1. The Vanity of
Human Wishes (by Samuel Johnson)
Summary & Background
- The poem is subtitled “In Imitation of the Tenth Satire of
Juvenal”.
- Johnson uses the form to
critique human ambition, the striving for wealth and power, and the folly
of expecting worldly success to bring lasting happiness.
- It surveys a broad
canvas: from individual lives to national affairs, showing how the “vain
wishes” of mankind often lead to disappointment and ruin.
Structure & Form
- Johnson writes in heroic
couplets (mostly iambic pentameter in rhyming pairs), imitating the
classical satirical style of Juvenal.
- The poem is not strictly
uniform in stanza length; some modern commentary suggests irregularity.
Major Themes
- Ambition
and Disappointment
– The poem argues that human hopes and desires often mislead, and striving
for worldly glory is unstable.
- Wealth
and Power
– Riches and titles are shown as precarious and morally hazardous.
- Mortality
and Fate
– All human effort is subject to fate and decay; Johnson reminds readers
of the universal condition.
- Virtue
over Glory
– The poem suggests inner moral life is more durable and meaningful than
outward success.
Key Quotes
- “Let observation with
extensive view / Survey mankind, from China to Peru; Remark each anxious
toil, each eager strife…”
- “The paths of glory lead
but to the grave.” (Though this phrase is more famously in Gray’s “Elegy”,
Johnson uses similar motifs.)
- The general sense: human
schemes often end in disappointment.
Critical Notes
- Johnson’s moral
seriousness and philosophic reflection mark the poem as more meditative
than purely satirical.
- For students: consider
how Johnson uses historical and contemporary examples, how his formal
style reinforces his message, and how the poem reflects 18th-century
concerns (wealth, empire, mortality).
2. Elegy Written in
a Country Churchyard (by Thomas Gray)
Summary & Background
- First published in 1751,
the poem is set in a rural churchyard (traditionally the churchyard at
Stoke Poges).
- Gray stands at evening
in the churchyard, reflects on the lives of humble villagers buried there,
imagines what they might have been and how death treats all alike.
- The poem ends with the
poet’s own epitaph.
Structure & Form
- The piece is written in
heroic quatrains (iambic pentameter, ABAB rhyme scheme) — a form
well-suited to elegy.
- The last three stanzas
are often italicized and form an epitaph.
Major Themes
- Death
as the Great Equaliser – Regardless of wealth or status, all men and women
end in the same grave.
- Hidden
Potential & Obscurity – Among the poor may lie unrecognised greatness (“Some
heart once pregnant with celestial fire…”).
- Memory
and Legacy
– The poet reflects on how the obscure dead are remembered (or forgotten)
and how he might himself be recalled.
- Nature
& Rural Life
– The setting reinforces simplicity, mortality, and a contrast to the
clamour of urban ambition.
Key Quotes
- “The boast of heraldry,
the pomp of pow’r, / And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, /
Awaits alike th’ inevitable hour.”
- “Full many a gem of
purest ray serene, The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear…” (implying
hidden talent)
Critical Notes
- The poem blends
topographical description (the churchyard, elms, yew-trees) with
philosophical reflection.
- Its enduring popularity
owes much to its meditative tone and its appeal to modesty, mortality, and
the dignity of the humble.
3. London (by
William Blake)
Summary & Background
- Blake’s poem “London”
(from Songs of Experience, 1794)
presents a bleak vision of urban life, showing the suffering, oppression
and moral decay in the city.
- The speaker wanders
through the city’s streets, noting faces of misery, hearing cries of the
oppressed, and identifying institutional corruption (church, state).
Structure & Form
- Four quatrains (16
lines), ABAB rhyme scheme; mainly iambic tetrameter.
- Regular form contrasts
with the disturbing content — enhancing the sense of constraint and
oppression.
Major Themes
- Oppression
and Lack of Freedom
– The “charter’d streets” and “mind-forg’d manacles” imply social and
mental imprisonment.
- Institutional
Corruption
– Religious and political institutions (church, monarchy) fail or actively
harm the people (e.g., “black’ning church”, “blood down palace-walls”).
- Urban
Decay & Lost Innocence – The city is shown as corrupting children and love
(“youthful Harlots curse / Blasts the new-born Infant’s tear”).
Key Quotes
- “I wander thro’ each
charter’d street / Near where the charter’d Thames does flow.”
- “In every cry of every
Man, / In every Infant’s cry of fear, / In every voice— in every ban, /
The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.”
Critical Notes
- Blake’s imagery is
harsh, vivid and concentrated — a hallmark of his social critique.
- The poem fits the
Romantic period’s concern with individual suffering, critique of
institutions, and poetic vision of society.
- For students: compare
the ideal rural visions of other poets (e.g., Wordsworth) with Blake’s
urban darkness.
4. The Lamb (by
William Blake)
Summary & Background
- “The Lamb” appears in
Blake’s Songs of Innocence (1789). It
is a short, simple pastoral poem addressed to a lamb.
- The child-speaker asks
the lamb who made it and then answers: the same one who calls himself a
lamb — a Christ-figure.
Structure & Form
- Two stanzas of five
rhymed couplets each (10 lines per stanza) in a rhythm resembling a
lullaby or children’s song.
- Simple vocabulary, a
soft tone — reflecting innocence.
Major Themes
- Innocence
& Purity
– The lamb symbolises gentleness, meekness, child-like trust.
- Creator
& Creation
– Blake links the lamb, the child and Christ — all bear the name of
“Lamb”.
- Nature
& Spirituality
– The pastoral setting and the lamb’s creation open reflection on
divinity, but in a gentle, innocent way.
Key Quotes
- “Little Lamb who made
thee / Dost thou know who made thee?”
- “He is called by thy
name, / For he calls himself a Lamb: / He is meek & he is mild, / He
became a little child:”
Critical Notes
- This poem stands in
contrast to Blake’s darker poems (e.g., “The Tyger”) and emphasises the
state of innocence.
- Its simplicity belies
depth: the poem invites meditation on identity, creation, and the
connection between the child-speaker, the lamb and the divine.
5. Lines Composed a
Few Miles above Tintern Abbey (by William Wordsworth)
Summary & Background
- Commonly known as
“Tintern Abbey” though the poem is titled Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey; On Revisiting
the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798.
- Wordsworth revisits the
site after five years and reflects on how nature has changed him, how
memory sustains him, how he now views nature spiritually rather than
simply with youthful delight.
Structure & Form
- Written in blank verse
(unrhymed iambic pentameter) allowing freedom of thought and reflection.
- Five sections / stanzas
of uneven length, giving the poem a conversational, meditative flow.
Major Themes
- Nature’s
Transformative Power
– Nature comforts, uplifts, and helps the mind to mature.
- Memory
& Time
– The speaker reflects on the past, present and how images of nature serve
as spiritual nourishment.
- Maturity
& Reflection
– Contrast between youthful immersion in nature and the present reflective
state: e.g., “To look on nature, not in the hour / Of thoughtless youth…”
- Interpersonal
Bond –
Wordsworth’s address to his sister Dorothy (called “Friend” or “Sister”)
and the hope that these experiences sustain her too.
Key Quotes
- “Five years have past;
five summers, with the length / Of five long winters!”
- “And I have felt / A
presence that disturbs me with the joy / Of elevated thoughts; a sense
sublime / Of something far more deeply interfused…” (paraphrased)
- “While with an eye made
quiet by the power / Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, We see into
the life of things.”
Critical Notes
- The poem is one of the
hallmarks of the Romantic movement: nature, emotion, memory, individual
consciousness.
- For students: consider
how Wordsworth moves from sensory description to philosophical reflection,
and how the structure (blank verse, meditative tone) supports this.
6. Resolution and
Independence (by William Wordsworth)
Summary & Background
- In this lyric poem,
Wordsworth describes a moment of emotional and moral fatigue, his
encounter with an old leech-gatherer (the “Leech-Gatherer”), and how the
old man’s endurance and stoic attitude inspire a renewal of the poet’s own
outlook.
- The poem emphasises
resolution (firmness of character) and independence (self-reliance) in the
face of life’s uncertainties.
Structure & Form
- Twenty stanzas of seven
lines each (in the commonly given analysis). Each stanza uses the rhyme
scheme ABABBCC.
- Primarily iambic
pentameter; occasional feminine endings to add variation and emphasis.
Major Themes
- Moral
Courage & Endurance – The old man represents calm acceptance and dignified
resilience, contrasting with the speaker’s earlier agitation.
- Reflection
& Change
– The poem details the speaker’s shift from restless ambition to quieter
self-trust and harmony with nature.
- Nature
& Human Life
– As in many Wordsworth poems, nature frames the experience and helps
clarify human purpose.
Key Quotes
- (Student note: You may
need to quote directly from the text in your material.)
- The poem’s closing lines
often reflect the speaker’s commitment: “So when I hearken in my soul
awhile… / I hear no more the voice of gushing streams…” (paraphrase).
Critical Notes
- This poem is less often
anthologised than “Tintern Abbey” but is very valuable for understanding
Wordsworth’s evolving moral and imaginative project.
- For students: compare
with “Tintern Abbey” to trace Wordsworth’s different modes of
nature-poetry.
