Why Study This Poem? Published in 1820, “Lamia” is not often included among Keats’ greatest poems, yet it is worthy of analysis nonetheless. Some have claimed that the poem lacks suspense and characters that are too uninteresting to garner widespread public attention, but I suggest that the message being conveyed...

Dorothy Parker's poem, "One Perfect Rose," is about being disappointed about the cliches associated with romance. In this particular poem, she receives a perfect rose, which is a symbol of love and desire. Although the rose is a perfect specimen, she is ultimately disappointed by it, wishing she would receive...

Sylvia Plath wrote the poem, “Daddy” in reference to her father’s death and how she coped with her bereavement and feelings about the life her dad lived. The writer of the poem used symbolism to describe her father and her thoughts about him. The most prominent symbolism in the poem...

On a first reading, the immediate striking quality of William Carlos Williams’ “Red Wheelbarrow” is the poet’s sparse and hyper-minimalistic style. The entire poem consists of four stanzas, each numbering only two lines, and each stanza containing only four words. This minimalism, however, seems appropriate considering the subject matter: Williams...

‘The Road Not Taken’ is a poem by Robert Frost which states that people come to make strategic decisions in life, and that at various points, the individual must be subject to fate. Understanding this poem requires the reader to understand the meaning of life, which the author helps the...