Test Resume Flashcards
Robert Frost – “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
A traveler pauses to admire the peaceful beauty of snow-covered woods but ultimately remembers his obligations and continues his journey.
William Stafford – “Traveling Through the Dark”
The speaker encounters a dead deer on the road and reflects on the moral dilemma of life and death as he decides to push it into the canyon.
Elizabeth Bishop – “One Art”
A villanelle that explores loss, claiming that losing things—whether small or significant—is an “art” that can be mastered, though personal grief suggests otherwise.
Percy Bysshe Shelley – “Ozymandias”
A ruined statue in the desert symbolizes the fleeting nature of power and the inevitable decay of human achievements.
Robert Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover”
A dramatic monologue in which a man kills his lover, Porphyria, to preserve a perfect moment of love, highlighting themes of obsession and control.
T.S. Eliot – “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
A dramatic monologue in which the timid Prufrock contemplates his insecurities, social anxieties, and the passage of time, ultimately failing to take decisive action.
William Wordsworth – “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge”
A sonnet that marvels at the serene beauty of London in the early morning, contrasting the city’s usual bustle with a moment of stillness.
Lord Tennyson – “Break, Break, Break”
The poet mourns a lost loved one, using the imagery of relentless waves to emphasize the permanence of loss and grief.
John Keats – “To Autumn”
A richly descriptive ode celebrating the beauty and abundance of autumn, reflecting on the cycle of life and the approach of winter (symbolic of death).
John Donne – “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”
A metaphysical poem in which the poet reassures his beloved that their love transcends physical separation, using metaphors such as a compass to illustrate their spiritual connection.
Sylvia Plath – “Daddy”
A confessional poem in which the speaker expresses intense emotions toward her oppressive father, using stark imagery and historical allusions to explore trauma and identity.
Wilfred Owen – “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
A World War I poem that contrasts the traditional rites of mourning with the brutal, impersonal deaths of soldiers on the battlefield.
Rita Dove – “Chocolate”
A sensual poem that describes the experience of eating chocolate, linking it to desire, pleasure, and nostalgia.
Edmund Spenser – “Sonnet 75”
The poet declares that, while worldly things fade, his love will be immortalized through poetry, preserving his beloved’s name forever.
William Shakespeare – “Sonnet 130”
A humorous and realistic love sonnet that mocks the exaggerated comparisons of traditional love poetry, instead celebrating the speaker’s mistress for who she truly is.
Gerard Manley Hopkins – “Spring”
A poem that praises the beauty of spring as a reflection of divine perfection while also hinting at human corruption and sin.
Seamus Heaney – “When All the Others Were Away at Mass”
A deeply personal poem reflecting on a moment of quiet intimacy between the poet and his mother while peeling potatoes, evoking love and loss.
