A paragon of betrayal, vengeance, self-pity and idiosyncrasy, Miss Havisham is Dickens's most memorable and intriguing character. She was the woman who stayed fossilized in my mind the moment I finished reading the chapter in which Dickens first described her. She mesmerized me in the guise of Martita Hunt in the legendary 1946 film adaptation of Great Expectations starring iconic Sir John Mills, Finlay Currie, as well as a young Jean Simmons and Sir Alec Guinness. Being thus prejudicially inclined, it was with immense joy that I discovered that a poem had been written to recapture the sound of a shattering heart. Miss Havisham lived on in her agony, yet this time round her thoughts were open to further interpretation not limited to details set down by Dickens's 19th century novel.  Carol Ann Duffy's 1993 poem does Miss Havisham justice, indeed. So much so, in fact, that I've spent hours drawing up my overview which at 3 A-4 sized sheets of paper is nowhere near ...

This poem is a classic. It is taught in English-speaking schools to demonstrate how similes work in favor of descriptions and students are often assigned to write their own poem which should include a number of similes. This is an activity I heartily applaud as it introduces poetry to a younger audience, enabling every imaginative dreamer to experiment with novel ways to express their creativity and inner world. Merriam's gift is to balance her thoughts perfectly as she weaves her argument, sweeping us with her objective and inventive comparisons, making us think this is a neutral, matter-of-fact exposition of two trees, then hitting us with an emotional viewpoint to draw the matter to a close.

Karl Shapiro's poem "Auto Wreck" was published in 194 2 in his book Person, Place, and Thing , a collection of 51 poems. December 7,1941 wa s a turning point in World War II when the Americans, devastated by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , decided to actively engage Axis forces by deploying the military . A fter years of 'neutrality' (the US ha d already been helping the British by sending money, ammunition and food supplies since the spring of 1941 ) , action had been imposed on them, so to speak. It seemed his being drafted into the army and serving in the Pacific Theater brought about Shapiro's inspiration to write . Four book s of poems were published from his days in the army. Stationed in New Guinea, he wrote V-Letter and Other Poems which gave him the Pulitzer Prize in 1945.  "Auto Wreck" can be con strued as the direct result of what Shapiro experienced during the war. The hollow logic of war, the arbitrariness of human li...