Poem

Explore 920 quotes from the following medium: Poem

I know why the caged bird sings!

Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Topic

Captivity Freedom

Author

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Source

Sympathy Lyrics of the Hearthside

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1899 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Dunbar, Paul Lawrence. "Sympathy." Lyrics of the Hearthside. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1899, st. 3.

Current Citation

Dunbar, Paul Lawrence. "Sympathy." Paul Lawrence Dunbar: Selected Poems. Dover Publications, 1997, st. 3.

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore -
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over -
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

Langston Hughes

Harlem

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Topic

Broken dreams Dreams

Author

Langston Hughes

Source

Harlem

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Question

Language

English

Time

1951 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Hughes, Langston. "Harlem." Montage of a Dream Deferred. Holt, 1951.

Great wits are sure to madness near allied
And thin partitions do their bounds divide.

John Dryden

Absalom and Achitophel

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Topic

Genius and insanity Genius Insanity

Author

John Dryden

Source

Absalom and Achitophel

Medium

Poem

Genre

Satire

Language

English

Time

1681 1680s 17th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Dryden, John. Absalom and Achitophel. London: Jacob Tonson, 1681, pt. 1, I. 163.

Current Citation

Dryden, John. "Absalom and Achitophel." John Dryden Selected Poems. Penguin Classics, 2002, pt. 1, I. 163.

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men,
Gang aft a-gley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief and pain,
For promis'd joy.

Robert Burns

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Topic

Making plans Dashed hopes Fate The unexpected

Author

Robert Burns

Source

To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With the Plough.

Medium

Poem

Language

Scots

Time

1785 1780s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Burns, Robert. "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest With the Plough, November, 1785." Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. Kilmarnock: John Wilson, 1786.

Current Citation

Burns, Robert. "To a Mouse." Robert Burns: Selected Poems, edited by Carol Mcguirk. Penguin Classics, 1994.

These eyes of mine would look on only thee
In that last hour when light shall fail.
Embrace me, dear, in death! Let thy hand be
In my cold fingers pale!

Tibullus

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Topic

Lifelong love Love

Author

Tibullus

Source

Elegies (Tibullus)

Medium

Poem

Language

Latin

Time

26 BC 20s BC 1st century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Tibullus. The Elegies of Tibullus. c. 30 BC, bk. 1, no. 1.

Current Citation

Tibullus. Elegies: With Paralell Latin Texts, translated by A. M. Juster. Oxford University Press, 2012, bk. 1, no. 1.

O, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!

Sir Walter Scott

Read Marmion at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Consequences of lying Unintended consequences Lying

Author

Sir Walter Scott

Source

Marmion

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1808 1800s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Scott, Walter, Sir. Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co./London: William Miller and John Murray, 1808, canto 6, st. 17.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the Lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I Love not Man the Less, but Nature more.

Lord Byron

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

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Topic

Spending time in nature Nature Solitude

Author

Lord Byron

Source

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1818 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Lord Byron. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. London: John Murray, 1812-1818, canto 4, st. 178.

Current Citation

Lord Byron. "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage." Lord Byron: The Major Works, edited by Jerome J. McGann. Oxford University Press, 2008, canto 4, st. 178.

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ozymandias

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Topic

Arrogance

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Ozymandias

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1818 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Ozymandias." The Examiner. London: Leigh Hunt and John Hunt, 11 Jan. 1818, l. 10.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Ozymandias." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 10.

For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

William Ross Wallace

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Topic

Raising kids Parents and children Power of education Value of education

Author

William Ross Wallace

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1865 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wallace, William Ross. What Rules the World. 1865.

Current Citation

Wallace, William Ross. "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle." Poetry for a Lifetime: All-Time Favorite Poems to Delight and Inspire All Ages, edited by Samuel Norfleet Etheredge. MiraVista Press, 1999.

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen

Dulce et Decorum Est

A Latin phrase, originally from Horace's Odes, meaning "it is sweet and fitting to die for the homeland."

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Topic

Dying for one's country Self-sacrifice Patriotism War

Author

Wilfred Owen

Source

Dulce et Decorum Est

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1918 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et Decorum Est." Poems by Wilfred Owen. Chatto & Windus, 1920.

Current Citation

Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et Decorum Est." The War Poems Of Wilfred Owen. Random House UK, 2018.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

Edgar Allan Poe

New York Evening Mirror

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Topic

Unexpected visitors Guests and visitors

Author

Edgar Allan Poe

Source

The Raven New York Evening Mirror

Medium

Poem Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1845 1840s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." New York Evening Mirror, 29 Jan. 1845, st. 1.

Current Citation

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales, edited by Patrick F. Quinn. Library of America, 1984, st. 1.

Happy is he who, like Ulysses, has made a glorious voyage.

Joachim Du Bellay

Les Regrets

More information about this quote

Topic

Effects of travel Travel

Author

Joachim Du Bellay

Source

Les Regrets

Medium

Poem

Language

French

Time

1558 1550s 16th century

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Du Bellay, Joachim. "Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage." Les Regrets. Paris: Fédéric Morel, 1558.

Current Citation

Du Bellay, Joachim. "Happy is he who, like Ulysses, has made a fine journey." The Regrets, translated by David R. Slavitt. Northwestern University Press, 2003.

Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden.

T.S. Eliot

Burnt Norton

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Topic

The road not taken Grass is always greener Counterfactual history

Author

T.S. Eliot

Source

Burnt Norton Four Quartets

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1936 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Eliot, T. S. “Burnt Norton.” Collected Poems 1909–1935. Harcourt, Brace And Company, 1936, pt. 1.

Hope raises no dust.

Paul Eluard

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Topic

Hope

Author

Paul Eluard

Medium

Poem

Language

French

Time

1946 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Eluard, Paul. "Ailleurs, Ici Partout." Poesie ininterrompue. Paris: Gallimard, 1946.

For who can be secure of private right,
If sovereign sway may be dissolved by might?
Nor is the people's judgement always true:
The most may err as grossly as the few.

John Dryden

Absalom and Achitophel

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Topic

The masses Rule of law Democracy

Author

John Dryden

Source

Absalom and Achitophel

Medium

Poem

Genre

Satire

Language

English

Time

1681 1680s 17th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Dryden, John. Absalom and Achitophel. London: Jacob Tonson, 1681, pt. 1, I. 779.

Current Citation

Dryden, John. "Absalom and Achitophel." John Dryden Selected Poems. Penguin Classics, 2002, pt. 1, I. 779.

The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure.

D.H. Lawrence

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Topic

Flowers

Author

D.H. Lawrence

Source

Pansies

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1929 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lawrence, D.H. Pansies. Martin Secker, 1929, introduction.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

W.H. Davies

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Topic

Taking one's time Slowing down Busyness Purpose of life Life

Author

W.H. Davies

Source

Leisure Songs of Joy and Others

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1911 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Davies, W. H. "Leisure." Songs of Joy and Others. A. C. Fifield, 1911.

For when the One Great Scorer
Comes to mark against your name,
He writes-not that you won or lost-
But how you played the game.

Grantland Rice

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Topic

Fair play Legacy Death

Author

Grantland Rice

Source

Alumnus Football

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1941 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Rice, Grantland. "Alumnus Football." Nashville Tennessean, c. 1908.

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day,
To-morrow will be dying.

Robert Herrick

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Topic

Living in the moment Youth Passage of time Time

Author

Robert Herrick

Source

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1648 1640s 17th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Herrick, Robert. "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time." Hesperides; or the Works both Human and Divine of Robert Herrick Esq. London: John Williams, 1648.

Current Citation

Herrick, Robert. "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time." The Cavalier Poets: An Anthology, edited by Thomas Crofts. Dover Publications, 1995.

We must travel in the direction of our fear.

John Berryman

More information about this quote

Topic

Facing one's fears Courage Fear

Author

John Berryman

Source

A Point of Age

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1942 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Berryman, John. "A Point of Age." Poems. New Directions, 1942.