In the poem Sunlight by Seamus Heaney the speaker was in the kitchen with his aunt. He could see the yard outside. The place outside was sunny but there was nobody who loved him. In the yard, there was a pump which was covered with a protective hat. Because of the sun the pump was heated.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a typical ballad by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It deals with a single situation or incident, and though there are many incidents, they are also introduced so as to look like parts of the one major event. The situation is presented dramatically. The poet makes use of striking dialogues, and the effect is enhanced by repetitions, known as ‘refrains’. Another typical ballad element, the supernatural is also introduced to give the effect of horror and mystery.
Rita Dove in the poem The Bistro Styx uses Greek mythology of Demeter and Persephone in order to depict the troubled relationship between mother and daughter. To mix-up both myth and the context of the poem, the poem is about modern Demeter (the mother) who in her search discovers modern Persephone (the daughter) in the underworld of modern Paris abducted by the Hades of modern civilization.
In the beginning of the poem Snapshots of a Daughter-in-law, the speaker addresses an older woman, her mother-in-law. She repudiates her not only for making her life miserable but also for not making her own life meaningful. The beginning of the poem shows that the speaker’s mother-in-law is an agent of limiting her life and prospects.
Snapshots of a Daughter-in-law is a feminist poem depicting a woman of the period of transition, especially the sixties and the seventies, when women had become conscious of the many restriction and burdens upon them imposed by the male-dominated society, family, culture and literature, but where not yet able to overcome the limitations; the result, both in reality and in this poem, is an unbearable anxiety.
The poem Down, Wanton, Down! composed by Robert Graves shows a serious point about the blindness of lust. He also draws the difference between love and beauty and the Wanton’s feeling towards beauty and love.
The poem The Street by Robert Pinsky presents the street as a universal experimenter and observer, which functions as an observer of the luxury of rich people and suffering of poor people throughout the history. The street in its observation is neutral and disinterested. It does not take side of any of the rich or the poor.
Lowell continues in the confessional mode in For the Union Dead, whose title poem, originally delivered at the Boston Arts Festival in 1960s, is regarded as one of his best.
Skunk Hour is a confessional poem. In it, the poet reveals his personal secret confesses that he is living meaninglessly and suffering from the loss of faith, courage and even desire for life. The poem is dedicated to his friend and junior poetess Elizabeth Bishop, who also wrote poetry about the necessity of simple powers of the mind and spirit to live a meaningful and happy life.
If the speaker of this poem forgets his people and works for his own selfish ends he will get what he wants, that is 'a nice chair'. It is a symbol of power and wealth. There he will find many other persons who have done the selfish work and collected property for themselves. They will welcome him as a newcomer, with a smile. But to the poet, such a selfish place is like a hell and he refuges to go there, saying "Oh no!"