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Best Poems about Rivers. 1 Sonnet: To the River Otter by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 2 The River by Caroline Ann Bowles. 3 The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes. 4 Prothalamion by Edmund Spenser. 5 The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Paterson. 6 The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter by Li Bai. 7 Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman.
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- The River by Caroline Anne Bowles
'The River' might be seen as a critique of Romantic...
- 15+ Central Poems about Rivers
Away, Melancholy. ‘Away, Melancholy’ by Stevie Smith...
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In the first stanza of ‘The River,’ the poet describes the river as a child. As it grows in size, strength, and determination, it becomes a youth. Then, in the third stanza, it hits its prime where it is stretched to its will width and much calmer. This leads it into its final stage when it flows into the ocean and eternity. In this last stanza, th...
In ‘The River,’ Bowles engages with themes of time and eternity. She uses time as a device to track the river’s life, breadth, and strength. Finally, it reaches the metaphorical end of its days.Eternity appears in the final stanza as the river makes its way into the ocean, and to somewhere which no ships have sailed. This line is very easily read a...
‘The River’ by Caroline Anne Bowles is a four-stanza poem that is divided into sets of five lines, known as quintains. These quintains follow a simple rhyme scheme of ABCCB, changing end sounds from stanza to stanza. Readers should also take note of the fact that the first line of every stanza ends with the same word, and therefore the same rhyme, ...
Bowles makes use of several literary devices in ‘The River.’ These include but are not limited to refrain, alliteration, and personification. The latter is a type of figurative language that occurs when the poet imbues something inhuman with human characteristics. For example, the poet describes the “yellow pebbles dancing” and the river “brawling”...
Stanza One
In the first stanza of ‘The River,’ the speaker begins with the first example of the refrain, the repeated words, “River, river.” She exclaims over the river, celebrating the way it brightly sparkles as it dances over the “yellow pebbles.” This is a great example of personification to start off the poem. It continues into the next lines with a simile that compares the river to a “child at play.” These simple lines include imagery that is quite easy to envision. The poet’s tone, one of elation...
Stanza Two
The second stanza is similar to the first in that the poet spends the lines describing the river’s movements. This time, she uses more determined language. It is less gentle than it was. Now it is “brawling” like an “impetuous youth.” The river is metaphorically aging as the stanzasprogress.
Stanza Three
The third stanza brings the river to its “mortal prime.” Now, it is “brimming” over and broad, “still as time.” Yet, still, it is in motion going onward to the ocean. This timeline of age is related to the size of the river and its power moving towards the ocean. At first, it was a lively stream, then a more powerful river and now it’s broadened to its full extent and is much calmer.
Readers who enjoyed ‘The River’ by Caroline Anne Bowles should also consider reading some related poems. For example: 1. ‘Overlooking the River Stour’ by Thomas Hardy – uses imagery and metaphors to relay a depiction of the scene around the Stour River. 2. ‘To the Nile’ by John Keats – directly addresses the Nile River in the style of Keats’ other ...
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Dec 29, 2017 · In poetry and other art forms, rivers symbolize a certain amount of indecisiveness. They may represent a progression along a treacherous route to reach a new point in life where all is more calm and secure. Indeed, river imagery is consistent with escaping from or to a station in life where a character wasn’t at the beginning of the work.
Jan 31, 2018 · So it’s little surprise that poets have often waxed lyrical about the life-giving properties of rivers and streams. Here are ten of the best river poems. Edmund Spenser, Prothalamion. There, in a meadow, by the river’s side, A flock of nymphs I chanced to espy, All lovely daughters of the flood thereby, With goodly greenish locks, all loose ...
3. "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. As a river eventually meets the boundless sea, so too must we face the inevitable journey towards the end of life. Tennyson's poignant poem, "Crossing the Bar," reflects on this transition and the acceptance of mortality. The metaphorical bar represents the boundary between life and death, while ...
Away, Melancholy. ‘Away, Melancholy’ by Stevie Smith encourages finding joy in nature and human kindness, urging readers to let go of sorrow. This poem explores rivers as symbols of constant motion and vitality, contributing to the portrayal of nature’s dynamic energy.
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"At Black River" is a poem by Mary Oliver that explores the beauty and wonder of nature, particularly in the context of a river in winter. The poem uses vivid imagery and sensory language to capture the sensory experience of being in nature, and encourages readers to appreciate the natural world in all its complexity and beauty. Here is a ...
