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Selected American and British Poems

by FCIT

Selected American and British Poems

Spanning the Atlantic, this collection brings together classic poetry from two traditions.

Source: This book was compiled by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology and includes passages from multiple sources. Please refer to the passage pages for further source information.

At the Summit of the Washington Monument
A poem to the vistas and vision from the heights of the Washington Monument and the vision of the man himself.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
A poetic narrative describing Oscar Wilde's experiences in the Reading Gaol.
"Barbara Frietchie"
Poem describing the patriotism of a ninety-year old woman as General Stonewall Jackson marches through Frederick, Maryland.
"The Barefoot Boy"
"Blessing on thee, little man, Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!"
“The Brown Thrush”
A rhyme that serves to tell children to behave through the song of a bird.
“The City Mouse and the Garden Mouse”
A nursery rhyme about the differences between the city mouse and the garden mouse and how each is happy in his own manner.
“The Conquest of Fairyland”
A king ends up cursed.
Humanitad
It is full winter now: the trees are bare,
“If I Were a Sunbeam”
A fanciful poem exploring the mind of an adult lost in a land of fairy tales.
Impressions
The lily's withered chalice falls around its rod of dusty gold,
“Laughing Song”
A cheerful poem about springtime.
Le Jardin Des Tuileries
This winter air is keen and cold, and keen and cold this winter sun,
Lift Every Voice and Sing
A poem describing the perils our fathers went through to keep their homeland free.
A Line-Storm Song
"The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift,"
Meddlesome Matty
In this poem, Meddlesome Matilda learns her lesson after an unfortunate encounter with a snuff box.
Maud Muller
A brief encounter causes a lifetime of remorseful reflection on what might have been.
My Butterfly
There are things that can never be the same.
Lullaby
A nursery rhyme that is a lullaby to a baby.
Newton
A poem about Newton proving the law of gravity.
The Wind
A poem that analyzes the nature and presence of the wind.
October
He sees days slipping from him that were the best for what they were.
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
The speaker reacts to hearing the facts and figures of astronomy by escaping to view the night sky alone.
Piping Down the Valleys Wild
A poem about the speaker as a piper who writes his songs down so that every child may enjoy them.
The Way To Be Happy
A poem/nursery rhyme about the rewards of good behavior.
The Violet
A poem about a violet and its beauty.
The Rivulet
A poem in which the speaker describes a rivulet in his/her commands to it.
The Sisters
A sing-song poem that focuses on three sisters dancing and then two mourning for the third.
The Star
A nursery rhyme that imitates a lullaby about the evening star.
Stanzas for the Times
Poem referring to a pro-slavery meeting in Faneuil Hall in August of 1835.
Snow Bound - A Winter Idyl
As a way to pass the time during a raging snowstorm, family members exchange stories by the fireside.
Specimen of an Induction to a Poem
"Lo! I must tell a tale of chivalry;"
  • Year Published: 2012
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Readability:
    • Flesch–Kincaid Level: 5.3
  • Word Count: 21,933
  • Genre: Poetry
  • Keywords: behavior, biography, coming of age, courage, death, difference and indifference, fairies, fantasy, hardship, history, incarceration, life, nature, patriotism, spring, the arrogance of kings, the value of freedom, war, youth
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