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The world of Old English Literature underwent a radical upheaval due to the invasion of the new French Language and culture, which was an aftermath of the Norman conquest of 1066, which set into motion a very different trend of life and literature in the island of Brittany. The influence of the Norman culture, especially… Continue reading The Influence of the Norman Conquest in English Literature: 2022

Critical Analysis of The Eve of Waterloo: Among the Romantic poets of the 19th century, certain things are to be found in common. For example, their work often contained ethereal descriptions of nature. Also, they were all more or less influenced by current events, such as the French Revolution and the wars fought by England.… Continue reading Analysis, Central Idea and Theme of The Eve of Waterloo: 2022

Critical Analysis of The Nightingale and the Glow-worm: In this poem, the poet tells us a story with a moral. However, he envisions a very noble role for the poet. He feels that the poet should be responsible for more than just teaching his readers a lesson. He should also indicate to them where that… Continue reading Analysis, Central Idea and Theme of The Nightingale and the Glow-worm: 2022

About the poet: William Cowper was born on November 26th, 1731, in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The poet’s mother died when he was six and Cowper was sent to Dr. Pittman’s boarding school, where he was routinely bullied. In 1748, he enrolled in the Middle Temple in order to pursue a law degree. In 1765, he… Continue reading Summary of The Nightingale and the Glow-worm by Cowper: 2022

Critical Analysis of Sympathy: In this poem, Charles Mackay describes one incident, and two contrasting outcomes to that incident. Through this contrast, he shows how charity can be of two types. The first type of charity consists of providing financial help to the disadvantaged. This is the kind of charitable activity that is performed by… Continue reading Analysis, Central Idea and Theme of Sympathy: 2022

The publication details of this poem are not known. However, what we do know about it is that its form is rather innovative for its time and that its message is one for all times. This poem describes a single event and two outcomes of that very event. Therefore, it provides multiple endings to the… Continue reading Sympathy: Summary: 2022

The Ball: Analysis This poem can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically. If taken literally, it is a soulful picture of a little boy growing up and learning to deal with the loss of the first thing he has ever held dear. If taken metaphorically, it is the story of mankind learning to deal with… Continue reading The Ball: Analysis, Central Idea, and Theme: 2022

About the poet: John Berryman was born John Smith in McAlester, Oklahoma, on 25th October 1914. He taught at many American universities, ending at the University of Minnesota. In his writing, Berryman was influenced by Yeats, Auden, Hopkins, Hart Crane and Ezra Pound. In his early work like Poems (1942) and The Dispossessed (1948), he displayed great technical control in poems that… Continue reading Summary of The Ball Poem by John Berryman: 2022

The Echoing Green: Analysis This poem can be interpreted in many ways. The first interpretation relies on the fact that this poem was included in Blake’s poetry collection known as The Songs of Innocence. Hence it should not surprise us that the green is a metaphor for innocence. Children play here in the lap of… Continue reading The Echoing Green: Analysis: 2022

“The Echoing Green” (also spelled as “The Echoing Green” in Blake’s original manuscript) by William Blake was published in 1789 as part of his celebrated collection of poetry entitled Songs of Innocence. The Songs of Experience was published in 1794 as a follow-up to Songs of Innocence. The two books were then published together under the merged… Continue reading The Echoing Green: Summary: 2022