Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems
Inspirational PoemsTo a Louse
Ha! whare ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?
Your impudence protects you sairly:
I canna say but ye strunt rarely,
Owre gauze and lace,
Tho’ faith! I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place.
Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,
Detested, shunn’d, by saunt an’ sinner,
How daur ye set your fit upon her,
Sae fine a lady!
Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner
On some poor body.
Swith! in some beggar’s haffet squattle;
There ye may creep, and sprawl, and sprattle,
Wi’ ither kindred, jumping cattle,
In shoals and nations;
Whare horn nor bane ne’er daur unsettle
Your thick plantations.
Now haud you there, ye’re out o’ sight,
Below the fatt’rels, snug and tight;
Na, faith ye yet! ye’ll no be right,
Till ye’ve got on it—
The vera tapmost, tow’ring height
O’ Miss’s bonnet.
My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose out,
As plump an’ grey as ony grozet:
O for some rank, mercurial rozet,
Or fell, red smeddum,
I’d gie ye sic a hearty dose o’t,
Wad dress your droddum!
I wad na been surpris’d to spy
You on an auld wife’s flannen toy;
Or aiblins some bit duddie boy,
On’s wyliecoat;
But Miss’s fine Lunardi! fye!
How daur ye do’t?
O Jenny, dinna toss your head,
An’ set your beauties a’ abread!
Ye little ken what cursed speed
The blastie’s makin!
Thae winks and finger-ends, I dread,
Are notice takin!
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An’ foolish notion:
What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,
And ev’n devotion!
Overview Short Summary
Burns’ poem is about self-awareness. A louse on a fine lady’s bonnet becomes a comic lesson: many blunders would disappear if people could see themselves as others see them.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Learning from mistakes: Seeing ourselves clearly could free us from blunders.
- Pride: The fine lady’s appearance is undercut by a tiny louse.
- Self-awareness: The final stanza makes the poem a lasting lesson in humility.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is comic, sharp, and observant. The mood is humorous but corrective.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
The louse, lace, bonnet, winks, dress, gait, and gift of self-sight turn vanity into a lesson.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The poem moves from comic observation to a famous moral insight.
The Spider and the Fly
“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly,
“’Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there.”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down again.”
“I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?” said the Spider to the Fly.
“There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I’ll snugly tuck you in!”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “for I’ve often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!”
Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, “Dear friend, what can I do
To prove the warm affection I’ve always felt for you?
I have within my pantry, good store of all that’s nice;
I’m sure you’re very welcome—will you please to take a slice?”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “kind sir, that cannot be,
I’ve heard what’s in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!”
“Sweet creature!” said the Spider, “you’re witty and you’re wise,
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I’ve a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,
If you’ll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.”
“I thank you, gentle sir,” she said, “for what you’re pleased to say,
And bidding you good-morning now, I’ll call another day.”
The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready to dine upon the Fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
“Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple—there’s a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!”
Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue—
Thinking only of her crested head—poor foolish thing! At last,
Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour—but she ne’er came out again!
And now, dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly.
Overview Short Summary
Howitt’s poem is a clear poem about a dangerous mistake: the fly knows the spider is unsafe, but flattery weakens her judgment. It works well for student and life lesson keywords.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Wrong choices: The fly ignores her own better knowledge.
- Flattery: Praise becomes the trap that leads to the mistake.
- Life lesson: The final stanza directly warns readers against harmful counsel.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is storytelling, cautionary, and dramatic. The mood becomes tense as the fly moves closer to danger.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
The parlour, winding stair, bed, pantry, mirror, web, wings, and den symbolize temptation and consequence.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The narrative structure makes the mistake easy to follow from warning to fall.
Against Idleness and Mischief
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.
In works of labour or of skill,
I would be busy too;
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.
In books, or work, or healthful play,
Let my first years be past,
That I may give for every day
Some good account at last.
Overview Short Summary
Watts’ poem is useful for mistake poems for students because it warns against the mistake of wasting time and drifting into mischief through idleness.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Student mistakes: The poem connects idleness with mischief.
- Learning from examples: The busy bee models useful action.
- Life lessons: Each day should produce a good account.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is simple, instructional, and child-friendly. The mood is practical and orderly.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
The bee, shining hour, honey, flower, cell, wax, books, work, and play create a lesson about useful time.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The poem’s regular rhyme makes the moral lesson easy to remember.
The Sluggard
‘Tis the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain,
“You have wak’d me too soon, I must slumber again.”
As the door on its hinges, so he on his bed
Turns his sides and his shoulders and his heavy head.
“A little more sleep, and a little more slumber;”
Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number;
And when he gets up, he sits folding his hands,
Or walks about sauntering, or trifling he stands.
I pass’d by his garden, and saw the wild brier,
The thorn and the thistle grew broader and higher;
The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags;
And his money still wastes, till he starves or he begs.
I made him a visit, still hoping to find
He had took better care for improving his mind:
He told me his dreams, talked of eating and drinking;
But he scarce reads his Bible, and never loves thinking.
Said I then to my heart, “Here’s a lesson for me;
That man’s but a picture of what I might be:
But thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding,
Who taught me betimes to love working and reading.”
Overview Short Summary
Watts’ poem is about the mistake of delay, laziness, and neglect. The speaker sees the sluggard’s wasted garden and turns it into a personal lesson.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Mistakes in life: Wasted time leads to disorder and poverty.
- Learning from mistakes: The speaker learns by observing someone else’s example.
- Students: The poem encourages working, reading, and improving the mind.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is moral, plain, and cautionary. The mood is corrective because the sluggard becomes a warning.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
The bed, hinges, garden, brier, thorn, thistle, rags, and wasted money symbolize neglect.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The poem ends by turning another person’s mistake into self-improvement.
A Dream Within a Dream
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand—
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep—while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Overview Short Summary
Poe’s poem is not about one obvious mistake, but it captures the feeling of realizing too late that time, hope, and golden chances are slipping away.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Past mistakes: The speaker wants to hold what cannot be held.
- Regret: The lost grains of sand suggest lost chances and time.
- Life lessons: The poem makes readers feel the urgency of what passes.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is sorrowful, questioning, and desperate. The mood is haunting because the speaker cannot save even one grain.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
Kiss, dream, shore, golden sand, fingers, deep, and pitiless wave symbolize loss and helplessness.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The two stanzas move from farewell to a painful image of time slipping away.
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