Poem Guides

Beyond self-expression.

How to read the most famous poem “for ever.”

In Keats’s finest season, even the gnats are mourning.

What Jerry Seinfeld and a 17th century libertine have in common.

An overlooked masterpiece depicts a feuding couple and the dreamy freedom just outside their door.

Tracing the many conflicting meanings of the word "blood."

This short poem about dreams is one of the most influential poems of the 20th century.

An exploration of the human imagination, with memories of a lost world.

Pastan captures the sound of mortality while echoing Poe's “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

Was her first poem her best?

The poet shines a bright new light on Lucifer, who answers God in a whirlwind of verse.

Lucille Clifton celebrates self-discovery in “won’t you celebrate with me.”

How to balance image, thought, and story to convey the numinous.

There is lightness within these downtrodden lives!

Family, culture, and history converge in a deft poetic portrait.

The poet navigates the unknown world.

“somethin’ wasn’t right:” How Finney captures an American nightmare.

A letter, a list, a sonnet, and the state of a nation.

A poem to outlast empires.

Does a notoriously grumpy poet believe in everlasting love?