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Ode on a Grecian Urn By John Keats Summary (Stanza by Stanza): Stanza 1: 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-fring’d 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? Summary: Keats addresses the urn as an "unravish’d bride of quietness," meaning it is untouched and silent, forever still. It tells stories of ancient times through its images — perhaps from Tempe or Arcadia (mythical Greek places). The speaker sees figures of gods, men, and women in a chase or dance, and wonders what story is being told. Stanza 2: Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on; Not to the sensual ear, bu...

Poem: A Poison Tree By William Blake TEXT: Stanza 1: I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. Stanza 2: And I watered it in fears, Night and morning with my tears; And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles. Stanza 3:   And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright; And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine,— Stanza 4:   And into my garden stole When the night had veiled the pole; In the morning glad I see My foe outstretched beneath the tree. Summary: Stanza 1: The speaker talks about anger. When he was angry with his friend , he expressed it, and the anger disappeared. But when he was angry with his enemy , he kept it inside. This hidden anger started to grow. Stanza 2: The speaker secretly nurtured this anger. He fed it with fears and tears , showing emotional pain and anxiety. He also used smiles and tricks to hid...

The Progress of Poesy was written by Thomas Gray in 1754 and published in 1757. It's modeled after the classical Pindaric ode style, known for its formal structure and lofty themes. The poem is divided into three stanzas (or triads), each with a strophe, antistrophe, and epode , like a Greek chorus. Gray uses this form to trace the evolution of poetry from its divine beginnings to its decline in contemporary times (as Gray saw it). Theme and Central Idea The central theme of the poem is the development and transmission of poetic genius —from the divine source (inspiration from nature and the Muses), through the great poets of Greece and Rome, to the English poets like Shakespeare and Milton , before lamenting that such greatness is rare or absent in modern times. Summary and Analysis Stanza 1:  Summary: Poetry originates from divine inspiration—symbolized by nature, the Muse, and the sun. Gray compares the flow of poetic genius to a stream or fountain originating in th...

Explanation of important lines of  “ SONG OF MYSELF  " by WALT WHITMAN).  Stanza 1: I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. Explanation: Whitman begins by rejoicing in his own existence. He believes that every person is connected; what he feels or believes, others can too. The smallest part of him (an atom) is shared with everyone—emphasizing unity and equality. Stanza 2: I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. Explanation: He relaxes and enjoys the moment. “Loafing” here means resting with awareness. He invites his soul to be present and appreciates the simple beauty of nature—a single blade of grass symbolizes the richness of life. Stanza 3: My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air, Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same. Explanation: Whitma...