Limericks by Edward Lear

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!'


There was an Old Person of Ischia,
Whose conduct grew friskier and friskier;
He dance hornpipes and jigs,
And ate thousands of figs,
That lively Old Person of Ischia.


There was an Old Man in a boat,
Who said, 'I'm afloat, I'm afloat!'
When they said, 'No! you ain't!'
He was ready to faint,
That unhappy Old Man in a boat.


There was a Young Lady of Hull,
Who was chased by a virulent bull;
But she seized on a spade,
And called out, 'Who's afraid?'
Which distracted that virulent bull.


There was an Old Person of Ems,
Who casually fell in the Thames;
And when he was found
They said he was drowned,
That unlucky Old Person of Ems.


There was an Old Man who said, 'Hush!
I perceive a young bird in this bush!'
When they said, 'Is it small?'
He replied, 'Not at all!
It is four times as big as the bush!'


There was a Young Lady of Russia,
Who screamed so that no one could hush her;
Her screams were extreme,
No one heard such a scream,
As was screamed by that lady of Russia.


There was an Old Person of Ewell,
Who chiefly subsisted on gruel;
But to make it more nice
He inserted some mice,
Which refreshed that Old Person of Ewell.


There was an old man in a tree,
Whose whiskers were lovely to see;
But the birds of the air,
Pluck'd them perfectly bare,
To make themselves nests on that tree.


Edward Lear

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas



Analysis:

Rhyme:
  stanza 1 to stanza 5 - aba
  stanza 6 - abaa

This poem is the author's views on aging and death. From the title, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" has already showed that he believes we should all fight until the end and not give in to death.

"Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

The "dying of the light" in here is a metaphor to death. The word "rage" is not a pleasant word and this is likely to refer that the author belief in death; even though the journey might be painful but we need to do whatever it takes to stay alive.


"Though wise men at their end know dark is right,   4
Because their words had forked no lightning they   5
Do not go gentle into that good night."   6

The second stanza (above) says the wise men knew death is something that everyone has to go through at some point in life, but because they knew the end is dark, so their journey would not be gentle.


"Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

The third stanza seems to describe the perspective of life from the "good" men. In the first line of the third stanza the poet used the words "crying how bright" and in the second line, the words "danced in a green bay". From these phrases, the "good" men seem satisfied of their current life, and are optimistic about the different things that happen.



"Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night."

This fourth stanza is describing people who waste their time and life when they were young. When they finally   realize the meaning of life, they are already on their journey into the "night".


"And you, my father, there on that sad height..."

When we finally get to the last stanza, we then realize that this poem is addressed to the poet's dying father. "There on that sad height" is a metaphor to a place near heaven (a stage near death).Throughout the poem, the poet's tone was heavy and strong, but in the second line of the last stanza, Thomas used the words "bless" and "I pray". Both of these words reflect a certain degree of passiveness, which contradicts with his main point, "do not go gentle into that good night".

Music I Heard With You

Music I Heard With You

Music I heard with you was more than music,
And bread I broke with you was more than bread;
Now that I am without you, all is desolate;
All that was once so beautiful is dead.

Your hands once touched this table and this silver,
And I have seen your fingers hold this glass.
These things do not remember you, beloved,
And yet your touch upon them will not pass.

For it was in my heart that you moved among them,
And blessed them with your hands and with your eyes;
And in my heart they will remember always,
—They knew you once, O beautiful and wise.

Conrad Potter Aiken


Analysis:

This is a quatrain poem with rhyming second and fourth lines in each stanza.

Music I Heard With You describes the memory of a person's love. Personally, this poem describes an aged person thinking about their deceased husband or wife.


"Now that I am without you, all is desolate;
All that was once so beautiful is dead."

He/She is now alone, thinking about their wonderful times together in the past.


Music I heard with you was more than music,
And bread I broke with you was more than bread;
...

Your hands once touched this table and this silver,
And I have seen your fingers hold this glass.

The lines above shows the details of their life in the past; listening to music together, sharing bread, and sitting together by the table. These activities may seem insignificant, but to the main character of this poem, they are sweet moments that could never come back again. This poem shows that if you love someone deeply, you will remember every detail of them even when they're gone. Memories will last a lifetime. 

The World Is Too Much With Us

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;

The winds that will be howling at all hours,

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;

For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;

Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

William Wordsworth


Analysis:

"Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours..."

This sonnet addresses the importance of nature.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

 

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,

And Mourners to and fro

Kept treading - treading - till it seemed

That Sense was breaking through -

And when they all were seated,

A Service, like a Drum -

Kept beating - beating - till I thought

My mind was going numb -

And then I heard them lift a Box

And creak across my Soul

With those same Boots of Lead, again,

Then Space - began to toll,

As all the Heavens were a Bell,

And Being, but an Ear,

And I, and Silence, some strange Race,

Wrecked, solitary, here -

And then a Plank in Reason, broke,

And I dropped down, and down -

And hit a World, at every plunge,

And Finished knowing - then -

 

 

 

Emily Dickinson