of the described events. In his real life Samuel Heaney got over a death of his little brother that formed the basis of Mid-Term Break. The author seems to be reserved about his own feelings, that is why the poem is full of polysemantic words (with several meanings), symbols and contrasting situations that are aimed to to convey the feelings ...

Living for the moment, sensing the present while engaging in the living of the current time is the central theme of Marie Howe’s “The Moment”. The poem is entrenched in the modern world, where time flies carried away by a multitude of tasks that should support the living, but end up by capturing the entire human existence. There are specific literary devices that the poet uses for accentuating the idea of living in the present, some of them being the alliteration, repetition and metaphors. With the use of these literary devices, spread across two stanzas, the theme of ...

On Prison Reforms

Initially, between the sixteenth and seventeenth century, prisons were not meant to punish offenders. Rather, they were the holding places in which the people who dared to break a law and social norms remained until their due punishment. In other words, if one were to steal of murder, he or she would go to prison and wait for trial after which, based on the type of crime, the punishment would ensue. From whippings to executions, the kinds of sanctions in the years leading to prison reforms were swift. Accordingly, prisons lacked any form of order and were mostly poorly ...

Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes are two great American poets who were concerned with the future of America. In the poem “I Too (Sing America)” Hughes describes a segregated and not perfect America, a world divided by color rather than ideas and freedom. Whitman imagines a brighter future of America in the poem “One Song, America, Before I Go”. Both poems describes and yearns for a better human experience in America. This papers seeks to examine and explore the depiction of America as a place with the potential for freedom and equality. It further explores the treatment of the ...

In a letter from Emily Dickenson to “Austin”, Dickenson writes of her difficulty in writing, afterward focusing instead on her identity as a sister, rather than a writer. It seems interesting that a woman who was so outspoken, in general, and willing to embrace her ideas is willing to rely on her brother both in terms of getting her the prescription she needs, and as it relates to his judgement regarding what is best with her father. He voice in the letter is also interesting because it is familiar. While a formal letter would refer to individuals by their ...

The following paper will examine three different poems that focus on family. These three poems each allow the audience to find the value of parents and children in the lines of the poems. In order to better appreciate the importance of parents, children, and family the poems will be discussed in detail to convince the reader of the strong message about family that is delivered by the writers of the poems.
The first poem, “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden tell a tale of a hard working father that is not appreciated for the tiring work he puts in ...

What I especially enjoyed about htis poem is its comic and sarcastic tone. The title ‘Cinderella’ leads us to expect a poem that deals with the world of fairy tales and a vaguely medieval setting, but Sexton achieves humor by defeating our expecatations in the first four verses. The first four verses reveal a recognisably modern world and this creates humor – modern details are juxtaposed with a very well-known fairy tale. In each of the first four stanzas Sexton describes a rags-to-riches story. Someone who is poor and unimportant, by a simple twist of fate or by hard work, becomes rich and successful. But each ...