Behind the Lines: Nothing Gold Can Stay
Even though Robert Frost was born in California, he is known as a quintessentially New England Poet. His family roots were there and he...
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By Gerald Therrien
- Jan 23
- 14 min
Beyond the Lines: “Mending Wall”—Robert Frost and the Good Neighbor Poetry
“Mending Wall” is a nice poem that tells a fun little story, about someone, his neighbor and a wall. Frost takes the old saying, which...
By David B. Gosselin
- Jan 8
- 17 min
Beyond the Lines: Shakespeare's Sonnets & the Secret to Immortality
William Shakespeare (baptized April 26, 1564 – died April 23, 1616) is arguably the greatest writer in any language. His poetry is not...
By Adam Sedia
- Dec 19, 2022
- 5 min
Beyond the Lines: “Mont Blanc” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
In his essay “A Defence of Poetry,” Shelley described a poem as “the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth.” His sweeping...
By David B. Gosselin
- Sep 7, 2022
- 10 min
Beyond the Lines: Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
A century after its composition, Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” continues to leave readers, academics, poetry...
By Adam Sedia
- Sep 1, 2022
- 7 min
Behind the Lines: Shakespeare’s Sonnet 142
The sonnet is inextricably intertwined with the Renaissance, and stands as one of the most powerful and enduring legacies of that time....
By Adam Sedia
- Jul 7, 2022
- 5 min
Beyond the Lines: Shelley's "Ozymandias"
In honor of the 200th anniversary of Percy Bysshe Shelley's death, The Chained Muse is proud to present a month-long celebration of life...
By Johnny Payne
- Jul 1, 2022
- 7 min
The Endless Vitality of “Ode to the West Wind”
In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the poet's death, The Chained Muse is proud to present a month-long celebration of Percy...
By David B. Gosselin
- Jun 28, 2022
- 8 min
Beyond the Lines: Keats' "Ode on Indolence"
Throughout the ages, scholars, academics, and scientists have wondered, “What is creativity?” In the spring of 1819, John Keats...
By Adam Sedia
- Jun 14, 2022
- 25 min
Beyond the Lines: Wordsworth’s “Ode” (Intimations of Immortality)
Wordsworth contends with Blake as “the poet of childhood.” His particular strain of Romanticism saw in the innocence of childhood a...
By John H. B. Martin
- Apr 20, 2022
- 14 min
Beyond the Lines: Shakespeare's ''Phoenix and the Turtle''
This is a poem I have known and loved for as long as I can remember. It has exerted a charm and fascination for me simply by virtue of...
By Johnny Payne
- Mar 10, 2022
- 3 min
Beyond the Lines: Leda and the Swan
A sudden blow: the great wings beating still Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed By the dark webs, her nape caught in his...
By Daniel Leach
- Feb 25, 2022
- 10 min
Beyond the Lines: Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind”
It was out of an atmosphere of intensive study of the classics, impassioned dialogue with his collaborators on creative method, and a...
By Adam Sedia
- Sep 17, 2021
- 4 min
Beyond the Lines: Robert Frost's "Acquainted with the Night"
Robert Frost’s talent radiates best from his shorter poems. His poetic voice, naturally laconic, finds its most expressive mode in his...
By Adam Sedia
- Jan 27, 2021
- 6 min
Beyond the Lines: Ode on Melancholy
An ode on melancholy might conjure the worst stereotypes of poetry: restless youth agonizing over imagined existential crises – a...
By Adam Sedia
- Mar 16, 2020
- 4 min
Beyond the Lines: Frost's "Fire and Ice"
Anyone who has ever attended a commencement ceremony in the United States has certainly heard Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” often recited...
By David B. Gosselin
- Nov 19, 2018
- 3 min
Beyond the Lines: Edgar Poe's "El Dorado"
"Just as the lily is repeated in the lake, or the eyes of Amaryllis in the mirror, so is the mere oral or written repetition of these...
By David B. Gosselin
- Oct 11, 2018
- 4 min
Beyond the Lines: Lerchengesang
We are inaugurating a new series, aimed at taking a different poem on each occasion and analyzing it from the standpoint of how a great...
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