Modernist Poetry

This poetry Collection features poetic works by the Modernists, who sparked a new literary movement during the early 20th century. Characterized by its free verse structure and departure from the ideals of Romanticism, Modernist poetry represents a shift toward experimentation with structure, voice, and form. Poets represented in this Collection include T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, and W.B. Yeats.

My Love Sent Me a List

by Olena Kalytiak Davis

Publication year 2013

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships

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October

by Robert Frost

Publication year 1913

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: Aging

Tags Lyric Poem, Science / Nature, Grief / Death, American Literature

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On the Move

by Thom Gunn

Publication year 1994

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Natural World: Animals

Tags Existentialism

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Parents

by William Meredith

Publication year 1980

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships

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Poem about My Rights

by June Jordan

Publication year 2005

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Free verse, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Social Justice, Gender / Feminism

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Portrait of a Lady

by T. S. Eliot

Publication year 1915

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Music, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Narrative / Epic Poem, Modernism, British Literature, American Literature, Relationships, Love / Sexuality, Class, Classic Fiction

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Putting in the Seed

by Robert Frost

Publication year 1916

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Environment

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships, American Literature

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Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law

by Adrienne Rich

Publication year 1963

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Family

Tags Lyric Poem, Gender / Feminism, American Literature, LGBTQ, Classic Fiction

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Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl

by John Greenleaf Whittier

Publication year 1865

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Family

Tags Lyric Poem, Science / Nature, Transcendentalism, American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

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Spring is like a perhaps hand

by E. E. Cummings

Publication year 1923

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Free verse

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Success Is Counted Sweetest

by Emily Dickinson

Publication year 1864

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Lyric Poem, Transcendentalism, Grief / Death

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Tear it Down

by Jack Gilbert

Publication year 1994

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Lyric Poem

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The Conundrum of the Workshops

by Rudyard Kipling

Publication year 1890

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Lyric Poem, Arts / Culture

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The Highwayman

by Alfred Noyes

Publication year 1906

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Lyric Poem, Love / Sexuality

English poet Alfred Noyes wrote and published “The Highwayman” in 1906 during the early period of his literary career. The poem was written during the Edwardian Period of English literature but reflects influences from the romantic period a century earlier. Told as a narrative, “The Highwayman” recounts the doomed romance between a highwayman and a landlord’s daughter, Bess, who he visits in the night. Their love is sabotaged by jealousy; the poem romanticizes Bess’s sacrifice... Read The Highwayman Summary

The Lovers of the Poor

by Gwendolyn Brooks

Publication year 1963

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Poverty, Finance / Money / Wealth

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The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

by T. S. Eliot

Publication year 1915

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride

Tags Lyric Poem, Philosophy, Education, Education, American Literature, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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The Second Coming

by William Butler Yeats

Publication year 1919

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Lyric Poem, History: World, History: European, WWI / World War I

“The Second Coming” is an allegorical poem that W. B. Yeats penned in 1919 and published in The Dial in 1920. The poem describes a declining, violent present and an impending apocalyptic future, marked by the approach of a sphinxlike monster. The poem is often considered an allegory for the fraught times Yeats was living in—namely, the end of World War I, the midst of the Spanish flu pandemic, and the beginning of the Irish... Read The Second Coming Summary