Beaming Notes
Your Guide to Literature
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
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
Critical Analysis of The Ballad of Father Gilligan: As the title of this poem suggests, it is a ballad. It tells a simple story that could have had its origin in folktales and legends. It also uses a rather uncomplicated rhyme scheme. Most importantly, it uses the story to teach its readers a pleasant lesson.… Continue reading Analysis, Central Idea and Theme of The Ballad of Father Gilligan: 2022
The publication details of this poem are unknown. However, what we do know for sure is that it is one of the typically Yeatsian poems. It does not refer to his system of symbols at all. Neither does it hark back to the Irish past. No revolutionary thoughts have gone into this poem. It is… Continue reading The Ballad of Father Gilligan: Summary: 2022
Critical Analysis of ‘For Anne Gregory’: “For Anne Gregory” is both a sweet and a scathing poem. It is sweet, for it makes us privy to the kind of lovely conversation the poet could have with the young girl Anne Gregory. This is proof of his intimate relations with the family of Lady Gregory. The… Continue reading Analysis, Central Idea and Theme of ‘For Anne Gregory’: 2023
About the poet: William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland on 13th June 1865. He was the son of a well-known Irish painter, John Butler Yeats and also learned painting as a teenager, but soon found that it was poetry that he preferred. Yeats was involved with the Celtic Revival, a movement against the cultural… Continue reading Summary of For Anne Gregory by W. B. Yeats: 2022
To Sleep: Analysis An address to something as mundane as sleep is an unusual subject matter for poetry. And yet, Wordsworth is able not only to compose a lyrical piece on it but also to hold his readers’ attention to the subject using his inimitable style. When he begins by describing the peaceful, pastoral scene… Continue reading To Sleep: Analysis: 2022
“To Sleep” is a direct address by the poet, Wordsworth, to the sleep that often eludes him. It sounds as if it is coming from an insomniac who knows the true value of sleep. About the Poet: William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet. Along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he helped to inaugurate the Romantic Age in English literature with the joint… Continue reading To Sleep: Summary: 2022
Critical Analysis of The Tyger: It is hard to understand whether “The Tiger” is about the tiger itself or about God. The answer is not in the content of the poem but in the title of the collection from which it is derived. The tiger exemplifies experience as opposed to innocence. According to Blake, man’s… Continue reading Analysis, Central Idea and Theme of The Tyger: 2023
