Interpreting Poetry

Part I of Essay
“What the heck does that mean?” Many people have found themselves asking that question when reading poetry. So in order to help get a general idea of what poems say, it is necessary to look at some examples of poetry and try to decide what, if anything, the poet is trying ....

Part II of Essay
.... of that fair thou owest; Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his Shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. In the simplest terms possible, Shakespeare is saying that the woman of whom this poem speaks of is beautiful. But even more than that, the eloquence in which he expresses her beauty demonstrates that Shakespeare loves the woman he is addressing. In what seems almost a response to Shakespeare’s sonnet, Elizabeth Barre ....