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Famous Approach Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Approach poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous approach poems. These examples illustrate what a famous approach poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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by Chaucer, Geoffrey
...for to sink,
Alas! I, caitiff, whither shall I flee?
Who shall unto thy Son my meane* be?                 *medium of approach
Who, but thyself, that art of pity well?*                      *fountain
Thou hast more ruth on our adversity
Than in this world might any tongue tell!

                               R.

Redress me, Mother, and eke me chastise!
For certainly my Father's chastising
I dare not abiden in no wise,
So hideous is his full reckoning.
Mo...Read more of this...



by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
...he hand he extended to bless them.
Reverend walked he among them; and up rose matrons and maidens,
Hailing his slow approach with words of affectionate welcome.
Then came the laborers home from the field, and serenely the sun sank
Down to his rest, and twilight prevailed. Anon from the belfry
Softly the Angelus sounded, and over the roofs of the village
Columns of pale blue smoke, like clouds of incense ascending,
Rose from a hundred hearths, the homes of peace an...Read more of this...

by Hugo, Victor
...one stayed. 
 But 'twixt the branches gazers could descry 
 The blackened hall lit up most brilliantly. 
 None dared approach—and this the reason why. 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE CUSTOM OF LUSACE. 
 
 When died a noble Marquis of Lusace 
 'Twas custom for the heir who filled his place 
 Before assuming princely pomp and power 
 To sup one night in Corbus' olden tower. 
 From this weird meal he passed to the degree 
 Of Prince and Margrave; nor could ever he 
 Be thought br...Read more of this...

by Keats, John
...wisdom long since fled.---Two wings this orb
Possess'd for glory, two fair argent wings,
Ever exalted at the God's approach:
And now, from forth the gloom their plumes immense
Rose, one by one, till all outspreaded were;
While still the dazzling globe maintain'd eclipse,
Awaiting for Hyperion's command.
Fain would he have commanded, fain took throne
And bid the day begin, if but for change.
He might not:---No, though a primeval God:
The sacred seasons might not b...Read more of this...

by Alighieri, Dante
...rose near us: "Hail!" it cried, "for he 
 Returns, who was departed." 
 Scarce
 it ceased 
 When four great spirits approached. They did not show 
 Sadness nor joy, but tranquil-eyed as though 
 Content in their dominion moved. My guide 
 Before I questioned told, "That first ye see, 
 With hand that fits the swordhilt, mark, for he 
 Is Homer, sovereign of the craft we tried, 
 Leader and lord of even the following three, - 
 Horace, and Ovid, and Lucan. The ...Read more of this...



by Byron, George (Lord)
...r substantial gain, 
Nor beauty's preference, and the rival's pain: 
Around him some mysterious circle thrown 
Repell'd approach, and showed him still alone; 
Upon his eye sate something of reproof, 
That kept at least frivolity aloof; 
And things more timid that beheld him near, 
In silence gazed, or whisper'd mutual fear; 
And they the wiser, friendlier few confess'd 
They deem'd him better than his air express'd. 

VIII. 

'Twas strange — in youth all action and al...Read more of this...

by Milton, John
...th gold, 
Dazzles the croud, and sets them all agape. 
Nearer his presence Adam, though not awed, 
Yet with submiss approach and reverence meek, 
As to a superiour nature bowing low, 
Thus said. Native of Heaven, for other place 
None can than Heaven such glorious shape contain; 
Since, by descending from the thrones above, 
Those happy places thou hast deigned a while 
To want, and honour these, vouchsafe with us 
Two only, who yet by sovran gift possess 
This spacio...Read more of this...

by Milton, John
...
In heart or head, possessing, soon inspired 
With act intelligential; but his sleep 
Disturbed not, waiting close the approach of morn. 
Now, when as sacred light began to dawn 
In Eden on the humid flowers, that breathed 
Their morning incense, when all things, that breathe, 
From the Earth's great altar send up silent praise 
To the Creator, and his nostrils fill 
With grateful smell, forth came the human pair, 
And joined their vocal worship to the quire 
Of creature...Read more of this...

by Whitman, Walt
...e rest—We see—we descend,
 wild
 with excitement, 
I leap in the lower’d boat—We row toward our prey, where he lies,
We approach, stealthy and silent—I see the mountainous mass, lethargic, basking, 
I see the harpooneer standing up—I see the weapon dart from his vigorous arm: 
O swift, again, now, far out in the ocean, the wounded whale, settling, running to
 windward,
 tows me; 
—Again I see him rise to breathe—We row close again, 
I see a lance driven through his side, pres...Read more of this...

by Milton, John
...rown or smile?
This Gaol I count the house of Liberty
To thine whose doors my feet shall never enter. 

Dal: Let me approach at least, and touch thy hand.

Sam: Not for thy life, lest fierce remembrance wake
My sudden rage to tear thee joint by joint.
At distance I forgive thee, go with that;
Bewail thy falshood, and the pious works
It hath brought forth to make thee memorable
Among illustrious women, faithful wives:
Cherish thy hast'n'd widowhood with the gold
Of...Read more of this...

by Ashbery, John
...en permanence, confusing
Issues. To be serious only about sex
Is perhaps one way, but the sands are hissing
As they approach the beginning of the big slide
Into what happened. This past
Is now here: the painter's
Reflected face, in which we linger, receiving
Dreams and inspirations on an unassigned
Frequency, but the hues have turned metallic,
The curves and edges are not so rich. Each person
Has one big theory to explain the universe
But it doesn't tell the whole...Read more of this...

by Whitman, Walt
...ngines and hose-carts, with premonitory tinkles, and color’d lights; 
The steam-whistle—the solid roll of the train of approaching cars;
The slow-march play’d at the head of the association, marching two and two,

(They go to guard some corpse—the flag-tops are draped with black muslin.) 

I hear the violoncello (’tis the young man’s heart’s complaint;) 
I hear the key’d cornet—it glides quickly in through my ears; 
It shakes mad-sweet pangs through my belly and b...Read more of this...

by Byron, George (Lord)
..., beguil'd too long 
With Mejnoun's tale, or Sadi's song, [3] 
Till I, who heard the deep tambour [4] 
Beat thy Divan's approaching hour, 
To thee, and to my duty true, 
Warn'd by the sound, to greet thee flew: 
But there Zuleika wanders yet — 
Nay, father, rage not — nor forget 
That none can pierce that secret bower 
But those who watch the women's tower." 

IV. 

"Son of a slave" — the Pacha said — 
"From unbelieving mother bred, 
Vain were a father's hope to see 
...Read more of this...

by Browning, Robert
...vainly through the world should seek
``For the knowledge and the might
``Which in such union grew their right:
``So, to approach at least that end,
``And blend,---as much as may be, blend
``Thee with us or us with thee,---
``As climbing plant or propping tree,
``Shall some one deck thee, over and down,
``Up and about, with blossoms and leaves?
``Fix his heart's fruit for thy garland crown,
``Cling with his soul as the gourd-vine cleaves,
``Die on thy boughs and disappear
``Wh...Read more of this...

by Carroll, Lewis
...embarked.

"You may charge me with murder--or want of sense--
 (We are all of us weak at times):
But the slightest approach to a false pretence
 Was never among my crimes!

"I said it in Hebrew--I said it in Dutch--
 I said it in German and Greek:
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
 That English is what you speak!"

"'Tis a pitiful tale," said the Bellman, whose face
 Had grown longer at every word:
"But, now that you've stated the whole of your case,
 More debat...Read more of this...

by Scott, Sir Walter
...
     I found a fey in fairy land!'—
     XXIII.

     'I well believe,' the maid replied,
     As her light skiff approached the side,—
     'I well believe, that ne'er before
     Your foot has trod Loch Katrine's shore
     But yet, as far as yesternight,
     Old Allan-bane foretold your plight,—
     A gray-haired sire, whose eye intent
     Was on the visioned future bent.
     He saw your steed, a dappled gray,
     Lie dead beneath the birchen way;
     ...Read more of this...

by Lowell, Amy
...hed out to see what flowers blew
Their pink-and-purple-scented souls
Across the town-wind's dusty scrolls,
And made the approach to the Market Square
A garden with smells and sunny air.
I feel so well and happy to-day,
I think I shall take a Holiday.
And to-night we will have a little treat.
I am going to bring you something to eat!"
He looked at the Shadow anxiously.
It was quite grave and silent. He
Shut the outer door and came
And leant against the wind...Read more of this...

by Schiller, Friedrich von
...ads the pilot calls, and the vessels are waiting,
That to the foreigner's land carry the produce of home;
Others gladly approach with the treasures of far-distant regions,
High on the mast's lofty head flutters the garland of mirth.
See how yon markets, those centres of life and of gladness, are swarming!
Strange confusion of tongues sounds in the wondering ear.
On to the pile the wealth of the earth is heaped by the merchant,
All that the sun's scorching rays bring f...Read more of this...

by Eliot, T S (Thomas Stearns)
...ent.
V. WHAT THE THUNDER SAID
In the first part of Part V three themes are employed:
the journey to Emmaus, the approach to the Chapel Perilous
(see Miss Weston's book) and the present decay of eastern Europe.
357. This is Turdus aonalaschkae pallasii, the hermit-thrush
which I have heard in Quebec County. Chapman says (Handbook of
Birds of Eastern North America) "it is most at home in secluded
woodland and thickety retreats. . . . Its note...Read more of this...

by Chaucer, Geoffrey
...choose whether thou wilt sip
Of *thilke tunne,* that I now shall broach. *that tun*
Beware of it, ere thou too nigh approach,
For I shall tell examples more than ten:
Whoso will not beware by other men,
By him shall other men corrected be:
These same wordes writeth Ptolemy;
Read in his Almagest, and take it there."
"Dame, I would pray you, if your will it were,"
Saide this Pardoner, "as ye began,
Tell forth your tale, and spare for no man,
And teach us younge men of y...Read more of this...

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