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...

Salome is the name of the woman associated with the responsibility of ordering the beheading of John the Baptist; Duffy reimagines the story with a new take on her motives and in a new time environment. Though it is called ‘Salome’ the poem’s point of view is not revealed at...

Heaney’s message in Mother of the Groom consists in revealing a rather touchy theme of emotional duality. The poem shows the mixed feelings most parents feel when their children get married. Alongside joy and happiness, the uncertain feelings penetrate the parents’ hearts on a wedding day. The poem is a...

Though many writers romanticize the mythology of the past, Sylvia Plath is not among them. Instead, she rebelled against the romanization of myth and highlighted its darkest aspects. In Lady Lazarus, for instance, Plath compares her narrator to a Phoenix, rising from ash. Yet, while many would suggest that this...

Romantic poetry is often associated with emphasis on imagination, great focus on nature as a source of poets’ inspiration, expression of individuality, and importance of childhood. This turns out particularly true if we think about the poetic legacy of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. Dickinson’s emphasis on imagination, typical for...