Ars Poetica Analysis

A poem should be palpable and mute
As a globed fruit, 

Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb, 

Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown -- 

A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.

                    

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs, 

Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees, 

Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
Memory by memory the mind -- 

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.

                     

A poem should be equal to
Not true. 

For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf. 

For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea -- 

A poem should not mean
But be.

                        “Ars Poetica” is a poem written by American poet Archibald McLeish, describing the desirable attributes in a poem. The poem itself is a reference to the previous poem of the same title, “Ars Poetica” by the Roman poet Horace, which has a purpose similar to the poem being analysed. McLeish’s version of “Ars Poetica” is written in a narrative style, with no identifiable speaker. The poem uses rhyming couplets heavily, though not consistently. The speaker’s tone seems to be one of reflection, implying the speaker themselves was a writer or poet at a point in time.

                        Personification is used heavily in the poem to describe the poem, adding attributes which are completely unrelated to pieces of writing, such as “Silent as the sleeve-worn stone…” and “A poem should be wordless…” The imagery involved in the piece is described with much detail, as each stanza of the poem is used to describe a different desirable aspect of each poem.

                        The first “stanza” of the poem, or the first eight lines are devoted to describing how poems must be subtle in their message and delivery, using personification and simile to emphasize the point, as demonstrated in the first line: “A poem should be palpable and mute, As a globed fruit…” The same is true of second stanza as well, which speaks of the supposed immortality of written media like poems. The third stanza however, takes a step away from the other two stanzas, instead reminding the reader of the original purpose of writing poetry, and how it can convey different messages to different readers.

             

Sonnet 29 Analysis

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee--and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,
That then I scorn to change my state with kings. 

“When in disgrace”, or Sonnet XXIX is a poem written by William Shakespeare, in an iambic pentameter format following an ABABCDCDEBEBFF rhyme scheme. The poem’s speaker speaks from a first person perspective, reflecting on the speaker’s life, and fall from grace. The speaker makes constant mention to losing favour and social standing, specifically in line one “…in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes” and line fourteen “…I scorn to change my state with kings.” Both of these imply the speaker has fallen from a position of respect and power, and combining that with the implication in line thirteen “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,” implies the speaker had gained their lover in part due to their position and wealth. This poem simultaneously demonstrates the tenacity and stubbornness of human beings, the speaker’s “love” obviously their main motivation for attempting to regain their wealth and position, despite the implication that the “love” was the cause of the loss as well. The overall tone of the poem is introspective, and regretful, before taking a positive turn near the last third of the poem, and ending on a seemingly angry note for the final line. The finality of the tone in the last line compared to the ambiguity and retrospective nature of the rest of the poem contrasts greatly; the vehement promise of changing the speaker’s own state is a far cry from the seemingly self-pitying tone of the rest of the poem, implying a change in mind-set by the speaker.

To a Mouse Analysis

Small, crafty, cowering, timorous little beast,
O, what a panic is in your little breast!
You need not start away so hasty
With hurrying scamper!
I would be loath to run and chase you,
With murdering plough-staff.
I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
And fellow mortal!
I doubt not, sometimes, but you may steal;
What then? Poor little beast, you must live!
An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I will get a blessing with what is left,
And never miss it.
Your small house, too, in ruin!
Its feeble walls the winds are scattering!
And nothing now, to build a new one,
Of coarse grass green!
And bleak December's winds coming,
Both bitter and keen!
You saw the fields laid bare and wasted,
And weary winter coming fast,
And cozy here, beneath the blast,
You thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel plough past
Out through your cell.
That small bit heap of leaves and stubble,
Has cost you many a weary nibble!
Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,
Without house or holding,
To endure the winter's sleety dribble,
And hoar-frost cold.
But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!
Still you are blest, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!

“To a Mouse” is a poem written by Scottish Poet Robert Burns in 1785, describing the speaker’s reaction to a mouse he finds while ploughing a field, and his realization that the mouse is similar to him/herself, merely attempting to live their life in peace. The version of the poem I have used for this analysis is the translated English version, as opposed to the original Scots dialect used to write the poem. As such, the rhyme scheme in the above copy does not accurately reflect the original rhyme scheme, which was an AABCBC format, in iambic pentameter. The poem is written from a first person limited omniscient perspective, with the speaker being a farmer, ploughing his field for crops, when he uncovers a mouse. 

The speaker, in a display of empathy uncharacteristic of farmers regarding mice, “lets” the mouse go, before reflecting on how the actions the speaker had to take ended up destroying the home of the mouse, exposing it to the harsh elements of winter. The tone of the speaker in the poem is generally reflective, and the speaker seems truly regretful for destroying the mouse’s home. The poem’s tone also implies that the speaker has gone through something similar to the mouse’s situation, especially in the last seven lines, when the speaker states: “…The best laid schemes of mice and men, Go often askew…”. The poem’s overall reflective nature implies that the speaker had a plan which went askew, most likely regarding his/her livelihood, taking into account the speaker’s profession.

Ode on a Grecian Urn Analysis

Please use this as the chosen analysis for the final four analyses Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearièd,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea-shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of its folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul, to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.
O Attic shape! fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form! dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'

“Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a poem written by John Keats describing an ancient Grecian urn, each stanza describing a different section of the vase. There is no distinguishable consistent rhyme scheme in “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, and a distinct structure is hard to identify. The overall tone of the speaker in the poem is one of reverence and admiration, the use of hyperbole utilized quite often when describing the vase itself. The speaker is never identified, but speaks from a narrative perspective, with no point of view discernible. The first stanza is dedicated to describing the very shape of the vase itself, described as an “…unravish'd bride of quietness,” referencing the unchanged historical knowledge inscribed on its very surface, unchanged by translations or alterations. The speaker describes the multitude of characters inscribed on the urn’s surface as well, seemingly enquiring as to the origins and history behind them.

                The second stanza is similar to the first stanza, dedicated to extolling the multitude of virtues this one urn seems to have, this stanza focusing on the “unheard” melodies of the urn. This stanza, the third, and the fourth stanzas are all focused on the inscriptions and art on the urn itself. The final stanza returns to extolling the virtues of the urn, yet again, the speaker using hyperbole to imply that the urn, and physical records of history similar to the urn would last a very long time, as evidenced by the fifth and fourth to last lines:

“When old age shall this generation waste,

Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe”

               The closing line of the poem continues to follow on a similar vein as the first stanza, and the rest of the last stanza, but personifies the urn, the speaker directly referring to the urn, referring to it as a friend. This leads the reader to question the sanity of the speaker, and exactly why the speaker is so obsessed with the urn.