Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African American writer of sixteen collections of poetry, four collections of short stories, and four novels (Miller 393). ... He speaks or slavery, rebellion, misery, and freedom in his poems and short stories. ... He got a job, which bored him enough, that he began to write poems and short stories. ... He was entertained as a child with stories of the plantation houses which clearly had something to do with his poetry because he seems to write a lot on the slave days on the plantation houses. It is said that Dunbar played an important ro...

• Word Count: 1623
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Maya has taken her struggles and transformed them into inspirational poems and stories that reflect her ability to overcome adversity and make it in a world where the white male supremacy reigned. ... "When one considers that Angelou has been a short order cook, a waitress at a nightclub, a madam in charge of her own house of prostitution, a nightclub dancer, a prostitute, and the lover of a drug addict who sold dresses for a living, it becomes apparent that the range of characters whom she encountered during this period of emotional and social upheaval were indeed limited to the declassed e...

• Word Count: 1347
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

As exemplified in this poem, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" (recited by an actor), Dickinson focused on themes relating to death, eternity, and love, usually in short four-line stanzas. ... Edgar Allan Poe- The short stories and poetry of 19th-century American Edgar Allan Poe reflect the writer's haunting imagination. Poe, one of the earliest masters of short story writing, created the first detective stories. ...

• Word Count: 1931
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

The figures on the urn, such as the lovers beneath the tree, tell the story more eloquently than words and they speak to all languages and cultures. ... In his short lifetime, Keats became apart of his poetry by becoming all of its characters in one aspect or another. ... The value of Harry Potter lies in the story and its relevance to today's society. ... These are the main stepping stones in the basic plan of a story in the "quest" genre. The fact that this remains constant in many stories is one factor in their enduring qualities. ...

• Word Count: 1253
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

"Siren Song" is fairly short poem that grabs the reader's attention quickly. ... Toward the end of poem shorter sentences are incorporated. The long sentences and choice of punctuation draw the reader into the poem a lot quicker than short sentences would. ... There is no constant meter in "Siren Song," and it flows more like a story in paragraph form rather than like a poem. ... In actuality, that line contradicts itself for the reason that learning this song may be wonderful for a short moment but it will eventually lead to death, according to the myth. ...

• Word Count: 1751
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

We see where this poem mimics the story of Demeter and Persephone and where the mother knows that she can't save her daughter where Dove writes: She swallowed, sliced into a pear, Speared each tear-shaped lavaliere And popped the dripping mess into her pretty mouth. ... In the story of Demeter and Persephone, Persephone is kidnapped by Hades. ... We also have gone over a more light-hearted poem with advice to the world, simple short and sweet. ...

• Word Count: 1294
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

"The Odyssey" is closed to the story of the hero and centers its plot around the theme of a journey, highlighting Greek culture particularly pertaining to heroism. ... Just as Whitman bounces from topic to topic, story to story, all the while employing a use of free verse, so too life is free flowing, never resting in the moment but always moving onward. ... In The Sounds of Poetry, Robert Pinsky writes, "Common sense suggests that long lines are more likely to be end-stopped while shorter lines are more likely to involve enjambment" (Pinsky 26). ...

• Word Count: 1717
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography

Although the poem is short in length, it has a great meaning behind it. ... There's also a radical distinction between the motion felt from reading a story and the emotions stimulated by poetry; the former is derived from the incident, and the latter from the use of feeling. ... Although Hughes" poem is short its historical references add to it's portrayal of poetry. ...

• Word Count: 1645
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Certainly one of the most unique poets to write life's story through his own view of the world and with the ambition to do it was Walter Whitman. ... In short, Whitman lived trough the nation's heroic age, at a time when people had to be (or seemed to be) a little more than life-size to accomplish all the deeds they undertook. ... In short, it looks as though Whitman's haunting figure will remain a presence in American literature he will be lurking there, waiting to see if the "poets to come" live up to his expectations expressed in the "Inscription" poem addressed to them: I...

• Word Count: 1688
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Das tells us the story about how her oldest son Bobby was a product of an affair with a friend of her husband friend. ... One last way that literary merit is portrayed in this short story is that it is thought provoking. ...

• Word Count: 1594
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The third decade of the twentieth century brought on more explicit writers than ever before, but none were as expressive as Anne Sexton. Her style of writing, her works, the image that she created, and the crazy life that she led are all prime examples of this. Known as one of the most "confession...

• Word Count: 1368
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Lola Ridge was a poet and champion of the working class. Born by Rose Emily and Joseph Henry on December 12, 1873, in Dublin, Ireland. When Lola was twenty-one she married Peter Webster. Peter was a gold mine manager. Lola's marriage failed so she moved to Sydney, New South Wales. She enrolled in Tr...

• Word Count: 1344
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Poetry is a form of art that is used to put the author's emotions and stories on paper. ... This was a short four line poem that shows what poetry can do that no other form of writing can do; say so much by writing so little. ...

• Word Count: 1276
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

"Several of [Rita's] poems focused on black issues, but still she did not write them so much as an outcry of injustice, but as a story to be told."" ... In short, "...Dove's poetry is not about being black, but about being alive."" ...

• Word Count: 1934
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry, and is also known for his engagement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing, as in Montage of a Dream Deferred. ... He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language itself. ...

• Word Count: 1896
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In short, they lived their lives in complete darkness, with no joyful moments of childhood other than the joy created by their young, innocent minds. ... The effect of using a simple language and a simple form is a clever way of emphasizing that the story is told from a child's point of view, yet with the depth of an underlying message. ... Lambs are looked upon as innocent, and in certain stories (especially biblical), they are commonly used for sacrificial purposes. ...

• Word Count: 2076
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry, and is also known for his engagement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing, as in Montage of a Dream Deferred. ... He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language itself. ...

• Word Count: 1930
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

When asked about an autobiography in an interview, Angelou stated that she thinks about what she writes and derives it off her experiences: I have an idea that the books are very much like the Everyman stories so that there is greed and kindness and generosity and cruelty, oppression, and sloth. ... Through Angelou's unique balance between imagery, allusion, and repetition, she is able to make a masterpiece off of a short and simple poem. ...

• Word Count: 1766
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Best known for bringing the Imagist Movement to America during the age of Jazz, Amy Lowell also brought forth an undeclared sexual revolution for poetry in America. Born into a wealthy family of scholars in Brookline, Massacusetts she resided on 200 acres of land and was home schooled. In fac...

• Word Count: 2108
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School