The Eagle, by Alfred Tennyson

the poem is written in rhyming triplets. Both stanzas are a series of three rhyming lines, The rhymes are formed from simple, one-
syllable words. . "The Eagle," though, has only four feet. That iambic pentameter always hogging all the attention
The meter of the poem consists primarily of iambs: He clasps/ the crag /with crook-/ed hands
The eagle holds on to a cliff with claws that look like "crooked" or deformed human
He clasps the crag with crooked hands; hands(The poet describes nature in reference to humans ) The eagle is holding on
super-tight to the rock . (the first line features alliteration using the harsh, hard "c" sound) .
The eagle is really high up there, and all by himself. So far up that it appears to be near the
Close to the sun in lonely lands, same height as the sun. "Lonely lands" is another example of alliteration. It's also an unusual
way to describe a high rock surrounded by sky.
• The eagle is surrounded by blue skies. The blue sky forms a "ring" or circle around
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
the eagle. "Azure" is a kind of deep, bright, beautiful blue color
"stand" sounds like another projection of human qualities on to the bird.
In the second stanza, the setting shifts to the eagle's viewpoint. He watches the puny
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
waves "crawl" towards the shore
He watches from his mountains walls, The eagle swivels its head from side to side, up and down.
And like a thunderbolt he falls. A moment later, we see a feathered shape drop off the crag and hurtle toward the sea below.
SETTING : A sunny day on a tall seaside cliff near the Pyrenees Mountains in Southern France.

winter by William Shakespeare

in two stanzas- the meter of this poem is going to be iambic tetrameter, which means there will be four iambs
long O sound in "frozen" and "home" is an example of assonance. •The rhyme scheme: ABABCCDEF, where each letter
represents that line's end rhyme sound. So, line 1 rhymes with line 2, line 2 with line 4, and so on. • The staring owl
"nightly sings" a song that goes "Tu-whit, to-who." (an example of alliteration in the song)
when there are icicles, and a dude named Dick (It's just a generic name for some
imaginary shepherd ) guy trying to warm his hands, , and another dude named Tom
When icicles hang by the wall,
carrying logs ( Tom is probably carrying logs for a fire in the fireplace that is in the hall
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
It's winter, so fire is necessary for warmth.) and frozen milk (When whoever milks the
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
cow brings the pail of milk home, the freezing cold weather, well, freezes it), and
And milk comes frozen home in pail;
blood is cold(As for blood being nipped, "Nipp'd" just mean cold, or sometimes even
When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul,
"frozen". ) and bad roads ("ways" just means roads, or paths; they are "foul" because
the terrible winter weather makes them icy, muddy, )
well, then an owl sings out (some owl stares at things every night ("nightly")) when
it's winter time and does his best The (Voice audition) the poet calls the owl's "Tu-
Then nightly sings the staring owl, whit Tu-who" a "merry note," Perhaps, too, this is meant to be ironic. Owls are cute
"Tu-whit, to-who "! — but you wouldn't say that if you were a mouse would you? Eh, probably not.
A merry note, And finally some woman stirs a pot. (like Dick and Tom, this is most likely just some
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. generic rural name.) The "greasy" part may refer to the fact that she's clearly in the
kitchen she is cooking ) she's stirring the pot ("to keel" once meant "to stir "

what is the significance of the owl here?

though, it's fitting that, during such a cold, miserable time, a bird of prey should be out and about. What better time for an apex
predator to prey on little mice and bunnies than in the dead of winter? winter is making life really hard for people. They need
fires, the roads they want to travel are no good, etc. The same is not true for the owl, though. He's hanging out and singing. The
point is, humans and animals are different, or rather the seasons affect them differently.
 I WANDREDED LONELY AS A CLOUD, THE DAFFODILS, BY william WORDSWORTH 1770-1850
• The speaker describes how he walked around and felt as lonely as a cloud. •
"Wandered" means roaming around without a purpose, It's more likely, the
I wandered lonely as a Cloud
speaker is projecting his own loneliness on the clouds, clouds usually travel in
That floats on high o'er vales and Hills,
groups, the cloud could be lonely because it floats over a natural
landscape(hills and valleys) with no people in it.
Suddenly ("all at once"), the speaker sees a group of daffodil flowers. he uses
When all at once I saw a crowd, the more majestic-sounding "golden". "crowd" is associated with groups of
A host, of golden Daffodils.; people, while "host" is associated with angels, because people often refer to a
"host of angels."
He sees the daffodils beside a lake and underneath some trees. It’s a breezy
day, and the flowers "flutter" and "dance" on their stems. "Fluttering"
Beside the Lake, beneath the trees,
suggests flight, which could bring us back to the angels or even birds or
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
butterflies. "Dancing" is something that usually only humans do. The daffodils
are given the qualities of humans .
• The flowers stretch "continuously," without a break, like the stars in the
Continuous as the stars that shine Milky Way galaxy, each one gleaming like a star.
And twinkle on the milky way, • The comparison to stars provides new evidence that the speaker is trying to
make us think of angels or other heavenly beings.
• Like the Milky Way galaxy, the flowers are roughly concentrated in a line
They stretched in never-ending line that seems to stretch as far as the eye can see ("never-ending"). They flowers
Along the margin of a bay: line the shore ("margin") of a bay of the lake, which must be a relatively large
lake.
"ten thousand" dancing flowers at once. That’s a lot of daffodils. The speaker
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
is not actually counting, but just guessing. • The flowers "toss their hands"
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
while dancing to the wind.
• The waves also dance in the breeze, but the daffodils seem happier than the
The waves beside them danced; but
waves. Since waves do not bring as much joy as the yellow flowers, the
they
flowers "out-did" the water with their happiness. the (day that inspired this
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
poem was a stormy one)
Despite his earlier loneliness, the speaker now can’t help but feel happy, or
A Poet could not but be gay, "gay," with such a beautiful vision to look at.
In such a jocund company: • Or, as he puts at, with such joyful and carefree ("jocund") "company" to hang out
with. The flowers and waves feel like companions to him. They are all pals. Group hug!
The repetition of "gaze" tells us that he kept looking and enjoying at the flowers
for a long time., but doesn’t realize exactly how great of a gift he has just received
I gazed--and gazed--but little with this vision.
thought • Apparently, the speaker doesn't think that he fully appreciated the vision at the
What wealth the show to me had time. This is a bit odd, because he seems to be really enjoying those daffodils.
brought: • The word "wealth" expresses a more permanent kind of happiness. It also carries
a hint of money that does not quite fit with the supernatural language that has
come before.
he sets the scene: he often sits on his couch, kind of feeling blah about life,
For oft, when on my couch I lie with no great thoughts and sights. Sometimes his mind is empty and "vacant," like
In vacant or in pensive mood, a bored teenager sitting on the sofa after school and trying to decide what to do.
At other times he feels "pensive," which means he thinks kind-of-sad thoughts.
when our speaker gets in these downer moods, the image of the daffodils
They flash upon that inward eye "flashes" through his mind.
Which is the bliss of solitude; • The "inward eye" expresses what Wordsworth felt to be a deeper, truer spiritual
vision. and so it is a form of "solitude." But its truth and beauty make it "blissful"
And then my heart with pleasure When the memory of the flowers and the lake flashes into his head, he feels happy
fills, again. His heart is set to dancing, just like the flowers. He dances along "with"
And dances with the Daffodils them – they are his cheerful companions once again
Wordsworth espouses a philosophy similar to animism in this poem, in which the elements of nature are filled with
spirits. The poem is deliberately pre-Christian.
The setting :the poem recaptures a moment of April ,1802 ,when Wordsworth and his sister, Dorthy were walking near a
lake at Grasmere ,Cambria county , England .
-It is a lyric poem .
The meter creates a song like rhythm ,a rhythm to which daffodils might dance . The rhyme scheme is also simple:
ABABCC. The last two lines of each stanza rhyme like the end of a Shakespeare sonnet, so each stanza feels
independent and self-sufficient. This is called a "rhyming couplet."
The meter is iambic tetrameter, I wan|-dered lone|-ly as | a cloud - That floats | on high | o’er vales | and hills
Figures of speech:
_Alliteration ….lonely as a cloud , the repetition of l in in each word . high …hills ……when -----once.
-Simile ….as ….the speaker solitariness to that of a cloud . ( line 1).
-Personification : compaingcloud to a lonely human (line1) - metaphor ,comparison of daffodils to dancing humans

Spring - William Shakespeare

There are lots of different kinds of flowers busting out all over, "paint[ing] the
meadows" and making an all-around cheerful scene.
• Metaphor alert: Shakespeare is using a little figurative language here to
When daisies pied and violets blue emphasize just how brilliant and beautiful the colors are.
And lady-smocks all silver-white Some flower names, like ladysmocks and cuckoo-buds (another name for
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue buttercups), are likely unfamiliar. speaker helps us out by describing the flowers'
Do paint the meadows with delight, colors so we can at least picture
that.
•flowers have strong symbolic connections to things like femininity and beauty.
So, symbolically, this song is getting off to a powerfully feminine start.
The cuckoo then, on every tree, When the flowers bloom, when spring arrives in all its
Mocks married men; for thus sings multicolored glory, then cuckoo birds show up and sing their "cuckoo" song.
he, • Cuckoo sounds like "cuckold," which is an old term for the husband of an
Cuckoo; unfaithful wife.
Cuckoo, cuckoo: Oh word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!
• Stanza 1 follows a pretty strict rhyme scheme: ABABCCADD .
• The strong regular rhymes coupled with Shakespeare's beloved iambs, iambic tetrameter in this case, help make
"Spring" bounce along in a very spring-y, song-like way .
Rhyming Lines of Iambic Tetrameter:
The rhyme scheme in the first stanza is ABABCCADD: - the stanza 2 end words follow this pattern—ABABCCBDD:
 DOVER BEACH - By Matthew Arnold
Dover Beach” is a poem with the mournful tone of an elegy ( and thepersonal intensity of a dramatic monologue.
The basic meter for the poem is iambic and because the meter and rhyme vary from line to line, the poem is said to be in free
verse--that is, it is unencumbered by the strictures of traditional versification.
The setting of the poem, Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) wrote "Dover Beach" during or shortly after a visit he and his wife made to
the Dover region of southeastern England. in 1851. They had married in June of that year. Dover is a town famous for its white
cliffs, right at the narrowest point in the channel. The French town of Calais is just a little over twenty miles away, Dover is closer
to France than any other port city in England.
Theme : Challenges to the validity of long-standing theological and moral precepts have shaken the faith of people in God and religion.
Arnold was deeply religious, lamented the dying of the light of faith, as symbolized by the light he sees in “Dover Beach”
He remained a believer in God and religion, although he was open to—and advocated—an overhaul of traditional religious thinking.
. This first line gives us two simple, basic facts. It's nighttime, and the sea is calm.
The sea is calm tonight. this line sets a very particular tone. The words are short and clear. There's no
activity, just stillness and simplicity. the first line was self-contained, a complete thought in itself.
It's high ("full") tide, the moon is out, and it's beautiful ("fair").this line makes the reader want to
know where the moon lies fair, or how. To find out, you have to continue to the next line. That
The tide is full, the moon lies fair poetic technique, where a sentence is broken up across more than one line, is called enjambment.
• The line takes a pause here, the little break in the middle of the line (marked by the comma)
between two complete phrases.This trick is called a caesura, and it divides the line into two parts.
the moonlight is shining on a narrow body of water ("the straits"). The speaker tells us that he
Upon the straits; on the
can see across the strait to the coast of France. He's on the coast of England, looking out at the
French coast the light English Channel, which separates England from France.
Suddenly the light that he saw shines out and then disappears. ( alliteration, it "Gleams and is
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of
gone.) When the light in France disappears, the speaker looks back at his own coast.
England stand,
Here he sees the famous white cliffs of Dover, which are shining in the moonlight out in bay.
Glimmering and vast, out in the
• And once again we've got a the break in line 4. See how the line pauses at the semicolon,
tranquil bay.
and then the speaker turns to a new thought? Yep, that's another caesura.
We learn that the speaker is in a room with a window .) he's talking to someone
who with himhe wants him or her to come to window to smell the "sweet" air.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
• The tone of the poem is still really calm. Adjectives like "tranquil" and "sweet"
establish a relaxing, comforting mood .
The speaker draws our attention to the edge of the water.Instead of looking at the beautiful
Only, from the long line of spray
landscape as a whole, we're looking at the specific point where the sea meets the land. And
Where the sea meets the moon-
check out that vivid image of the "moon-blanched land." Blanched means "whitened" —we
blanched land,
might say "bleached." The bright moonlight can make the whole world look white
Now the speaker tells his companion (and us) to change the frame, to use one of our other
Listen! you hear the grating roar senses. The harshness of the word "grating" might be a little surprising, since there's nothing
relaxing about a grating sound. It seems that the atmosphere of this poem is changing.
Of pebbles which the waves draw The "grating" sound from line That comes from the sound of Those little rocks are being
back, and fling, pulled out by the waves as they go out, and then thrown back up on the beach ("strand" is
At their return, up the high strand, another word for beach or shore) when the waves come back in.
The grating sound of the pebbles starts, and then stops, and then starts again.
Begin, and cease, and then again begin, The speaker has a fancy way of describing this rhythm of the ocean. He calls it a
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring "tremulous cadence slow ". "Tremulous" means shaky or trembling. "Cadence"
refers to the rhythm of that repeated sound.
This isn't just a temporary sadness, either. It's "eternal." Our speaker clearly thinks that the
The eternal note of sadness in. music of the world has an endless sadness built into it. • We think the word "note" is pretty
key here.it makes us think that the sound of the world is something like music .
Figures of Speech
Alliteration Examples 1: to-night , tide; full, fair (Lines 1-2); gleams, gone; coast, cliff; long line;which the waves; folds,furled
Assonance: tide, lies
Paradox and Hyperbole: grating roar of pebbles
Metaphor: which the waves drawback, and fling (comparison of the waves to an intelligent entity that rejects that which it has captured )
Metaphor: turbid ebb and flow of human misery (comparison of human misery to the ebb and flow of the sea )
- The Sea of Faith (comparison of faith to water making up an ocean )
- breath of the night-wind (comparison of the wind to a living thing )
Simile: The Sea of Faith . . . lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled (use of like to compare the sea to a girdle )
- the world, which seems / To lie before us like a land of dreams (use of like to compare the world to a land of dreams )
Anaphora: So various, so beautiful, so new (repetition of so)
- nor love, nor light, / Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain (repetition of nor).
Parallel Structure Example: The tide is full, the moon lies fair (first stanza); So various, so beautiful, so new (fourth stanza); Hath
really neither joy, nor love, nor light / Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain (fourth stanza )
Rhyming Words Examples: to-night, light; fair, night-air; stand, land; bay, spray; fling, bring; begin, in(first stanza )

"PEACE" by George Herbert

George Herbert's "Peace" is a lyric poem in the form of an allegory. The poem focuses on a religious theme. It was first published
in 1633 in a collection of Herbert's poems entitled The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations .
Themes
Peace Through Christ : the main theme is stated symbolically : Only Christ, symbolized by the bread of the Eucharist, brings peace.
Quest :The speaker of the poem is on a quest. He is seeking peace.
Feet and Meter
The feet are iambic. The meter includes dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, and pentameter.
1- iambic pentameter (line 1 ) .........1.......................2.......................3..................4..............5
Sweet PEACE,..|..where DOST..|..thou DWELL?..|..I HUM..|..bly CRAVE.
2- iambic dimeter (line 2 ) .....1...............2
Let ME..|..once KNOW
3- iambic tetrameter (line 3) .......1................2...........3..............4
I SOUGHT..|..thee IN..|..a SE..|..cret CAVE
4- iambic trimester (line 4 ) .........1.................2...................3
And ASKED..|..if PEACE,..|..were THERE
5- iambic tetrameter with an incomplete final foot Line 10 contains an incomplete foot (catalexis .)
....1................2..................3............4
I WILL..|..search OUT..|..the MAT..|..ter

Summery : The speaker of the poem addresses Peace as a person

Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell? I humbly crave,
Let me once know.
I sought thee in a secret cave,
And asked if Peace were there.
A hollow wind did seem to answer, “No,
Go seek elsewhere.”
I did, and going did a rainbow note.
“Surely;’ thought I,
“This is the lace of Peace’s coat;
I will search out the matter:’
But while I looked, the clouds immediately
Did break and scatter.
Then went ¡ to a garden, and did spy
A gallant flower,
The Crown Imperial. “Sure,” said I,
“Peace at the root must dwell.”
But when I digged, I saw a worm devour
What showed so well.
At length I met a reverend good old man,
Whom when for Peace
I did demand, he thus began:
“There was a prince of old
At Salem dwelt, who lived with good increase
Of flock and fold.
“He sweetly lived; yet sweetness did not save
His life from foes.
But after death out of his grave
(personification), asking where he dwells.
The speaker says he sought Peace in a cave(Perhaps a symbol of esoteric (
knowledge, or science ) but failed to find him there.
Afterward, he sees a rainbow(Symbol of gaudy finery (clothes, jewels, etc.)
that people buy to achieve contentment . )and examines it to find Peace. But
the rainbow disappears when the clouds break up. Next, he looks in a garden
and beholds a crown imperial(Symbol of kingly power and authority ), with its
downward facing bulbs, and believes Peace
is at its roots. But when he digs, he finds only a worm(Symbol of forces that
eventually undermine earthly power and authority . ) .
.......Later, he meets an elderly clergyman and asks him where to find Peace.
The man then tells him a story .
A prince(Christ ) once lived at Salem (Jerusalem is derived from the Hebrew
Yeru (Jeru), foundation or city, and shalayim (salem), peace. Jerusalem thus
means foundation of peace or city of peace. ), he says. "He sweetly lived," the
man notes, but his enemies took his life. From his grave twelve stalks( it
representsThe Twelve Apostles ) of wheat grew.
This wheat spread throughout the earth after those who ate of it discovered
that it contained a special virtue. This virtue could eradicate sin and bring forth
"peace and mirth ".
.......The clergyman says this same wheat grows in his garden. "Take of this
grain," the clergyman tells the speaker, and make bread (The Eucharist ). It is in
this bread that peace exists
Figures of Speech
Alliteration
I sought thee in a secret cave (line 3)
- At length I met a rev'rend good old man (line 19)
- I did demand, he thus began (line 21 )
Apostrophe
Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell? (line 1 - The speaker addresses Peace.
 There sprang twelve stalks of wheat; Metaphor
Which many wondering at, got some of those -I did, and going did a rainbow note:
To plant and set. - Surely, thought I ,
- This is the lace of Peace's coat (lines 7-9)
“It prospered strangely, and did soon disperse
- Comparison of the rainbow to lace
Through all the earth,
For they that taste it do rehearse - There sprang twelve stalks of wheat (line 28)
That virtue lies therein, - Implied comparison of the Twelve Apostles to wheat
A secret virtue, bringing peace and mirth Personification :
By flight of sin Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell? (line 1)
“Take of this grain, which in my garden grows, The speaker addresses Peace as if it were a person.
And grows for you;
Make bread of it; and that repose
And peace, which everywhere
With so much earnestness you do pursue,
Is only there.”.

"Virtue" By George Herbert (1593-1633)

The process of measuring verse is referred to as scansion.( ‫) التقطيع العروضي‬
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,

The bridal of the earth and sky;

The dew shall weep thy fall to-night,

For thou must die.

Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave

Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye;

Thy root is ever in its grave,

And thou must die.

Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,

A box where sweets compacted lie;

My music shows ye have your closes,

And all must die.

Only a sweet and virtuous soul,

Like season'd timber, never gives;

But though the whole world turn to coal,

Then chiefly lives.

 The sick rose, by William Blake(1757-1827
The sick rose :The poem is validly read as being about a rose that has been attacked on a stormy night by a cankerworm.
The rosehad always been a symbol of feminine beauty and of love, as well as of sensual pleasures.
“Bed” can refer to a woman’s bed as well as to a flower bed.
“Crimson joy” suggests the intense pleasure of passionate lovemaking as well as the brilliant beauty of a red flower. The “dark
secret love” of the “invisible worm” is more strongly suggestive of a concealed or illicit love affair than of the feeding of a
cankerworm on a plant, though it fits that too.
For all these reasons the rose almost immediately suggests a woman and the worm her secret lover — and the poem suggests the
corruption of innocent hut physical love by concealment and deceit.
The worm is a common symbol or metonymy for death;
In Blake’s poem the rose stands for something beautiful, or desirable, or good. The worm stands for some corrupting agent.
The poem opens with the speaker addressing the rose and tells us that the rose is sick.
The speaker describes an "invisible worm" that flies. can also fly when it's raining.
• We don't know what this worm is doing in the poem or even what kind of worm it
O rose thou art sick
is. An invisible worm that can fly may be it is some kind of butterfly.
The invisible worm,
• the speaker has found the rose's bed, this "bed" is ambiguous. It could be just a place where the
That flies in the night
rose sleeps that happens to be "crimson".
In the howling storm
• It could also be a "bed" of something, like a "bed of roses"or something else that's red. This would
Has found out thy bed
make the rose a gardener of some kind.
Of crimson joy :
•The speaker tells us that the worm's "love" kills the rose.
And his dark secret love
• "Dark secret love" could mean three things. It could mean the worm's love, as in
Does thy life destroy.
"My love for you will never die".
• It could also refer to something that the worm loves, as in, "Hello, my love, I'm
home". • It might even refer to the act of making love
FORM AND METER . "The Sick Rose" uses a strange meter called anapestic dimeter, meaning that,
An anapest is a three Syllable foot that has two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable,
as in line 7 : And his dark /sec-ret love .