“A Vision”
Over the sultry seas and snowy peaks, I see the budding sun appear, Creeping from out the craggy recesses And pouring through the valley glades. […]
Beyond the Lines: Keats’ “Ode on Indolence”
Even the greatest poet cannot simply sit down and compose as if by some regimented habit. The poet will never find poetry, poetry must find him. But in what state will poetry find him? Rather than a step-by-step guide to writing, John Keats discovers an awakening of his creative powers by confronting one of the [...]
On the Anniversary of Goethe’s Death
The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) remains Germany’s most popular poet and arguably its best alongside Friedrich Schiller.[1] Born in Frankfurt into a bourgeois upper-middle-class family, he spent his early years as a leading voice in the Romantic literary movement known as [...]
“The Sea”
My sleeping spirit wakes As the town’s vespers Ascend the stairless sky And the sea whispers. […]
Edgar Allan Poe’s “Eldorado”
From a compositional and conceptual standpoint, “Eldorado” is arguably Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest poem. It is a perfect example of how a seemingly simple theme can be thoroughly developed using new rich metaphors, which allow human beings to communicate what is otherwise not possible with merely literal forms of communication. Editor’s Note: The author of [...]