The Flea
A man argues a woman into bed using a flea that bit them both. It’s the most dazzling sophistry in English, and a sly comedy in which she acts while he only talks, kills the flea, and demolishes his logic with a fingernail.
maximus
To His Coy Mistress
Vegetable love, worms, and birds of prey — Marvell’s seduction poem is stranger and more aggressive than “seize the day” suggests, and the mistress never gets to answer.
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
Robert Herrick’s To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time is the classic “gather ye rosebuds” carpe diem lyric — a close reading of its imagery, its songlike common meter, and the warning hidden in its final line.
The Ballad of the Oysterman
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.’s “The Ballad of the Oysterman” tells a haunting tale of love, jealousy, and loss along a moonlit river.
On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year
Explore Wordsworth’s “On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year”, a meditation on age, reflection, nature, and ethical living.
A Bird Came Down the Walk
A bird eats a worm raw, then rows off through the air like an oar through silent water. Dickinson’s most exact nature poem watches a wild thing right up to the moment it flees.
The Soul Selects Her Own Society
From a whole nation the soul chooses exactly one, ignores a kneeling emperor at her gate, then closes the valves of her attention “Like Stone” — Dickinson’s most absolute poem about choosing.
Ode: Intimations of Immortality (Excerpt)
Explore Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimations of Immortality”, a meditation on childhood, memory, and nature’s role in guiding the human spirit.
Lines Written in Early Spring
Explore Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in Early Spring”, a reflective poem on nature, human folly, and moral insight. Discover its meaning, themes, and beauty.
My Heart Leaps Up
Explore Wordsworth’s “My Heart Leaps Up”, a short poem celebrating the joy of nature, continuity from childhood to adulthood, and the enduring power of wonder.
Sonnet 87
Explore Shakespeare’s Sonnet 87, a meditation on love’s fragility, personal merit, and the bittersweet art of letting go. Discover its meaning and themes.
Sonnet 10
Explore Shakespeare’s Sonnet 10, where beauty carries moral responsibility. Discover its meaning, themes, and lessons on selfishness, legacy, and love.