Articles written by Linda Sue Grimes
Showing 1-100 of 646 Articles
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Masters' Harry Carey Goodhue
Harry Carey Goodhue reveals his special grudge against the town of Spoon River and how he finally got his revenge.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 27
The speaker in Barrett Browning's Sonnet 27 alludes to the Greek mythological Asphodel Meadows to dramatize her life's transformation after meeting her belovèd.
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Longfellow's Christmas Bells
"Christmas Bells" is a beautiful and very popular Longfellow poem that celebrates Christmas, chanting, "Of peace on earth / Good-will toward men."
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Brininstool's Christmas Week in Sagebrush
"Christmas Week in Sagebrush" dramatizes the activities offered in the little town of Sagebrush as the cow pokes, families, and friends do some shopping and spending.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 26
Barrett Browning's speaker dramatizes the difference between her early fantasy world and the world of reality as now represented by her belovèd.
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Masters' Constance and Chase
From their graves, Constance Hately and Chase Henry thumb their noses at the residents of Spoon River for all slights, real and imagined.
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Michael Marks' A Soldier's Christmas
Michael Marks' "A Soldier's Christmas" echoes the form of the famous Christmas poem, "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," by Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
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Al Gore's Untitled Poem
Gore joked to his publisher that W. B. Yeats had penned the poem in Gore's latest book; sadly, the publisher seemed to fall for it, before Gore admitted to scribbling it.
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Serepta and Amanda
Serepta Mason and Amanda Barker represent two Spoon River characters with very specific complaints against individuals who affected their lives in deleterious ways.
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Badger Clark's A Cowboy's Prayer
Clark's poem features four riming octets that deliver a ballad of nostalgia while celebrating and offering his gratitude to God for his way of life.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 25
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's speaker revisits her former sorrow to contrast her earlier "heavy heart" with the light heartedness she now enjoys because of her belovèd.
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Masters' Cassius Hueffer
"Cassius Hueffer" from Master's Spoon River Anthology is an American sonnet, which reverses the Petrarchan octave and sestet to emphasize the pessimism of the speaker.
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Hughes' Madam's Calling Cards
Alberta K. Johnson is a character in Langston Hughes' twelve-poem set called "Madam to You." In this poem, she has herself some name cards printed.
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Yogananda's Life's Dream
Paramahansa Yogananda's poem, "Life's Dream," celebrates Mount Washington as a spiritual oasis in the middle of the large city of Los Angeles.
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The Poet and Politics
In his essay, "Global Warming: The Trials of an Unsettled Science," David Solway tackles the issue, employing a poet's incisive intelligence and wordsmith craftsmanship.
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Masters' Robert Fulton Tanner
Robert Fulton Tanner reveals much about his character by comparing himself metaphorically to a rat in a trap
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 24
The speaker compares the negative attitudes of others to a "clasping knife" that she will simply close up to rid her love of danger and damage.
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Barker's Thanksgiving Argument
Pop McIntyre and Smoky Hughes don't see eye to eye when it comes to giving thanks; Smoky presses his individualism a little further than Pop can abide.
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Brooks' Gay Chaps at the Bar
Brooks' "Gay Chaps at the Bar" is an American sonnet, featuring the Petrarchan style octave consisting of two quatrains and sestet consisting of two tercets.
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Ollie and Fletcher McGee
The third and fourth poems of Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology are companion pieces, spoken by a wife and a husband, commenting on the quality of their marriage.
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Yogananda's Listen to my Soul Song
In Paramahansa Yogananda's "Listen to my Soul Song" from Songs of the Soul, the great yogi offers a perfect blend of three poetry forms: song, chant, and prayer.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 23
The speaker responds to love letter from her belovèd.
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Rich's Diving into the Wreck
The ten versagraphs of Adrienne Rich's "Diving into the Wreck" dramatize a reader's metaphorical journey to explore the nature of a non-existent catastrophe.
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Masters' Hod Putt
The ne'er-do-well "Hod Putt" finds solace in the notion that finally in death he has achieved a measure of equality with a man who was actually successful in life.
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Kooser's Tattoo
Former U. S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser offers one of his fascinating observations, as he allows his speaker to speculate on the character of an aging, tattooed biker-type.
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Masters' The Hill
"The Hill" is the first poem in Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, a series dramatizing the lives of deceased residents of the fictional town of Spoon River.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 22
Sonnet 22 finds the speaker growing ever more fanciful as she paints a haven for the loving couple whose union is strengthened by soul force.
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Yogananda's Whispers
The speaker dramatizes the journey of the soul as it evolves from plant life to human life. Each stage of evolution allows the soul to express itself in greater portion.
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Dickinson's Two Butterflies went out at Noon
Emily Dickinson's gift of imagining supernaturally is on display in this fanciful piece that dramatizes the mystical flight of two butterflies.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 21
The speaker is growing accustomed to hearing her lover say, "I love you,"-so much so that she is now commanding him to repeat it again and again.
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McCrae's In Flanders Fields
"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most celebrated poems of the World War I era. Lt. Col. John McCrae was a surgeon in the Canadian Army, when he wrote this poem.
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Bryant's The Gladness of Nature
One of the most cheerful poems ever written, "The Gladness of Nature," paints smiles on the faces of fruit and flowers and allows the sunshine to chase away all gloom.
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Frost's Acquainted with the Night
The speaker in Robert Frost's American sonnet reveals his rebellious nature, proclaiming his individual prerogative to venture into the city at night.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 20
Sonnet 20 from Sonnets from the Portuguese finds the speaker in a pensive mood, dramatizing her awe at the difference a year has made in her life.
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Yogananda's Mohawk Trail
Even a God-realized guru/saint can become bored by too much confinement in a city setting, and the non-realized can learn how to enjoy nature from the guru's experience.
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Richard Wilbur's Mind
Richard Wilbur's poem, "Mind," consists of three riming quatrains that compare the human mind to a bat flying through darkness in a cavern.
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Oliver's Reckless Poem
Mary Oliver's "Reckless Poem" features the theme of self-awareness, dramatizing the act of intuitive knowledge superseding supposedly empirical evidence.
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Blake's The Chimney Sweeper
In six quatrains, Blake presents a speaker who dramatizes the pathetic plight of children forced to labor in squalid conditions in London during the 18th century.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 19
The two lovers exchange locks of hair, and the speaker makes a ceremony of the exchange as she again emphasizes the royalty of her lover's station and talent.
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Hayden's American Journal
Robert Hayden's speaker from another planet is an alien being who has come to Earth, particularly to the United States of America, to study the inhabitants.
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Auden's Canzone
Auden's "Canzone" features five duodectains and a final cinquain. The speaker expounds poetically yet philosophically about the vicissitudes of the human condition.
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Cheney Counters Emanuel on Afghanistan Strategy
Vice-President Dick Cheney disputes White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's claim of having to start from scratch on Afghan War strategy.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 18
The speaker gives a lock of her hair to her belovèd as she dramatizes and philosophizes about the significance of the gift.
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Blake's The Garden of Love
In this nonsensical portrayal, William Blake's symbolism fails to achieve the desired result of castigating a religion for its sage guidance regarding self-control.
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Yogananda's To the Aurora Borealis
The speaker in "To the Aurora Borealis" compares the awe-inspiring northern lights to the inner vision experienced in divine perfect union of soul and Divinity.
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Angelou's Touched by an Angel
Angelou's "Touched by an Angel" lacks the poetic qualities that transform a philosophical statement into a poem.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 17
In sonnet 17, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's always melancholy speaker muses on the poetics of her relationship with her poet/lover.
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Kinnell's Blackberry Eating
The speaker in Galway Kinnell's "Blackberry Eating" compares the experience of eating blackberries to that of pronouncing his favorite words.
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Shakespeare's All the world's a stage
According to the Shakespeare character, Jaques, in the play, As You Like It, a man's lifetime undergoes seven distinct ages.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 16
The speaker finally capitulates to the all consuming love that she has tried to deny herself, allowing herself only a speck of doubt.
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Yogananda's My Kinsmen
The speaker in Yogananda's "My Kinsmen" declares his unity with all of creation, celebrating the progression of stages through which he has evolved.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 15
The speaker in Sonnet 15 concentrates on her ambiguous facial expressions that have yet to catch up with her overflowing heart
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Kay Ryan's Home to Roost
Current U.S. poet laureate, Kay Ryan, writes clever, little ditties that offer a distinctive reading experience.
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Yogananda's Friendship
The speaker in Yogananda's poem, "Friendship," explores and dramatizes the unique bond that exists between friends and reveals its rôle in serving soul progress.
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Neruda's Sonnet 73
Heavy with sexually charged innuendo, Neruda's sonnet dramatizes the process of lust transforming into genuine love.
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Rep. Phil Gingrey on Health Care
A 45-second clip from a speech attempts to paint Rep. Gingrey as a crass buffoon amused by the suffering of his fellow Americans. Context forms a very different picture.
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Brooks' the vacant lot
Brooks' versanelle offers a minimalist character sketch of three people whom the speaker disdains, and the vacant lot symbolizes her glee at being "all done" with them.
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Obama's Claim Inaccurate
Although impolitely breaching the decorum of a congressional joint session, Representative Joe Wilson was correct in his charge that the President's statement was false.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 14
The speaker requests that her belovèd love her only for the sake of love and not for any qualities that she possesses, such as a smile or the way she speaks.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 13
The speaker in Sonnet 13 toys with the notion of writing about her new-found feeling of love, but she demurs lest she touch that store of grief that still plagues her.
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Two Poems by George Washington
The poetry of presidents fascinates readers by giving them a glimpse into the very personal side of the politician.
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Collins' The Golden Years
The retired speaker of Collins' little sonnet offers an amusing cogitation about the names of retirement communities, obviously not named for their function.
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Yogananda's Luther Burbank
A esteemed Eastern yogi and an accomplished Western scientist find they have much in common in their pursuit of truth.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 12
The speaker in sonnet 12 is growing comfortably into her realization that she is loved, but she gives to her suitor all the credit for her ability to love so deeply.
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Dylan Thomas' And Death Shall Have No Dominion
Dylan Thomas begged his father to rail against death in "Do Not Go Gentle"; in this poem, the poet dramatizes the truth that death cannot conquer the soul.
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Hughes' Night Funeral in Harlem
The speaker in Langston Hughes' "Night Funeral in Harlem" wonders how this poor dead boy's friends and relatives are able to afford such a lavish funeral.
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Frost and the Versanelle
America's beloved poet Robert Frost penned many of the most admired poems in American poetry, and his poetic range was extraordinary, including the versanelle.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 11
The speaker is still walking the path to self-acceptance, still looking for the courage to believe in her own good fortune at finding a love that she wants to deserve.
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Ralegh's The Lie
Through varied forms of the idiom, "give the lie to," the speaker's refrain emphasizes the disingenuity that is being decried throughout the poem.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 10
The speaker of sonnet 10 is beginning to reason that despite her flaws, the transformative power of love can change her negative, dismissive attitude.
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Dickinson's Color—Caste—Denomination
Emily Dickinson's keen intellect serves her well as she allows her speaker to demonstrate a profound truth that is still today widely and tragically misconstrued.
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Winch's Social Security
Winch's speaker plays with the notion that things in the past were better; it was especially better that people felt safe in the past but not in the paranoid present.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 9
Continuing her lamentations over the gap in societal station between her suitor and herself, the speaker wonders if she has anything to offer the suitor.
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Frost's The Freedom of the Moon
Frost's versanelle consists of two sestets, each with the rime scheme, ABABCC. The poem dramatizes the phases of the moon and makes a statement about human freedom.
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Dickinson's I measure every Grief I meet
In "I measure every Grief I meet," the speaker examines the nature of human suffering. The poem is long by Dickinson standards, filling out a whopping ten quatrains.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 8
The speaker continues to deny her good fortune as she reveals her gratitude for the attention of her illustrious suitor; she begins to accept her lot but reluctantly.
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Wordsworth's On The Banks Of A Rocky Stream
Beholding the rushing waters of a rocky stream, the speaker is reminded of the rushing, chaotic thoughts that plague the human mind.
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Dickinson's After great pain
Dickinson's masterful poem resembles a sculpture of grief; the poet has metaphorically carved out of the rock of pain a remarkable statue of the body of suffering.
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Amichai's Near the Wall of a House
Amichai's versanelle expands its focus through a divine realization, one begun in utterly humble circumstances.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 7
Sonnet 7 offers a tribute to the speaker's lover, who has wrought deep and lasting important changes in the speaker's life.
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Yogananda's I Am Lonely No More
The speaker in Paramahansa Yogananda's "I Am Lonely No More" celebrates his freedom from the human malady of loneliness.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 6
Sonnet 6 is a clever seduction sonnet; as the speaker seems to be giving the suitor every reason to leave her, she is also giving him very good reasons to remain.
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Dickinson's As imperceptibly as grief
In Emily Dickinson's "As imperceptibly as grief," the speaker transmutes her feeling of grief and loss into realization of continuity and beauty.
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Yogananda's My Prisoner
The speaker in "My Prisoner" begins with a prison metaphor that transforms into a cloister, wherein the devotee/speaker will retain his Divine Captive.
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Johnson's Mother Night
The speaker in Johnson's sonnet, "Mother Night," likens his own existence and protection to that of the planets-all are created and protected by the same Divine Entity.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 5
Barrett Browning's Sonnet 5 from Sonnets from the Portuguese focuses on the speaker's lack of confidence that her budding relationship will continue to grow.
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Ferlinghetti's In Goya's Greatest Scenes We Seem
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "In Goya's Greatest Scenes We Seem to See" employs extended hyperbole to compare the suffering of humanity today with an earlier time.
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Yogananda's Some Treasure of my Own
The speaker in Yogananda's "Some Treasure of My Own" elucidates his understanding regarding the importance of loving the Giver more than the gifts.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 4
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 4" continues the deliberation that results in her dramatic musings on the contrasts between herself and her illustrious suitor.
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Larkin's Aubade
Philips Larkin's "Aubade" is a modernist psychodrama, spoken by a character, who through ignorance, approaches the state of mental catatonia from the fear of death.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 3
The speaker in Sonnet 3 muses on how unlikely it seems that a plain singer such as herself would begin a relationship with a person who attracted royalty.
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Yogananda's God's Boatman
The eternal relationship between the Guru and his devotees is dramatized in Yogananda's reassuring poem, "God's Boatman."
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Simic's My Shoes
This article looks at Simic's irony through the lens of a poetry workshop filled with those serious postmodernists out to teach the world to sing nonsense and trivia.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 2
The speaker in Barrett Browning's second sonnet from Sonnets from the Portuguese avers that her relationship with her life mate is God-granted and therefore inviolable.
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Owen's Anthem for Doomed Youth
The speaker in Wilfred Owen's Italian sonnet dramatizes hatred of war by creating a deeply bitter irony, pitting religious ceremony against reality of the battlefield.
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Barrett Browning's Sonnet 1
The speaker in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 1, which begins Sonnets from the Portuguese, dramatizes the futility of melancholy that musing on death can engender.
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Lord Byron's She Walks in Beauty
The speaker in Lord Byron's "She Walks in Beauty" offers the quintessential theme of Romantic poetry, portrayal of perfect beauty.
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Dickinson's There is another sky
Dickinson's American sonnet reveals an attitude dramatized in the Shakespeare sonnets: the poet's confidence in her creation of a world of beauty that will last forever.
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Yogananda's When I Cast All Dreams Away
Guruji often likens the unreal nature of the material world to "dreams"; the speaker in "When I Cast All Dreams Away" dramatizes his awakening to true Bliss.
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Whitman's Song of the Banner at Daybreak
The poet learns to sing the praises of the true meaning of patriotism.
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