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Allegory poetry is a distinct genre that uses metaphorical characters, symbols, or story elements to convey complex ideas or moral lessons indirectly.
Rather than stating themes directly, these poems invite readers to interpret deeper meanings hidden within the narrative or images presented. Rich in symbolism, they often deal with profound philosophical questions, societal issues, or moral values.
By using indirect representation, allegory poetry encourages readers to engage actively in understanding the underlying message, often stimulating deeper thought and reflection. This genre has been a powerful tool for poets to express their perspectives subtly yet effectively.
‘A Poison Tree’ presents the consequences of harboring anger, which becomes a poisonous tree wreaking devastation.
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
The ‘Coronation’ by Helen Hunt Jackson can be considered a literary work that represents the topic of power and its instability, the worth of humility, and the desire for self-knowledge.
At the king's gate the subtle noon
Wove filmy yellow nets of sun;
Into the drowsy snare too soon
The guards fell one by one.
In Sheenagh Pugh’s ‘Sweet 18’, an older woman expresses her desire to regain youth as she battles the temptation to take it from others.
You move before me with all the unknown ease
of your age; your face clear of the awareness
that clouds mine. Your only scars; where you tried
to shave, before there was any need.
William Butler Yeats’s ‘The Second Coming’ delves into the hopeless atmosphere of post-World War I Europe through apocalyptic imagery.
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
‘Indian Weavers’ explores the inevitability of death while celebrating the cycles of human existence and experience.
Weavers, weaving at break of day,
Why do you weave a garment so gay? . . .
Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild,
We weave the robes of a new-born child.
‘Fame is a bee’ by Emily Dickinson uses a bee to describe the fleeting nature of fame. She uses clever images and original poetic writing throughout.
Fame is a bee.
It has a song—
It has a sting—
‘The Fish’ by Marianne Moore uses imagery and form to objectively describe nature and humanity’s ability to survive and mature in the face of death, destruction, and loss.
wade
through black jade.
Of the crow-blue mussel-shells, one keeps
adjusting the ash-heaps;
opening and shutting itself like
The speaker contemplates killing a queen wasp to avoid the swarms of offspring she will inevitably bring the next summer.
In burning sulphur in their dug-out hangars
All bred wasps must die. Unless I kill her.
So I balanced assassination with genocide
‘Our Deepest Fear’ by Marianne Williamson is a popular contemporary poem. It addresses themes of spirituality and inner power.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.
‘Days’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a short allegorical poem reflecting on the passage of time and the expectations of humans that come and go with it. It is celebrated as one of the best transcendental poems of the 19th century.
Daughters of Time, the hypocritic Days,
Muffled and dumb like barefoot dervishes,
And marching single in an endless file,
Bring diadems and fagots in their hands.
‘A Farewell’ challenges the reader to reflect upon the fleeting nature of human life, especially when compared to nature.
Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
Thy tribute wave deliver:
No more by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.
‘Crow Sickened’ is a brilliant example of Hughes’ playful style, in which Crow attempts to work out the cause of his misery.
His illness was something could not vomit him up.
Unwinding the world like a ball of wool
Found the last end tied round his own finger.
‘Love Cycle’ by Chinua Achebe describes sunrise, sunset, and their effects on Earth using the metaphor of a barely functioning couple.
At dawn slowly
the sun withdraws his
long misty arms of
embrace. Happy lovers
‘I have never seen “Volcanoes”’ by Emily Dickinson is a clever, complex poem that compares humans and their emotions to a volcano’s eruptive power.
I have never seen "Volcanoes"—
But, when Travellers tell
How those old – phlegmatic mountains
Usually so still –
In his poem ‘Water’ Philip Larkin reveals spirituality and mainly purification and renewal as well as the possibility to proceed with enlightenment through the title’s symbol – water.
If I were called in
To construct a religion
I should make use of water.
Going to church
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