Defining the word poem isn’t that simple. Basically, it’s any collection of written or spoken words that have some sort of lyrical quality, rhythm, and/or structure that’s less straightforward than a ...

Guest columnist Beth Ann Fennelly analyzes Shakespeare's Sonnet 29 for its enduring relevance. The sonnet describes a speaker's journey from self-pity and envy to finding joy through love. Shakespeare ...

Oliver de la Paz’s poem is part of a series of “diaspora sonnets,” in which this one, along with others, create a whole, while each sonnet can still operate on its own. These sonnets don’t have all ...

Shakespeare’s sonnets are considered some of the literary genius' most popular works, with some - such as Sonnet 18’s “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day” - becoming the best-known works in ...

Our critic A.O. Scott marvels at the power and paradox of a sonnet by Gwendolyn Brooks. Isabella Cotier By A.O. Scott Here’s a poem about patience, about self-control, about the need to conserve your ...

Commonly, auditions require contrasting one-minute classical and contemporary monologues. Shakespeare’s well-known speeches remain stalwarts of dramatic literature, and for good reason. However, how ...

Batter my heart, three person’d God, for you As yet but knock breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

Had Henry Howard lived past 30, it might have been he rather than Shakespeare who gave his name to the sonnet form in which they both specialised Together with Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, earl of ...

Food and poetry share an intimate connection, for both are forms of art that nourish the soul. In poetry, words are carefully chosen to evoke emotions, just as chefs select ingredients to create ...

Love poems? Let's see how well you know them. Do you know the difference between a ballad and an elegy? Can you tell what a lyric is? Or can identity what a five line witty poem with a distinctive ...