Improve your English by lending an ear

Leonard Norman Cohen (Montreal, 21 September 1934 – Los Angeles, 7 November 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, poet, writer and composer. Leonard Cohen is considered one of the most famous, influential and appreciated poet and songwriter; in his works Leonard Cohen explores themes such as religion, isolation, depression and sexuality, often turning to the individual. In this poem, as well as the song he created from the poem “Waiting for the Miracle“, Leonard Cohen tells the story of a man realizing that he has waited “half his life away” for some unattainable ideal, the perfect love. Finally coming to terms with the time lost, he realizes how he has failed to pursue opportunities and live life to the fullest in the ‘NOW’.

‘To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work’ Described by the New York Times as ‘far and away, [the US’s] best selling poet’, Oliver’s poetry and other writings have been tantalising imaginations since her first publication in 1963. Mary Oliver sadly passed away in January of this year but her writing lives on, breathing and renewing itself with every read. ‘Wild Geese’ is a poem which represents both freedom and community, themes that are often addressed as separate entities. Oliver has a way of connecting the ability to be one’s self with the significance of individuals coming together in unison. It is easy to be inspired by Mary Oliver’s artistic and honest observations of nature. Perhaps looking up and out of ourselves is the best way to understand what’s inside. How does the poem Wild Geese make you feel about your place in the world? Let me know your opinions in the comments below.

Sylvia Plath was an American poet and novelist, best known for her advancement of Confessionalist poetry as a genre through her collections, Colossus and Other Poems, 1960, and Ariel, 1965. Her only novel, The Bell Jar, is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story which illustrates a young woman finding her way through the world of fashion writing while battling with demons from her past, love and relationships, and recurring bouts of severe mental illness. Plath moved to England in 1959 with her husband and renown author and poet, Ted Hughes. Their relationship was tumultuous and holds a lot of speculation from supporters and critiques of each writer. Plath underwent several kinds of controversial mental illness treatment throughout her life including multiple episodes of electro-convulsive therapy. She continued to write until she tragically ended her own life at her home in Primrose Hill, London in February 1963. Mad Girl’s Love Song is a villanelle; A villanelle is a poetic form consisting of nineteen lines: five tercets and a final quantrain. The memorable rhythm of a villanelle is created by its ‘refrain’. This is the first and third line of the opening stanza, which are alternatively repeated as the final line in each tercet, coming together as the final lines at the very end of the poem. The rhyme scheme is ABA x5 ABAA. As with much of Sylvia Plath's poetry, this poem is confessionalist. In this vein, it is safe to assume that the speaker represents Plath and her personal battle with depression. Many religious references throughout the poem create a lofty and almost dissociated sensation, further impacted by the repetition in the villanelle. Her own beliefs, stated in a feminist essay critiquing the role of religion in oppression is felt within the poem, showing a force seemingly outside of the speaker’s control. However, the refrain shifts the power back into the speaker’s hands, as they ‘shut [their] eyes and all the world drops dead’, implying that the greatest powers and challenges are not external forces, but within the mind. What do you think of this poem? Have you read any of Sylvia Plath’s works? Let me know in the comments below.

‘Don’t Quit’ by Edgar Albert Guest is a simple poem about facing the difficulties in one’s life and persevering through them. Throughout ‘Don’t Quit,’ American poet Edgar Albert Guest uses simple language and diction to convey an inspirational message to readers. He spends the four stanzas asking readers to persevere no matter how hard their life is. It doesn’t matter what kind of situation one is in. One needs to work hard and never give in to the desire to quit. This is an inspirational poem that should inspire readers to work hard no matter how impossible a situation seems.In the first stanzas of this poem, the speaker admits that things are going to seem “low” at points in one’s life. One might want to be happy but also have to deal with negative circumstances out of their control. On these occasions, he says, “rest if you must, but don’t you quit.” As the lines progress, the speaker includes several vague descriptions of people who have struggled, quit without knowing how close they were to success. The poem ends on the same note in which it began, inspiring readers to stick through the fight even when “you’re hardest hit.”The tone is inspirational and determined. The speaker knows that life is hard, but through the lines of this poem, they are seeking to inspire the reader to persevere through the darkest times in their life. It is when things seem the worst that success is the closest.The central theme of this poem is perseverance. No matter what one is dealing with within their life, it is important to stay strong, confident, and not quit, no matter what the outcome seems to be.The purpose is to inspire readers to work hard throughout their life, no matter what situation they’re in. Even if they feel as though they are failing at everything they do, it is crucial to see through these failures and know that success is right around the corner.The speaker is unknown. They are someone who believes in the power of positive thinking and perseverance. If one works hard enough, then they are sure to succeed in every avenue of their life. The exact identity of the speaker is not essential for one’s understanding of the piece as a whole.

In ‘When Tomorrow starts Without Me’ Romano explores themes of love, death, and grief. Through an image of the Christian afterlife, the poet creates a monologue that explains a speaker’s death, his place with God, and tries to give solace to all those who have lost someone. The poem comes from the perspective of a speaker who is considering his own death. It is written not in fear of that death, but in order to soothe those who might cry when he’s gone. The speaker tells the intended listener/s that there is no reason to cry as he has simply gone to heaven with God and the angels.  The poem is a nine-stanza that is separated into sets of four lines, known as quatrains. These quatrains follow a rhyme scheme of ABCB, changing end sounds from stanza to stanza. There are a few sections of the poem where Romano chose to add additional end rhymes. For example, in stanza one lines one, two, and four all rhyme. A close reader can also find examples of internal rhymes, or rhymes that are inside the lines other than at the ends. For instance, “rise” and “eyes” in line three of the first stanza or “way” and “today” in line two of the second stanza.

What do you feel when you look at a tree? Do you feel connected to nature, or God? Have you ever wondered how something can be so majestic and beautiful and at the same time the primal reason for our survival or how the hue of its leaves changes constantly under the sunlight? It looks like a work of art. But who is the Creator? Let’s see what the poem “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer shows about it.The poem, “Trees”, follows a simple rhyming pattern, and a simple form suggesting harmony, order, and balance, yet it talks about something unfathomable as well.The poet has tried to convey to the readers that he shall never see, “a poem lovely as a tree”, suggesting that a human being cannot even write or create something as majestic or beautiful as a tree.“Trees” is a short poem, consisting of twelve lines, but it holds a lot of significance in terms of its meaning and message.The title “Trees” might seem simple, but it is after reading the poem that we realize its intensity. The poet has tried to connect us with nature, and most importantly tried to acknowledge the wonders of God. It depicts that, though the season has changed from summer to winter, the tree stands tall and prays as well by lifting its “leafy arms”. Joyce Kilmer has tried to keep the form simple, depicting harmony, balance, and order. But, several underlying themes describe the intensity of the poem. They include:Nature – the first and foremost theme that we understand after reading this poem is Nature. Throughout the poem, the poet has explained the beauty of nature, by focusing on a tree. Not just that, but he has also added several elements to this like, the earth, the sky, birds, snow, summer, and rain.Faith- The poet has displayed his faith in God, through this poem. In this poem, the poet has suggested that humans can never create something as majestic or lovely as a tree, which is a creation of God.Moreover, the poet has tried to compare human art and the divine creation of God throughout the poem, revealing that he is a “fool” to write a poem about his creation. The poet wrote the poem in the year 1913, during that time Kilmer’s daughter was stricken with poliomyelitis, and it was then that Kilmer turned to religious faith for comfort.The poem “Trees” was written soon after he converted to Roman Catholicism. He has tried to manifest and express all his faith through this poem. I believe that it is during the tough times that we look around us and not just see but start to feel, we look at nature and realize its beauty and how something so simple and yet so perfect can just be a creation of God.Moreover, we can also believe that maybe Kilmer had been affected by the Industrial Revolution, and therefore through this poem he has indirectly tried to convey that no matter what humans create or make, it is going to be nothing compared to the art and work of God.

Subtitled as ‘Brother Square-Toes’—Rewards and Fairies, the poem “If” is a masterpiece written by Rudyard Kipling. The great British poet who was born in Mumbai, India is best known for his novels The Jungle Book, The Second Jungle Book, and Kim. “If” is his most famous poem, and loved by people the world over. ‘If—‘ is an inspirational poem that provides advice on how one should live one’s life. The poem takes the reader through various ways in which the reader can rise above adversity that will almost certainly be thrown one’s way at some point.Throughout the poem, the speaker gives the reader multiple scenarios, both positive and negative, along with a glimpse into how one should conduct oneself. The poem has an almost mathematical proof about it with its if-then scenario. Kipling leaves the “then” until the final two lines, revealing to the reader that if he or she is able to do all that was just mentioned, he or she will not only have the world at his or her fingertips, but he or she will also be a “Man.” The poem “If” is a paean to British masculine rectitude and stoicism. The poem is structured in such a way that almost every line of every stanza of the poem starts with the word ‘If’. The poet is addressing his son in the poem, shedding light on his beliefs and conveying those to his son.The poem is directly addressed to the reader, in an attempt to open their eyes into believing in themselves. The poem’s speaker narrates the poem directly addressing the reader as ‘you’. In the first half of the poem, the speaker states that if you can keep focused while others lose their heads, if you can keep your patience and temperament while others lose theirs, and deal with not looking too good or talking too wisely; the poet stops, moving on to the second stanza.In the second stanza, the poet talks about dreaming but not letting those dreams cloud your reason, mentions thinking and simultaneously taking action. In the words of the poet he illustrates the following remarks such as, if you can deal both sides of triumph and disaster, if you can handle when other people twist your truth into despicable lies, or for that matter, if, you can turn the things from dead to alive again; before moving onto the latter part of the poem still not giving a concluding remark.The poet then states, if you can keep it a secret the fact that you bet all your winnings in one fell swoop ultimately losing it, if you have the willingness to hold on, when everything else fails, talk with kings without being pretentious, if you have the ability to handle foes and friends, if you see that men count on you but not too much for that matter, and most importantly, if you can fill every moment with ease, then you will have every tangible and intangible element that Earth offers.

Born in Dayton, Ohio in 1905 Mary Elizabeth Frye is forever associated with her one most memorable poem, Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep. She was orphaned at the age of 3 and grew up to become a florist and housewife. She had never written a poem in her life but the obvious heartache of a young woman who stayed with her, prompted Frye to put pen to paper.The woman, Margaret Schwarzkopf, was deeply worried about her ailing mother back in Germany but had been told not to return because of increasing unrest in the country, particularly against Jewish communities. Shortly after, Schwarzkopf’s mother died and she told Frye that she was heartbroken because she could not stand at her grave and shed a tear.The poem was written on a paper shopping bag, and Frye said the words just came to her, exploring the idea of life and death. The poem was shown to friends but was never formally published or given copyright but it has been read countless times at funerals around the world in the 70 years since it was written. Frye did write other poems in her lifetime, contrary to popular belief, but none were published and she is primarily known for these 12 simple lines of verse that have meant so much to so many people.Frye’s identity remained unknown for the best part of 60 years before she finally came forward as the author of the poem in 1990. Her authorship was later confirmed Abigail Van Buren a respected radio show host and columnist although there are some who still dispute that she actually wrote the poem. Frye passed away in 2004 at the age of 99.

On the 13th June 1831 James Clerk Maxwell was born in Edinburgh, at 14 India Street, a house built for his father in that part of Edinburgh's elegant Georgian New Town which was developed after the Napoleonic Wars. Although the family moved to their estate at Glenlair, near Dumfries, shortly afterwards, James returned to Edinburgh to attend school at The Edinburgh Academy. He continued his education at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge. In 1856, at the early age of 25, he became Professor of Physics at Marischal College, Aberdeen. From there he moved first to King's College, London, and then, in 1871, to become the first Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge where he directed the newly created Cavendish Laboratory. It was at the Cavendish, over the next fifty years, that so much of the physics of today continued to develop from Maxwell's inspiration. Modern technology, in large part, stems from his grasp of the basic principles of the universe. Wide ranging developments in the field of electricity and electronics, including radio, television, radar and communications, derive from Maxwell's discovery of the laws of the electromagnetic field - which was not a synthesis of what was known before, but rather a fundamental change in concept that departed from Newton's view and was to influence greatly the modern scientific and industrial revolution. One of the surprising things about about Maxwell is that, as well as being a great scientist, he was also a poet! If you would like to explore this aspect of his character then please download James C Rautio's digitized version of the Campbell and Garnet biography which includes a whole section on his poems.

Charles Bukowski [1920-1994] was one of the most famous of the American poets of his time. He was first published in his 20s., but gave up serious writing for the world of work and bars. He spent a lot of time roaming from job to job living in rooming houses from the East coast to the West coast before joining the United States Postal Service in Los Angeles. His life at that time bordered on insanity and death, two prevalent themes in his writing. The poem 'The Bluebird' by Charles Bukowski conveys the message that despite the hard exterior, inside a man, there is a persona filled with sentiment, emotions. The great vulnerability that men possess is oppressed under the social structure where tears are weakness and vulnerability is a disadvantage. I think it's the tough side of his nature that won't let the bluebird out because life is the pits and too many people are shitheads so he has to keep up the tough guy image, and it's also the image he's successfully cultivated ("you want to blow my book sales in Europe?") but he's more sensitive than he lets on, and he must have been right about that choice because nothing sells like success and he certainly achieved it!

"When I Have Fears" is an Elizabethan sonnet by the English Romantic poet John Keats and is a very personal confession of an emotion that intruded itself into the fabric of Keats' existence from at least 1816 on, the fear of an early death. The fact that both his parents were short-lived may account for the presence of this disturbing fear. This poem was written in 1818, only a few short years before Keats’ own death. It is primarily a poem about Keats’ fear of mortality, however in true Keatsian fashion, death is also the solution for more of what ails Keats. It would be prudent to remember that Keats’ poems have all, in some way, featured death; death of nature, death of love, death of memory, but death all in all. There are few poems, in fact, that does not reference the ending of things. This poem is effusive with imagery, sensual in its description of the fears that Keats possesses, and short. Keats runs the gamut from worrying about dying before he is famous, worrying about the death of his beloved, and then deciding that death itself is not such a terrible situation. Keats’ first worry is this: what if I should die before I have written to the best of my ability? It is not merely death, therefore, that worries Keats, but death in infamy – ironic, as he is now one of the most renowned names of English poetry. In fact, Keats was so sure that he would die without creating a ripple in the world of English poetry that his tombstone was made out to the one ‘whose name was writ in water’, thus showing the transience of Keats’ fame. He also feared that he would not be able to achieve his full capacity in terms of writing. He feared the limitations of his life. The use of fertility words – ‘gleaned, ‘garners’, ‘full ripen’d grain’ – subtly reinforces the idea of the artist’s creation and his mind as a fertile landscape. Keats views his imagination as a field of grain, wherein he is both the man harvesting, and the product is harvested.

In 29 words (and, given the repetitions, fewer than 20 different words!), William Blake makes a shrewd, unsettling observation, expressing it in a form that is, precisely, unforgettable. (You have memorized this poem, once you have read it.) Writing in the late 18th century, Blake observes something about sexual manners on a level that does not apparently change much with the centuries. Note that it is not gratification in the other, but the sight or appearance of visible gratification that each requires. This sight may mean bodily expression of what is within or it may signify a mere gesture or a feigning: the lineaments, says Blake, are what is required. Even the cold urgency of “require” is in contrast with the relatively innocent warmth of its rhyme “desire.” More monumental than mere cynicism, more wise than mere idealism, Blake’s poem shows how much can be done in a little space.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, (born Aug. 29, 1809, Cambridge, Mass., U.S. - died Oct. 7, 1894, Cambridge), American physician, poet, and humorist notable for his medical research and teaching, and as the author of the “Breakfast-Table” series of essays. This poem touches the heart of every reader. It is very important to note that this poem is not focused on any usual topic like love, hate or something else. It is well written on writing. The poet is explaining or you can say he is teaching the reader how to write. This poem is surely an inspiration for those who wish to write poem, stories or a book. Poet simply forces them to carry on their behavior. For this he gives ample number of examples as well. He tells why it is important to write and how life can change once you enter the field of writing. This poem is quite long but still never loses its tempo anywhere. The main aim remains same in all stanzas and the poem speaks on writing in miraculous way. The poet is explaining reader how they would feel when they will start writing something. People, out of business and do not want to spend time on pursuing their passion. But it is necessary to take out some time from this schedule and spend it feeling and doing things that really make you happy inside. If you follow poet’s saying then for sure you will realize how beautiful this life is and how happiness is there hidden inside this life. Poet suggests readers to give a beginning and to try writing. For this he says your writing can turn useful and you may get rewarded by money. If reader is not familiar with creating rhyming words then poet shows his eagerness to help them. Poet says creating rhymes is as simple as lying. Poet says writing is very similar to drawing. In the initial stage no artist has any idea about their drawing but still they try and create an eye catching picture. Poet says that you can also write poems in a similar way. Only you need to drive yourself. At one point poet says that if you write then your poem or text can turn into such useful content that it will get used in schools. Students will rehearse your poem. In this way poet tries to inspire readers towards the subject of writing. This makes poem more readable in spite of it being long. In short “A familiar letter” is a lengthy but pleasant poetic explanation of poetry. All terms are well explained providing a good humor to them. This makes it more effective and real. A lot of encouragement lies in this masterwork for those who desire for poetic beauty. They can use this poem as a guide which has all abilities to show exact direction to get started. Poet has won the race in the initiating a person to write and remains a winner till the end of this poem.

Teaching adult learners has many potential advantages over teaching younger students. For one, your learners have much more life experience, and this experience can be leveraged as part of the knowledge that is shared among the participants in your class. Also, leaving aside situations where workers are required to take mandatory training (e.g., to comply with industry regulations), adult learners typically choose to continue their education, and thus likely to value your teaching—and your time—far more than students who are required to be in your class. However, while you may not need to put the same effort into engaging your class that a school teacher would, you still need to build a rapport with your learners and develop a teaching strategy that maximizes their learning outcomes. Understanding how adults parse and retain new knowledge is critical to creating a learning experience that achieves its goals.So, in this episode, we’ll take a look at what it takes to teach poems to adults effectively.

Nicholas Breton was an English poet and novelist whose work mainly centred on pastoral, religious and satirical themes. He originated from the small parish of Layer Breton in Essex, hence his name, but his surname has sometimes been written down as Britton or Brittaine. He was born sometime during the year 1545 into a very wealthy family, probably living in the “Capitall Mansion House” in the London parish of St Giles without Cripplegate. His father, William Breton, had made his fortune as a London merchant but he died when Nicholas was 14. His mother remarried, this time to a poet, and it is perhaps here that Nicholas took his inspiration to become a poet himself.

English Romantic poet William Wordsworth wrote "She was a Phantom of Delight" in 1803 about his wife, Mary Hutchinson. The poem's speaker describes his first encounter with a "lovely Apparition," or a beautiful spirit, who turns out to be quite human after all once he gets to know her. Rather than temper the speaker's admiration, however, seeing the woman as fully human makes the speaker love her even more. "She was a Phantom of Delight" was published in Wordsworth's 1807 collection, Poems, in Two Volumes.

Edgar Allan Poe’s stature as a major figure in world literature is primarily based on his ingenious and profound short stories, poems, and critical theories, which established a highly influential rationale for the short form in both poetry and fiction. Regarded in literary histories and handbooks as the architect of the modern short story, Poe was also the principal forerunner of the “art for art’s sake” movement in 19th-century European literature. Whereas earlier critics predominantly concerned themselves with moral or ideological generalities, Poe focused his criticism on the specifics of style and construction that contributed to a work’s effectiveness or failure. In his own work, he demonstrated a brilliant command of language and technique as well as an inspired and original imagination. Poe’s poetry and short stories greatly influenced the French Symbolists of the late 19th century, who in turn altered the direction of modern literature.

Born in 1952, Alberto Ríos is the inaugural state poet laureate of Arizona and the author of many poetry collections, including A Small Story about the Sky (Copper Canyon Press, 2015). In 1981, he received the Walt Whitman Award for his collection Whispering to Fool the Wind (Sheep Meadow Press, 1982). He served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2014 to 2020. This is the kind of poem that needs to be read aloud, and more than once. The repetition of ‘give’ and the opposing concepts of someone/nobody, has changed/could have changed, better/wounded, are held together with that one word. As the poet says, Giving has many faces – I imagine in your own life experience, there have been many faces you can recognize. The giving and the receiving, the two sides of the same coin. Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand, / Mine to yours, yours to mine. This seems to me to be a critical line. It is something we share at a personal level, hand to hand, no matter how globally it reaches. And don’t you love the simple green that comes from your blue and my yellow? What you did not have and what I had to give – these come together to make Something greater from the difference.

Jane Hirshfield is the author of nine collections of poetry, includingThe Beauty: Poems (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015), which was long listed for the National Book Award. She served as a Chancellorof the Academy of American Poets from 2012 to 2017. This poem strikes as both pre-cataclysmic and hopeful. What a reader finds in a poem is often a mirror, both of the person who is looking and listening and of the particular weather of that particular moment of listening. The poem is, without question, dark: It imagines the judgment of us, of this time, that would come from those who live in a future made by our failures. But it’s also a poem trying to undo its own need to exist. The repetition, over and over of “Let them not say”… the poem’s hope lives in that phrase, midway as it is between prayer and command. If you can still say “Let them not say,” the future is still malleable. The poem also holds a certain tenderness toward our human frailty. We like to be warm. We like to read at night. We like to praise.

William Ernest Henley, born August 23, 1849, was an influential British poet, perhaps best known for his poem “Invictus” (1875). He is the author of A Song of Speed (D. Nutt, 1903), Hawthorn & Lavender with Other Verses (D. Nutt, 1901), and For England’s Sake: Verses and Songs in Time of War (D. Nutt, 1900), among others. He died in Woking, England, on July 11, 1903. 'Invictus' is a poem which focuses on the human spirit and its ability to overcome adversity. It is a rallying cry for those who find themselves in dark and trying situations, who have to dig deep and fight for their lives. The poet certainly knew hard times and needed all his strength to battle against disease. Born in Gloucester, England, in 1849, he was diagnosed with tubercular arthritis at the age of 12 and went through years of pain and discomfort. W.E. Henley wrote 'Invictus' some years later whilst in hospital undergoing treatment for tuberculosis of the bones, specifically those in his left leg, which had to be amputated from the knee down. He was still only a young man at this time. 'Invictus' does contain passion and defiance and it is easy to see just why so many use the powerful lines to drum up courage and to shed light into the darker corners when all else fails. Written in 1875 and published in 1888, it retains its original power and conviction, the simple rhyme scheme tightening the lines and making them memorable.