The Poetry Fix

Today, we continue exploring Milton's "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." In this excerpt, we witness Creation move from hushed awe to jubilant songs of praise.

Today, we continue exploring Milton's "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." In this excerpt, Milton meditates on the cosmic awe that the Christ child's surpassing power inspires.

Today, we explore Milton's "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," which ponders the cosmic effects of Christ's coming into the world.

Today, we explore Hopkins's "The Windhover," a meditation on the flight of a kestrel. Hopkins opens our eyes to the wonder of a natural world that is richly layered with meaning.

"Creed" is a concept that's often neglected in our day and age, as many nonreligious thinkers consider the idea of creed archaic or limiting. However, everyone has one; your creed is the set of principles that governs your life, whether you recognize it or not. Wordsworth's "The World is Too Much With Us" indicts his generation's creed of materialism, which drives them to pursue gain and forget th...

This final installment of Guigemar that we will read portrays Guigemar and his lady as they finally come to terms with their love for one another, and as Guigemar is sped on to declare his love for her.

In this installment of Guigemar, the incandescent, fierce flame of desire begins to consume Guigemar and his lady.

This installment of Guigemar portrays the lady's reply to the wounded knight and illuminates aspects of her character, such as her hospitality and virtue. However, the lady is not without her discontents, as she reveals to Guigemar.

This installment of Guigemar portrays the first encounter between Guigemar and the imprisoned young lady. The poet brings some interesting elements to the forefront in their encounter, including the focus on his heartbeat and his dependence on the lady's hospitality.

This installment of Guigemar introduces some important new characters into the story. Most important of these is a young lady, imprisoned by her jealous and much older husband. A portrait of Venus hanging in the young lady's chamber contains some clues as to what the poet intends to do with her character.

This installment of Guigemar takes our protagonist to a magical ship that sets sail without any prompting of his. Guigemar falls fast asleep in a room that bears strong associations to King Solomon and is likely meant to evoke the Song of Songs. This may or may not foreshadow what Guigemar will find upon waking up.

This installment of Guigemar portrays our protagonist's fateful hunt of a white hind with a stag's antlers. Considering the supernatural legends associated with the white stag, you might think that Guigemar would take heed of the creature. The question is...will he?

Today, we read an opening excerpt from Marie de France's Guigemar, a medieval tale of curses, courtly intrigue, and forbidden love. We examine the poet's characterization of the knight, Guigemar, and how his lack of tenderness foreshadows the dramatic events to follow.

Today, we finish out "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," watching the final analysis of our narrator's life play out.  The narrator asks himself a seemingly bizarre yet poignant question: Do I dare to eat a peach? The way we choose to answer that question for ourselves might be more impactful than you would think at first glance.

This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" shows our narrator justifying his decision not to pursue his beloved by pointing out the perils of relationships and frustrated communication. Instead of confronting the problem, Prufrock chooses cynicism and avoidance...perhaps a choice we have all made at one point or another.

This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" begins to unravel the dark consequences of our narrator's failure to courageously pursue that which he loves most.

This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" reintroduces our narrator's fruitless longing for romance, as he is paralyzed by beauty rather than inspired by it.

This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" takes our narrator right up to the entrance of a social engagement, where he wavers between entering and running away. Faced with an anxiety common to the human experience, Prufrock must decide whether or not he will expose himself to the possible judgement of others.

In this episode of The Poetry Fix, we revisit T. S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

In this episode of The Poetry Fix, we explore one of D. H. Laurence's final works: "Bavarian Gentians."

In this episode of "The Poetry Fix," we pause from the rush of life and experience W. H. Auden's "On This Island."

In this episode of The Poetry Fix, we explore the first part of T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."

In this episode of The Poetry Fix, we explore Easter, 1916, by William Butler Yeats.

In this episode of The Poetry Fix, we read "Spring," by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

In this episode of The Poetry Fix, we read "A Knife of Pure Blade," by Joao Cabral do Melo Neto.