Meaning in poetry is created from the reader making the connection between the literal and the metaphorical, and in doing so, "reading between the lines." At first glance, Yeats" poetry may seem to be merely spontaneous emotion, however, after close literary analysis, it is clear that Yeats" poetry is often fairly systematic and reveals an assortment of reoccurring ideas. When analysis of Yeats" works is undertaken, especially when discussing Yeats" ideas and thoughts expressed through his poetry, it is often useful to consider the context of the poems. ... These regularly reiterated ideas are...

• Word Count: 823
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Feminine liberation, a concept which secedes much of Plath's poetry is explored in the final stanzas of 'Lady Lazarus'. ... In this case, he uses familiar images to provide a significant analysis of Plath's tendency in conflation of her oppressive father and her later husband. ... The poem describes the entangled images of Plath and Hughes created in Sylvia Plath's poetry. It uses Otto Plath's familiar character to explore the power of Plath's poetry to subvert realistic standards of guilt in 'A big shock for as much of your Prussian backbone/Can be co...

• Word Count: 2183
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In Emily Dickinson's "There's a certain slant of light," the poet provides yet another glimpse into her world of patriarchal oppression and the overall entropy of the seasons. In this poem, even light is oppressive – the contrast between light and dark is shown to be quite close to the contrast between life and meaning. Through her use of descriptive imagery, syntax and form, Emily Dickinson takes a short poem and manages to eke a tremendous amount of meaning out of it, likening light to the reminder that death will be upon us eventually. Dickinson's level of d...

• Word Count: 562
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Kenneth Slessor is commonly regarded by many to be the best Australian poet of his generation, perhaps all time. His poem "Sleep" can be interpreted mainly in one of two ways. One could see it as a personification of sleep, or depiction of childbirth. The poem's textual integrity allows for both interpretations to be supported through techniques founded within the text. Each stanza within the poem provides evidence to support either interpretation although; Slessor may be using one of the said meanings as an analogy for the other. ...

• Word Count: 684
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate