I just discovered that Philip D. Appleman (1926 – 2020) died last year. He was an American poet and Professor Emeritus at Indiana University. I first became acquainted with him in graduate school when I read his edited collection, Darwin (Norton Critical Editions), a classic in the field. He was survived by Majorie, his wife of almost 67 years, but she died earlier this year. Continue reading Philip Appleman Has Died →

I was recently reminded of this W. H. Auden poem. Here it is followed by a brief analysis. Continue reading Analysis W. H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” or “Stop all the clocks” →

Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is one of “the best-known and best-loved poems in the English.” For each of its stanzas, I provide [in brackets] a brief explanation of its meaning which may not be clear to a modern ear. Continue reading Summary of Thomas Gray’s: “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” →

Wilfred Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War. His shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of trench warfare Continue reading Wilfred Owen: “Dulce Et Decorum Est” →

Yesterday I wrote about Dr. Kalanithi, a thirty-seven year old Stanford physician who died of cancer a few days ago. In the video he recited a poem I had forgotten about Continue reading Shelley’s “Ozymandias” →