D.H. Lawrence was an English writer and one of the most important poets and novelists of the 20th century. His work often explored the increasingly detrimental effects of industrialization and its influence on morality. His novels include Sons and Lovers and Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
‘Discord in Childhood’ depicts domestic strife against a stormy backdrop, portraying a parental clash ending in a chilling “silence of blood,” from a child’s engulfed perspective.
Outside the house an ash-tree hung its terrible whips,
And at night when the wind arose, the lash of the tree
Shrieked and slashed the wind, as a ship’s
Weird rigging in a storm shrieks hideously.
‘Love on the Farm’ by D.H. Lawrence is a poem about the universality of love, passion, and death. Lawrence depicts these elements through the various lives observable on a farm.
Oh, water-hen, beside the rushes
Hide your quaint, unfading blushes,
Still your quick tail, and lie as dead,
Till the distance folds over his ominous tread.
‘Afternoon in School: The Last Lesson’ by D.H. Lawrence is told from the perspective of a teacher exhausted with his thoughtless class of students.
When will the bell ring, and end this weariness?
How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart
My pack of unruly hounds: I cannot start
Them again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt,
Lawrence’s ‘Bei Hennef’ describes the effect twilight has to clear a speaker’s mind and make him see the strength of his love.
The little river twittering in the twilight,
The wan, wondering look of the pale sky,
This is almost bliss.
‘Winter-Lull’ by D.H. Lawrence describes a snow covered battlefield and the silence plaguing a group of soldiers during WWI.
Because of the silent snow, we are all hushed
Into awe.
No sound of guns, nor overhead no rushed
Vibration to draw
Our attention out of the void wherein we are crushed.
Lawrence’s ‘Humming-bird’ imagines it as a primeval force, contrasting its past grandeur with today’s delicate perception.
I can imagine, in some other world
Primeval-dumb, far back
In that most awful stillness, that only gasped and hummed,
Humming-birds raced down the avenues.
‘Perfidy’ by D.H. Lawrence describes a speaker’s depression over what he considers a betrayal on the part of the woman he loves.
Hollow rang the house when I knocked on the door,
And I lingered on the threshold with my hand
Upraised to knock and knock once more:
Listening for the sound of her feet across the floor,
In ‘The White Horse,’ Lawrence captures a silent, profound connection between a youth and a horse, transcending into a shared otherworld.
The youth walks up to the white horse, to put its halter on
and the horse looks at him in silence.
In ‘Snake,’ D.H. Lawrence contemplates a conflicted encounter with a snake, exploring themes of awe, societal norms, and regret.
A snake came to my water-trough
On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat,
To drink there.
Beautiful Old Age is a poem in which Lawrence imagines a world in which old age is truly revered and hoped for, & describes what that world would feel like.
It ought to be lovely to be old
to be full of the peace that comes of experience
and wrinkled ripe fulfilment.
D. H. Lawrence’s ‘The Best of School’ describes a teacher’s growing wonder as he watches his students make discoveries in the course of their studies.
The blinds are drawn because of the sun,
And the boys and the room in a colourless gloom
Of underwater float: bright ripples run
Across the walls as the blinds are blown
‘Piano’ by D.H. Lawrence is a powerful and emotional poem about the past. It uses childhood memories and nostalgia to move the reader.
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.
‘Week-night Service’ creates a vivid scene of a church at night. The sound of bells disturbs the otherwise quiet church yard and the nature that surrounds it.
The five old bells
Are hurrying and eagerly calling,
Imploring, protesting
They know, but clamorously falling
In ‘Money Madness,’ D.H. Lawrence shows how society’s obsession with money creates fear and unfairness. He urges us to provide food, shelter, and warmth for everyone, instead of letting money control us.
But it is not money we are so terrified of,
it is the collective money-madness of mankind.
For mankind says with one voice: How much is he worth?
Has he no money? Then let him eat dirt, and go cold.–
‘Last Lesson of the Afternoon’ portrays a disillusioned teacher’s weariness with unengaged students and the futility of teaching.
When will the bell ring, and end this weariness?
How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart,
My pack of unruly hounds! I cannot start
Them again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt,
FAQs about D.H. LawrenceReaders are often split on which D.H. Lawrence poem is the best. Some of the most commonly read include ‘Snake,’ ‘Discord in childhood,’ ‘Humming-Bird,’ and ‘Beautiful Old Age.’ It will be up to you to determine which of his poems you consider to be the best.
D.H. Lawrence was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, in the United Kingdom on September 11, 1885. He died in Vence, France, on March 2, 1930, at the age of 44.
This quote is attributed to fellow writer E.M. Forester. It was included in an obituary notice after Lawrence passed away.
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