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Poetry/Questions Answered by Expert Linda Sue Grimes -- Classic Poetry Aide

SubjectDate Asked
Compare poems1/27/2012
  Q: I need help for a forensics entry. I have to compare and find similarities between these two poems: ...
  A: My article. "Robert Frost's Tricky Poem: Analysis of 'The Road Not Taken'" at ...
Poetry to approach to song writing11/25/2011
  Q: I'm doing an investigation on the use of poetry to approach, or craft lyric writing. The research ...
  A: For the beginner, I think it does not matter whether the target poem is free-verse or not. What ...
Poetry to approach to song writing11/25/2011
  Q: I'm doing an investigation on the use of poetry to approach, or craft lyric writing. The research ...
  A: You're welcome! I think rhythm is more important than rime (I prefer using the older form "rime" ...
Poetry to approach to song writing11/25/2011
  Q: I'm doing an investigation on the use of poetry to approach, or craft lyric writing. The research ...
  A: Songs and poems are similar. In general, most songs might be considered "poetry light." There is a ...
quote9/15/2011
  Q: I prefer no one's company more than my own. H.L. Menken? Thank you for your time. Steve
  A: That doesn't sound like Mencken. Seneca said, "The primary sign of a well-ordered mind is a man's ...
rhyme schemes9/2/2011
  Q: is this true or troll - "Btw if you look through literary magazines you will find that poems with a ...
  A: It's mostly troll. While it's true that much contemporary poetry is unrimed, it is quite inaccurate ...
identify poet from lines7/23/2011
  Q: The lines I know are "Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, It might have been
  A: Charles, Those lines are from John Greenleaf Whittier's "Maud Miller": ...
Poetry of Tennessee Williams6/23/2011
  Q: I have read that the poem, that later became "Nonno's (Grandfather's) Poem" in "The Night of the ...
  A: The short story title is the same as the play. A copy of the short story appears in Tennessee ...
Need a copy of this poem please6/18/2011
  Q: The Poem is by George R. Sims and is called "Mrs 3 Doors up" I do hope you can help me. Many thanks ...
  A: "Mrs. Three Door Up" is not a poem: ...
Clancy of the Overflow vs Ballad of the Drover6/7/2011
  Q: What is the poem Clancy of the overflow by banjo Paterson about?? what is the poem ballad of the ...
  A: The speaker in "Clancy of the Overflow" romanticizes the life of a cowboy (drover) in the Australian ...
Night of the Iguana poem5/18/2011
  Q: Linda; I ran across your version of the poem written for the movie Night of the Iguana today and ...
  A: You are correct that the version of Williams' poem that I placed on allexperts does contain those ...
The Ballad of the Reading Gaol4/20/2011
  Q: Excuse me Miss Linda...I just want an analysis of the use of metaphors and similes and so ...
  A: "Hands of lust" metaphorically refers to killing in the heat of passion. "Hands of Gold" means ...
English Poem question3/14/2011
  Q: In the poem Daughters, 1900 by Mariliyn Nelson "Pomp" is probably: A. the cousin B. a stranger C. ...
  A: Considering the title and the following stanza of Nelson's villanelle, you should be able to answer ...
Unstressed and Stressed Syllables2/23/2011
  Q: How can i distinguish the difference between unstressed and stressed syllables?
  A: The stressed syllable receives the most emphasis or accent. For example, let's compare two words: ...
driving me nuts!12/14/2010
  Q: In my early teens I loved poetry, but there was this poem that i was especially fond of. I believe i ...
  A: The poem you describe is possibly "Ad Finum" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox: ...
The Indifferent - by John Donne12/4/2010
  Q: I am trying to analyze The Indifferent which I so far understand to be along the lines of a satire ...
  A: In the line, "Let me, and do you, twenty know," the speaker is suggesting that it is virtuous and ...
Identify a poem3/31/2010
  Q: I want to find a copy of a poem entitled (approximately) Cathleen Sweeping. It is a poet's ...
  A: This might be what you are looking for: ...
Poems3/26/2010
  Q: I would like to know if you can help understand this two poems "Sence You Went Away" by James ...
  A: My article on Johnson's "Sence You Went Away" might help you: ...
The Road Not Taken analysis1/20/2010
  Q: This question is for Linda Sue Grimes. Hi Linda, In your analysis of the poem, you point out that ...
  A: In your analysis, you write the following: When the speaker says he will be reporting sometime in ...
The Road Not Taken analysis1/18/2010
  Q: This question is for Linda Sue Grimes. Hi Linda, In your analysis of the poem, you point out that ...
  A: I have responded to each of your questions below, labeling my responses with "LSG"; hope this helps. ...
need poetry help ASAP11/18/2009
  Q: I have a couple of questions actually... My first is Why is William Carlos Williams' poem "The Red ...
  A: "Stiff life" in poetry functions the same way it does in painting: the images are usually inanimate ...
identification of a poem10/23/2009
  Q: I would like to identify a poem I learned in Junior High School. What I remember of the verses is: ...
  A: This might be what you are looking for: http://www.scvsc.org/newsletter/JAN%2006%20MO.pdf ...
Who wrote this line of poetry?7/30/2009
  Q: My uncle recently quoted to me two lines of Emily Dickinson: "But internal differences/ Where the ...
  A: Here is the poem "Farewell To A Friend" by Li Bai translated by Ezra Pound: Blue mountains to the ...
In Goya's Greatest Scenes7/16/2009
  Q: in my English IV class last year, we were studying the Beats and came across Ferlinghetti's "In ...
  A: My article on Ferlinghetti's "In Goya's Greatest Scenes" focuses on the extended hyperbole engaged ...
unidentified prose7/9/2009
  Q: My mother-in-law has alzheimers and continually qoutes a piece of prose that she learned as a ...
  A: Actually, your quotations are from two poems: "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and ...
Author of poem, "Safely Home"6/4/2009
  Q: I would like to know the author of this poem which begins, "I am home in heaven, dear ones; Oh so ...
  A: Apparently, the quest for the name of the author of this verse has been ongoing for years, and no ...
The Mother in 19th Century Romanticism5/10/2009
  Q: I've been given this question; Assess the importance of the figure of the mother to writers in the ...
  A: "Figure of the mother" means the way motherhood is portrayed by the literature: are mothers seen as ...
need help with these lines on what they mean4/26/2009
  Q: Explain the following lines: "My father used to say,/ 'Superior people never make long visits,'/... ...
  A: A paraphrase of those lines would go something like this: "My father believed that intelligent, ...
Poetry4/20/2009
  Q: Is song a poetry?
  A: Most songs do not achieve poetic status. Some songs employ poetic devices, especially rime and ...
structure4/16/2009
  Q: What is structure???
  A: Structure is the way something is put together. For example, the structure of an English sonnet ...
Question about poem4/8/2009
  Q: Who wrote and where can I find the poem that includes the following: "Dem Mensch ist keine Frist ...
  A: I don't think it is a poem, merely a saying: Rasch trifft der Tod den Menschen an, es ist ihm ...
Maya Angelou's Country Lover3/27/2009
  Q: Grimes, In doing a TP-CASSTT Analysis of this short poem, I did not see a shift in speakers or ...
  A: The first five lines describe the man, presumably "the country lover," or something associated with ...
Robert Hayden's "The Whipping"2/26/2009
  Q: Grimes, I am a first year university student currently doing a course in academic writing. As such ...
  A: My article about a Hayden poem might help you: ...
Poetry2/24/2009
  Q: I am looking for a poem, I think the title is "Today". The first line begins with, "God gave me ...
  A: What you are looking for might be on the following site. Scroll down and find the name "Lou Holtz." ...
19th Century Romantiism; Female Poets2/21/2009
  Q: I have been given four poems from my programme; Felicia Hemmans - "The Land of Dreams" Mary ...
  A: First, please realize that there is no way of ascertaining "why" a poet wrote a poem. And likewise, ...
Death & Co. by Sylvia Plath1/9/2009
  Q: I`m a student of English literature. Reading this poem I had difficulty understanding the main ...
  A: The expression "Somebody's done for" is a slangy colloquialism for "Someone had died" or "will soon ...
Identify poem?12/15/2008
  Q: I am looking for the lyrics/line for a poem that can be used as part of a funeral message. It is a ...
  A: The following site has a poem called "God's Scheme" by Virginia Ellis; it has the line, "That one ...
poetry line12/11/2008
  Q: I am searching for a poem I had memorized in my teenage existential crisis but can only remember ...
  A: You might be thinking of the following by Allen Ginsberg: I feel as if I am at a dead end and so I ...
Pablo Neruda's poems (translated into english)11/21/2008
  Q: What are the themes in the poems 'Ars Poetica' and 'The Future is Space' by neruda (taken from 'The ...
  A: Perhaps my articles about the Neruda pieces will help you: "Ars Poetica": ...
identifying a poem11/19/2008
  Q: As a child I read a poem which was titled either "all the things are gay and beautiful" or "All the ...
  A: There is a line, "All the world seems bright and gay," in the song, "When Irish Eye are ...
Walt Whitman11/6/2008
  Q: Was Walt Whitman awarded any awards during his lifetime or after or both? And if so what were they?
  A: Awards for poetry is a fairly recent phenomenon. Whitman was well-known during his lifetime, but ...
kipling line10/24/2008
  Q: what kipling poem contains the line "...returned home with our heads bloodied, not bowed"
  A: I think you are referring to William Ernest Henley's "Invictus," which has the line, "My head is ...
Research Paper10/20/2008
  Q: I have to do a research paper comparing the poetry of two English authors. The two authors i have ...
  A: For a compare/contrast paper, you first decide if you want to concentrate on how your subjects are ...
identifying a poem10/14/2008
  Q: I would love to know who wrote this poem: When I rise, let me rise joyfully ...
  A: I found the following piece at http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/liz/liz4.htm And when I ...
poetry themes7/17/2008
  Q: I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of any "classic" American/British poetry that ...
  A: Christina, Emily Dickinson's "After great pain" is one of the best poems about grief: ...
line from a poem6/28/2008
  Q: Recently, my wife passed away. She had placed the words, "safely home," on her father's monument. ...
  A: My condolences on your wife's passing. The poem, "Beannacht" by Irish poet John O'Donohue ...
Hyena by Edwin Morgan6/25/2008
  Q: "It is said I am a good match / for a dead lion" Could you please explain the irony of this ...
  A: The word "match" adds the irony to the line. In a match, for example a wrestling match, there are ...
villanelle vs. versanelle5/30/2008
  Q: What is the difference between a villanelle and a versanelle. Thanks in advance. Jane Ivey
  A: The traditional villanelle has a very specific structure. For a thorough description of that form, ...
English Literature4/18/2008
  Q: Where do I get the poem summaries for Robert Browning's The Last Ride Together and Prospice?? Any ...
  A: The following site has a note on "The Last Ride Together": ...
Line from a poem Little Orphan Annie (I think)4/15/2008
  Q: Please help. This has been haunting me for years. I am trying to find a poem with the line "And then ...
  A: Here's copy of James Whitcomb Riley's "Little Orphant Annie": ...
Mark Twain Poetry4/10/2008
  Q: I am reading Ode to Stephen Bowling Dots, Dec'd. And I don't get why the title is Stephen Bowling ...
  A: I venture to guess that Twain was just fooling around; he probably thought it a happy coincidence ...
A.E. Houseman4/3/2008
  Q: Compare A.E. Houseman's treatment of death and loss in these 3 poems: "To An Athlete dying young", ...
  A: The following articles should help you with your study of Housman's poems: ...
Name of poem3/25/2008
  Q: Can you tell me the name of the poem that has the line,"Ah that my love is in my arms and I in my ...
  A: That poem is variously called "Western Wind" and "The Lover in Winter Plaineth for the Spring"; it ...
marianne moore3/24/2008
  Q: How are you? Im having difficulty understanding Marianne Moore's poems since its so complicated and ...
  A: To determine the theme of a poem, you need to follow two steps: first, read carefully and write a ...
safely home3/3/2008
  Q: I would like to know who the autor is or where i can find this poem to purchase.It supposely starts ...
  A: The following sites have a copy of the poem, "I am safely home in heaven": ...
Charles Harpur3/1/2008
  Q: Just wondering, do you know WHY Charles Harpur wrote the Battle Of life and what year he wrote it? ...
  A: Harpur's "The Battle of Life" does not seem to be an occasional poem; therefore, it is impossible to ...
emily dickinson1/12/2008
  Q: what is emily dickinson's most famous poem about death, and what is is about? thanks. jane
  A: An often anthologized Dickinson poem about death is "Because I could not stop for Death." The ...
poetry12/13/2007
  Q: I need to know what the poem The Murdered Traveller by William Cullen Bryant is about
  A: The following article should help you with your study of William Cullen Bryant's "The Murdered ...
finishing and poem and its author12/11/2007
  Q: Can you please tell me who wrote this poem and what the final verse is? Oh, would some power the ...
  A: The poem is "To a Louse" by Robert Burns. Your quotation contains the first three lines from the ...
WW2 poetry11/18/2007
  Q: Can you please direct me to the text of the WW2 poem whose first line is..."Will came home from ...
  A: The poem is "Dunkirk: A Ballad" by Robert Nathan, and it was published in Harper's Magazine in 1941. ...
Irish composer and poet11/10/2007
  Q: I've been asked to translate the following short poem by Turlough O'Carolan into Chinese, but I need ...
  A: Yearning is wound with anticipation. New hope is newly harbored... "boundary line" refers to both ...
Two poems, 1 serious, 1 humorous10/29/2007
  Q: I have a poem memory--it ends with "And their eyes are burning." and it's about soldiers coming to ...
  A: The Auden poem is "The Quarry": http://www.themediadrome.com/content/poetry/auden_the_quarry.htm ...
Rudyard Kipling10/21/2007
  Q: Could you tell me the general meaning of the poem "Helen All Alone" by Rudyard Kipling please. I was ...
  A: The following article should help with your reading of Kipling's "Helen All Alone": ...
Poem Identification7/23/2007
  Q: I would like the words to a poem I ran across around 1983 went something like this: People ...
  A: I found the following that might be what you're looking for on the site ...
Re: EXAMPLE OF POETRY WITH SAME THEMES4/28/2007
  Q: I just wanted to know if you can please help me with or direct me to examples of poems that share ...
  A: W. H. Auden’s "Musée des Beaux Arts" and William Carlos Williams'"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" ...
Abortion Poem4/4/2007
  Q: I found this poem years ago, like over 20. It is about a baby growing inside it's mother. Goes ...
  A: I do not recognize the poem you describe, but I would recommend your friend use Gwendolyn Brook's ...
Poems for Children about Equality4/3/2007
  Q: What is the name of the poem either by Shel Silverstein or Langston Hughes about ..."we all look the ...
  A: Langston Hughes' "Theme for English B" might work for your presentation: ...
Trying to Find Poem4/2/2007
  Q: I am looking for the poem that was quoted for the intro for a syndicated show years ago emanating ...
  A: That quotation is apparently from a longer one by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: ...
help!3/28/2007
  Q: my name is Ceci I'm studying the 10th semester in BA in English and as a final project i need to ...
  A: It does not matter if a poem has already been translated, and there is no way of knowing which ones ...
yeats3/22/2007
  Q: I have a few questions on Yeats pome "Easter 1916" here is the pome....... its kind of long :-) I ...
  A: The lines, "Too long a sacrifice / Can make a stone of the heart," indicate a certain ...
Night of Iquana Grandfathers poem3/19/2007
  Q: In this great movie the grand father wrote a poem before he died that began How calmly does the ...
  A: Tennessee Williams wrote the play Night of the Iguana, and he used some of his poems in it: ...
HDT3/4/2007
  Q: So, what it might be if not fish. What they may be looking for? thanxHello Linda! There is a quote ...
  A: It might be helpful to find the quotation to determine the context from which it was taken. What ...
robyn c. in need of help3/3/2007
  Q: “Dubbel zoet” by J. Rhodes i can't seem to get the total meaning and the meter for this poem if you ...
  A: Here are the web site and the email address of the poet, J Rhodes, who wrote "DUBBEL ZOET": ...
literature2/23/2007
  Q: Last time, I was reading Henry David Thoreau's quotes. there are some I don't quite understand, ...
  A: 1. "Dreams are the touchstones of our character." Dreams are visions from the subconscious, which ...
unknow poem?2/3/2007
  Q: a line within the poem is: Spend all your kisses
  A: There is a book called 'Spend All Your Kisses, Mr. Smith' by Jack Clifford Smith, but I do not think ...
can you help me?2/1/2007
  Q: I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn't, So I jumped in ...
  A: Langston Hughes' "Life is Fine," is influenced by blues-style lyrics. The speaker has been hurt by ...
poetry1/31/2007
  Q: I have to interpret the poem "Boy Breaking Glass" by Gwendolyn Brooks, and to be honest I have no ...
  A: "Boy Breaking Glass" focuses on a boy in a poor neighborhood. Because of his poverty, he is unable ...
poetry reading1/21/2007
  Q: How do I convey proper emphasis or meaning for text in quotes while reading a piece? For example: ...
  A: Here are some possibilites: When you come the quoted material, you can pause just briefly and then ...
Ulysses1/11/2007
  Q: Tennyson's Ulysses starts: It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these ...
  A: I think we are to read the first line as if it had the word "as" before the "an": "It little ...
Sir Philip Sidney. Astrophel and Stella12/26/2006
  Q: i need paraphrase for this poem please or tell me about any site explian it Sir Philip Sidney. ...
  A: To paraphrase you restate the lines in your own words, making sure you keep the same tense, person, ...
please help me find poem12/16/2006
  Q: I know I do not remember all of the poem, it was very dear to me and I am in need of it again. ...
  A: The following site has the poem and also some discussion about its author and the various versions ...
The Neo Classical Urn12/11/2006
  Q: I am to write an essay on this poem and I do not understand the symbolism used in this poem.
  A: A symbol is an object that stands for itself and something else. For exampe, the flag of a nation ...
richard cory12/11/2006
  Q: I guess i was right. Still, i find reading poems a puzzle. I think i understand W.W. Yeats' "Sailing ...
  A: W. B. Yeats' "Sailing to Byzantium" dramatizes the speaker's feelings about aging. In the last ...
"berry picking" by irving layton12/8/2006
  Q: i am an AP english student and we had to read poems and find the theme and supporting points of it. ...
  A: The speaker seems to envy his wife's simple relationship with nature and children, but perhaps he is ...
Emily Dickinson12/7/2006
  Q: Do you know what the poem is called by Emily Dickinson where she talks about how she wishes she ...
  A: It's #326 in Johnson's Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson: I cannot dance upon my Toes - No Man ...
richard cory12/4/2006
  Q: When I was in high school, I used to write "poems" without even understanding what a poem is! ...
  A: The focus of Richard Cory is not on why he killed himself. The focus is on the mystery of it. They ...
Question about "When I Was One-and-Twenty" by A.E. Housman11/28/2006
  Q: I was given the assignment to write an analysis on a poem of my choosing, and I decided on "When I ...
  A: Housman's "When I Was One-and-Twenty" metaphorically contrasts giving love to giving away items of ...
poem or saying?11/11/2006
  Q: Is this a poem or just a contemporary piece of poetic zen philosophy? "Do not walk in front of me, ...
  A: One web site attributes the saying to the Utes: "Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk ...
song lyric10/29/2006
  Q: could you help me to analyze this lyric? I don't get what lyric is trying to express, especially the ...
  A: The lyric, "Sounds of Silence," expresses the speaker's dissatisfaction with people and his ...
old children's poem10/23/2006
  Q: My mother is 89 and when she was a child she recited a poem that from her memory goes ....I stooped ...
  A: The title of the poem is "Nothing to Laugh At" by Edgar Guest from his book When Day is Done. You ...
hiii10/18/2006
  Q: I liked your picture^^ Anyways, to my question,, I was wondering if you would know any site on to ...
  A: Here is a site with a useful analysis of Keats' "Bright Star": ...
John Keats' Poem10/13/2006
  Q: Finally, I am able to ask you a question, expecting an expertise-like answer and point-of-view. ...
  A: "Unchangeable" and "swell" are near-rimes. Actually, the final sound "l" is the only rime for those ...
themes of poems written by walt whitman10/7/2006
  Q: i would like to know the themes of poems written by walt whitman thank you, sadhav
  A: Whitman's themes are varied. His most important work LEAVES OF GRASS, which he revised many times, ...
john keats9/1/2006
  Q: after studying the major odes of keats, it seems that the allprevailing theme in it is the ...
  A: Generally speaking, a poet is not restricted to only one approach to his work. However, if you ...
Term Paper - Walt Whitman6/6/2006
  Q: Any advice on which poems to discuss (and what theme/idea ties them all together)?I have to write a ...
  A: Whitman wrote in a cosmic voice, that it, a voice or persona that was all inclusive, as if his ...
Term Paper - Walt Whitman6/6/2006
  Q: I have to write a term paper in the area of 15 pages on the works of Emerson, Thoreau, and/or ...
  A: The Walt Whilman Archive is very good at http://www.whitmanarchive.org/index.html You could discuss ...
antipoesia5/25/2006
  Q: can you please define antipoesia for me? I am writing a paper on Jose Emilio Pacheco and don t even ...
  A: "Antipoesía" is Spanish for "antipoetry." Here is a site that might help you. Caution: it has been ...
Maya Angelou5/5/2006
  Q: I've changed my topic to entrapment verses freedom in Maya Angelou's poetry, and I started writing a ...
  A: I suggest you just focus on freedom. You're using the word "entrapment" inaccurately, and actually, ...
John Greenleaf Whittier5/3/2006
  Q: John Greenleaf Whittier is purported to have been a mentor for many women poets and artists. Do you ...
  A: Whittier encourged Celia Thaxter, Sarah Orne Jewett, Annie Fields, and others. Probably the best ...
Fiminist poetry - Emily Dickinson and Maya Angelou5/3/2006
  Q: I am writing a research paper on any literary topic of my choice for the final assignment of a ...
  A: For a paper only 5 pages long, you are trying to take on too many issues. Plus you admit that you ...
poetry5/2/2006
  Q: i need analysis on this poem VII. O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell, O SOLITUDE! if I must ...
  A: The poem is quite simple. In the octave of the sonnet the speaker addresses "solitude" telling it ...
Leverson?4/28/2006
  Q: I was recently at a poetry reading where someone read a poem about peace/war. I wrote down the name ...
  A: I think you're referring to Denise Levertov. Here is a site with links to information about her and ...
Poem name3/23/2006
  Q: I am sorry if this question is out of the "norm." A while back, I came across this poem that I ...
  A: The quotation goes, "Life is a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy to those who think"; it is ...
Poem3/22/2006
  Q: Do you know an appropriate poem to be read by a family member (sister) of her twin sister at the ...
  A: My condolence to the family members for their loss. Here are three possibilities: The poem "In His ...
Ralph Waldo Emerson - Ode to Beauty3/20/2006
  Q: I am doing a project on Emily Dickinson, and we were asked to choose a peice of literature that ...
  A: Emerson's "Ode to Beauty" is about beauty. The speaker considers what beauty means and how it ...
Poem recommendation3/7/2006
  Q: Grimes, I was hoping you might offer a handfull of poems about birds--particulary about bird ...
  A: A Wordsworth poem "UPON SEEING A COLOURED DRAWING OF THE BIRD OF PARADISE IN AN ALBUM" might work: ...
'The Raven ' by Poe2/19/2006
  Q: Do you know who 'the lost Lenore' was supposed to be? Is there any specific information?
  A: I don't think that "the lost Lenore" represents an actual person. Poe's wife became a virtual ...
finding a poem2/17/2006
  Q: I'm trying to find a poem that an eldery friend of mine use to know.I know this is a shot in the ...
  A: I'm not sure if this is the exact poem you want, but it seems to present a similar theme about ...
War Poetry2/10/2006
  Q: I've been looking at the poetry of the First World War. Edmund Blunden, Siegfried Sassoon, Ruper ...
  A: The following sites offer a lot of information about World War I poetry: ...
Quote from e.e. cummings2/9/2006
  Q: I would like to use the following quote attributed to e.e. cummings in a paper: "We can risk ...
  A: It seems likely that the quotation "Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, ...
Identify a poem2/8/2006
  Q: Grimes: I am trying to find a poem that I was required to memorize back in grade school in the ...
  A: I don't recognize the poem from your description. The verse you remember was probably not ...
english language2/2/2006
  Q: Ms. Grimes, Could you refer me to an expert on the english lexicon- word usage and such? My ...
  A: Here's the URL for dictionary.com where you'll find some definitions and usage examples for ...
Poem by Archibald Macleish1/26/2006
  Q: When I was in high school in the mid 60's, I found a poem by Archibald MacLeish I liked so much that ...
  A: There is an anonymous quotation containing the same sentiment as the one you describe: "If you ...
looking for a poem...12/17/2005
  Q: I am twenty three years old and my best friend became an orphan today. I was wondering if you knew ...
  A: Here's a poem that might work for your situation: A Friend's Greeting by Edgar A. Guest I'd ...
20th century poetry12/12/2005
  Q: I am looking for the name of what I think is a spanish, portugese, italian or other similar romantic ...
  A: The poet's name is Pablo Neruda, and he was born in Chile. For a biographical sketch of the poet, ...
Poem12/8/2005
  Q: I am looking for a poem titled "A Boob in Autumn". The author is unknown, and my husband remembers ...
  A: I think the title you want is "Abou Ben Adhem" by James Leigh Hunt: Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe ...
Christmas Gift Advice About Poetry11/26/2005
  Q: I am working on a gift for my fiance for Christmas...and I need some direction. She has had a ...
  A: Here's a site with a poem that offers hope: ...
Hello! It's a passage by...11/20/2005
  Q: It's a passage by Yeats: "The intellect of man is forced to choose Perfection of the life, or of ...
  A: To paraphrase Yeats' lines, "If a man chooses to perfect his work instead of his life, he loses all ...
Poems about cancer11/17/2005
  Q: Grimes, Could you provide a list--just a handfull would suffice--of poems about cancer written by ...
  A: Ted Kooser, the current U.S. poet laureate, has a poem called "At the Cancer Clinic": ...
Poetry explication11/13/2005
  Q: William Carolos Williams "complete Destruction" It was an icy day. We buried the cat, then took her ...
  A: Williams' "Complete Destruction" is just a simple little poem saying "the cat died and after we ...
Grade 10 Poetry11/9/2005
  Q: I was wondering if I can get help for highschool poetry What kind of poetic styple has been used in ...
  A: I'm not acquainted with M. W. Field's "At the Bus Stop, One Autumn Morning," but what I gather from ...
english techniques11/9/2005
  Q: hey my names josh i was wondering if you could help me with finding what does this text say about ...
  A: The following quotations from the Guardian Unlimited tells something about Australia and the song: ...
Finding a poem10/23/2005
  Q: I am looking for a poem and not sure where to start as I understand there are several books that ...
  A: I couldn't find a Milne poem called "Before Ten," but he has a poem called "Before Tea" which is in ...
finding poem10/19/2005
  Q: my grandmother asked me to search for a poem called, AD CAELUM CHAYLUM by Hrry Romaine. The poem is ...
  A: I think the following is what you are looking for: Ad Coelum At the muezzin's call for prayer, ...
Figure of speech & Literary Devices10/18/2005
  Q: Help! Can you make the the distinction between figures of speech and literary devices, and give ...
  A: The terms "figure of speech" and "literary device" are used interchangeably, but there are ...
TRANSLATION9/30/2005
  Q: Spoon River Anthology 41 Mrs. Charles Bliss reverend wiley advised ...
  A: The speaker of the poem is complaining that because of the advice of preachers and judges she stayed ...
Chinua Achebe's Refugee Mother and Child7/19/2005
  Q: I am a student teacher and am not sure as to which areas of this poem I need to highlight and focus ...
  A: You will want to discuss the speaker of the poem, the speaker's attitude, and the language or poetic ...
Poem Interpretation7/18/2005
  Q: Here is a poem: Bonsai (Edith L. Tiempo) All that I love I fold over once And once again And keep ...
  A: The speaker in the poem "Bonsai" is dramatizing her love for small things, especially things written ...
Donne's "For Whom the Bell Tolls"7/6/2005
  Q: "Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." I understand the poem, but ...
  A: Yes, basically that's what "send not" means. But confusion arises from the form. This passages is ...
Williams Carlos Williams7/1/2005
  Q: In Williams' poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow," what does he mean by "so much depends upon a red ...
  A: On a farm a wheelbarrow is used for transporting many items like chicken feed, wood, vegetables, ...
identify a poem6/28/2005
  Q: I need help finding the whole poem from which the following is a part: "Few push such ultimates. ...
  A: I think you're right that the poet is probably Anne Stanford, but I cannot find the poem from which ...
abortion poem6/18/2005
  Q: i am searching for a particular poem. i believe but could be wrong that it waas written by an ...
  A: I don't recognize the poem, and I would need more specific information to look for it. If you have ...
*** Looking for ... ***6/14/2005
  Q: I am Azar,25 from Iran. My first language is Farsi and I am studying English . Maybe here is not a ...
  A: You are welome to ask me questions about English any time. From your writing I can tell you are ...
Dramatic Monologues6/13/2005
  Q: I am not sure if you are the right person to ask, but I hope you are. What are some typical topics ...
  A: The topic can be about anything, with anyone speaking. Here is a list of possible ideas: 1. a ...
song script6/9/2005
  Q: i hope you can find some answer to my question.i wonder if there is any book or publication that i ...
  A: Many CD's have the lyric to songs on the album. Also you can find online the words to many songs. ...
Re: Poetry5/29/2005
  Q: Grimes, how are you? I was wondering if you can tell me, who wrote the poem: Benorie, Benorie? I ...
  A: I don't recognize "Benorie, Benorie" as a poem title. Do you mean Henry Wadsworth Longfellow or ...
rhetoric in poetry5/17/2005
  Q: In relation to T.S Eliot and modernist poets, what was rhetoric and how is it used?
  A: Rhetoric is the study of discourse or the study of the use of language. So rhetoric vis-a-vis T. S. ...
new poetry reader5/15/2005
  Q: Good evening, I have never really attempting reading poetry before (am 33 years old now) and would ...
  A: I offer a free 8 lesson course for beginners of poetry at ...
to the man i married poem5/12/2005
  Q: Grimes! Could you perhaps help me in my paper? I have to make a paper about this poem. It's somewhat ...
  A: The poem is a sonnet, so you can discuss how it coforms to the requirements of a sonnet. You can ...
beat poetry5/4/2005
  Q: what makes beat poetry different than regular poetry?
  A: There are movements in poetry; Beat is a moverment, like the Romantic Movement, the Fugitive ...
research paper4/20/2005
  Q: I'm in a high school Concurrent English class that is doing a research project over poetry. My poem ...
  A: Here are my responses to your questions about Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz": 1. Do you think ...
AE Housman4/19/2005
  Q: I am writing a research paper and I required to ask an expert some questions about AE Housman and ...
  A: Q Why does AE Housman view life as such a negative existence? A Some people look on the bright ...
Poem analysis4/1/2005
  Q: I am a student in high school, and I have an assignment to analyze a poem. I get the basic idea, but ...
  A: My research of this poem turned up Nils Clausson as the poet who wrote "In the Garden." The ...
poem3/18/2005
  Q: when you answered my question you said that in the second stanza, she merely reveals non-activity. I ...
  A: In the second stanza the speaker claims that books "talk endlessly" but without purpose. They do ...
Epic poetry3/5/2005
  Q: Linda: Thank you for your answer. I would have never thought of that. But now I have a second ...
  A: I offer a free, quick, very basic course in Understanding Poetry at ...
Epic poetry3/3/2005
  Q: Much of acient literature was written in the style of epic poetry. Do we know why these writers ...
  A: Most epic poetry, including The Iliad, The Mahabharata, was originally passed on orally, and only ...
interpreting a poem3/2/2005
  Q: I need help analysing/interpreting this poem. I cannot get past the first stanza. Any help, ...
  A: The speaker in "Books Are" metaphorically compares books to people. In the second stanza, she ...
Re: Poetry2/23/2005
  Q: Grimes. Rememember me? I was wondering can you tell me where to find a summary of T.S. Eliots ...
  A: Here's a little bit of commentary on the "Preludes": ...
E.A.Poe2/10/2005
  Q: Can you give me a brief idea of what the Poemn Tamerline by E.A. Poe is all about. I am not a ...
  A: To understand Poe's Tamerlane, you need to understand something of the legend to which the poem ...
Hello, I was wondering if...2/7/2005
  Q: I was wondering if you could help me interpret the poem "A Late Aubade" by Richard Wilbur. I'm ...
  A: Unlike many carpe diem seduction poems such as "To His Coy Mistress," "A Late Aubade" has the ...
POEM IDENTIFICATION2/2/2005
  Q: WHO WROTE THE POEM ENTITLED , "SEVEN SECONDS" ? HOW CAN I FIND IT ?
  A: Falk Richter, a German playwright, has written a satirical piece called Seven Seconds/In God We ...
I'm Looking for an Older Poem1/27/2005
  Q: I'm looking for a Poem that my dad, a minister, uses as an example sometimes when he's ...
  A: James Whitcomb Riley's "When the Frost is on the Punkin" sounds a bit like the excerpt you sent. I ...
Two lines1/1/2005
  Q: Greetings, Can you please identify the following two lines and tell me the name of the poem they ...
  A: Sorry, I do not recognize those lines, and I can't find them on the net. If you could give me more ...
Your expertise12/17/2004
  Q: You may consider me dense, but what exacrly is a "classic poetry aide?"
  A: As a Classic Poetry Aide, I offer assistance in the following areas: (1) poetry from ancient to ...
Metaphor's in Adrienne Rich's "Moving in Winter"12/9/2004
  Q: i am having difficulty analyzing Rich's use of metaphor in "Moving in Winter." this is what i have ...
  A: I don't see any fresh start in this poem. Metaphor consists of their life (lousy marriage) being ...
Miltonic blank verse12/3/2004
  Q: I wonder if you could explain the effect of Miltonic blank verse on the poem's meaning. How it ...
  A: Since blank verse requires no rhyme scheme, the poet is more likely to choose words because of ...
Homer11/13/2004
  Q: I am writing a paper regarding the role of the God's and their interplay with the fate of humans in ...
  A: Here's an essay that might get you stated with that topic: ...
Robert Frost10/20/2004
  Q: bonjour,j'ai une dissertation à faire sur les poèmes de Robert Frost:The road not taken et de Robert ...
  A: For Frost's "The Road Not Taken" you will find the following site useful: ...
studying different types of poetry10/8/2004
  Q: I like to study different types of poetry and try them out for myself. I found this has greatly ...
  A: Here is a list of types of poetry: Acrostic Ballad Cinquain Clarity Pyramid Clerihew ...
Poetry10/7/2004
  Q: I was wondering what the poem "Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day" by Delmore Schwartz was ...
  A: The speaker is a person observing the scene around him as he takes a walk. He remembers things in ...
poem10/3/2004
  Q: My Wicked Uncle By Derek Mahon It was my first funeral. Some loss of status as a nephew since ...
  A: The moustache has been shaved off by the mortician apparently, or perhaps the moustache was fake, ...
Robert Frost10/1/2004
  Q: I am trying to do a research paper on the poem "The Fear" by Robert Frost, my internet searches ...
  A: The following sites offer some discussion of Frost's poems: ...
roy croft9/30/2004
  Q: Do you happen to know Mari Nichols-Haining's date of birth and whether she's still alive? i have ...
  A: I see "Why Marriage" all over the web, but no dates for Mari Nichols-Haining. Why not use "How Do I ...
my poetry9/18/2004
  Q: I have Bi-polar disorder. I only get sick once every 5 years. The rest of the time I only suffer ...
  A: You should keep writing your poetry, if you want to write it. If you want to seek criticism of its ...
William Wordsworth poem9/5/2004
  Q: I have a quote from a William Wordsworth poem and I want to know what poem this is from. "When from ...
  A: That quotation is from The Prelude, Book Fourth, Summer Vacation. You'll find that section at ...
Speeches7/25/2004
  Q: help with finding info. You said you could help me find information and stuff, so could you list ...
  A: Any of Shakespeare's plays will provide useful dramatic poetry. Check out the following site for ...
I don't understand what the speaker is talking about7/4/2004
  Q: I am suppose to write an essay about how I feel ,and the messege behinds Roo Borson poem called Save ...
  A: The speaker of "Save Us From" seems confused. She seems to show a distaste for the world, yet she ...
Mother to Son6/30/2004
  Q: I have a few questions about the poem "Mother to son" by Hughes. I was wondering about the literary ...
  A: Langston Hughes'"Mother to Son" employs the extended metaphor of life being a stairway. The theme ...
Rhyme and syntax6/30/2004
  Q: I write both free form and traditional forms of poetry. I am getting criticized for forced rhyme on ...
  A: I don't think one can usefully focus on whether one is given "slack" because the job was difficult. ...
Oscar Wilde analysis6/3/2004
  Q: I am doing a poetry presentation on Oscar Wilde for a high school english class. The poem i'm going ...
  A: Here is a bit of interesting info about Wilde and the stanza you asked about: ...
The Lyrical Subject5/18/2004
  Q: I'm an undergraduate studying for a BA in creative writing. One of my subjects is Theory of Genres ...
  A: There are two speakers because the speaker of the poem quotes the mouse; however, the speaker in ...
How would you interpret?5/14/2004
  Q: How would you interpret these two sentences? I reached for sleep and drew it around me like a ...
  A: "I reached for sleep and drew it around me like a blanket muffling pain." I tried to go to sleep to ...
MacKinlay Kantor5/1/2004
  Q: I am working on a project with a local editor, found a poem in a published local history book. The ...
  A: I think the MacKinlay Kantor who wrote that poem is the same Kantor of book/movies/television, but ...
poetry critiques4/22/2004
  Q: I teach 7th through 12th grade English at a private school. I am really struggling to teach my ...
  A: On my Classic Poetry web site, I offer an exercise in writing essays about poems. You might look at ...
two Wallace Stevens poems4/20/2004
  Q: I am analyzing two poems by Wallace Stevens from Ideas of Order. One is "A Fading of the Sun" and ...
  A: Here is a site with some links to Wallace Stevens info: ...
Poetry Search3/28/2004
  Q: I am looking for a poen that was quoted on an episode of "Touched By An Angel." The episode was ...
  A: Walt Whitman is credited with this quotation: "Oh, to be alive in such an age when miracles are ...
Kentucky 18333/24/2004
  Q: I am beginning an essay on Rita Dove's "Kentucky 1833". While doing some initial research I found ...
  A: In the poem, the slaves are enjoying a scheduled day of recreation; one could hardly call that ...
Grandchildren3/21/2004
  Q: I am looking for a poem or poems regarding grandchildren?
  A: The poems I found on the web regarding grandchildren are of the sappy, sentimental verse variety. ...
Real author,3/11/2004
  Q: 2nd Question--Dear Linda,Can you suggest what copr.1923 No.248 by,The House of Art,N.Y.means? If ...
  A: "copr.1923 No.248 by,The House of Art,N.Y." This means that the work was copyrighted in 1923 by The ...
Real author,"Thinking"3/11/2004
  Q: I understand that the poem,"Thinking" is credited to a man named Walter D.Windle who published it ...
  A: I read Ted Nesbitt's answer to this question, (http://experts.about.com/q/678/3083664.htm), and I ...
poetry interpretation3/10/2004
  Q: My eighth grade daughter is studying poetry. Right now she is studying Joaquin Miller. Is there any ...
  A: I maintain a web site called Classic Poetry at http://www.geocities.com/classicpoetry/ devoted to ...

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Linda Sue Grimes -- Classic Poetry Aide

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Expertise

Please be aware that my field of expertise is "Classic Poetry." I do not study and write about Hallmark-Card type verse, doggerel, or pornographic versification.

I assist students/readers in understanding the poems most widely studied in high school and college English classes, for example, Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death," A. E. Housman's "Loveliest of trees," Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," W. B. Yeats' "The Second Coming," Rabindranath Tagore's "The Journey," Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays," Dana Gioia’s "Words." I direct students/readers to online poetry analyses and/or research sources.

I do not dispense advice on creative writing issues, such as critiquing poems or offering ideas for poems.

Experience

2003 - present AllExperts volunteer 2007 - present Topic Editor and Feature Writer for Poetry at Suite101.com

Education/Credentials
1967 Miami University, B.A. Major in German 1971 Ball State University M.A. German/English 1984 Ball State University M.A. English 1987 Ball state University Ph.D. American, British, World Literature, Rhetoric and Composition

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