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Poems and Poetry Resources

The Great Books Foundation is proud to partner with the Academy of American Poets to promote the reading and discussion of poetry. Visit Poets.org for more resources to enjoy and teach poetry.

 

Poems
Sample poems for every age and links to other poems online at Poets.org.
Poetry Resources
Interpretive questions, classroom activities, writing suggestions, sample units, and more.
My Favorite Poems
Teachers and other lovers of poetry list their favorite poems.
How to Read A Poem
Reading poetry aloud, asking questions, reading for context, and the value of ambiguity.
Rhythm and Meter
Recognize rhythm in a poem by seeing the pattern of accented and unaccented syllables.

Featured Poems

Sonnet 116
William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

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