Famous Indirect Poems by Famous Poets

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

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...pebble here, that bit of apple rind.
Still, it's the Alpine sun that makes them burn,
And what we're looking for, some indirect
Glint of itself each of us may reflect,
And so shed light about us as we turn.'
Sideways she looked and said, 'How you go on!'
And was the stone and rind, their shinings gone.

'It is some hard dry scale we must break through,
A deadness round the life. I cannot make
That pebble shine. Its clarity must take
Sunlight unto itself and prove it true.
It...Read more of this...
by Blackburn, Thomas


Manhattan Streets I Saunter'd Pondering

...y part of
 the
 direct
 life-time, or the hour of death, but the same affects him or her onward afterward through
 the
 indirect life-time. 

3
The indirect is just as much as the direct, 
The spirit receives from the body just as much as it gives to the body, if not more.

Not one word or deed—not venereal sore, discoloration, privacy of the onanist,
 putridity
 of
 gluttons or rum-drinkers, peculation, cunning, betrayal, murder, seduction, prostitution,
 but
 has
 results b...Read more of this...
by Whitman, Walt

Paradise Lost: Book 11

...of short joy bereft. 
O pity and shame, that they, who to live well 
Entered so fair, should turn aside to tread 
Paths indirect, or in the mid way faint! 
But still I see the tenour of Man's woe 
Holds on the same, from Woman to begin. 
From Man's effeminate slackness it begins, 
Said the Angel, who should better hold his place 
By wisdom, and superiour gifts received. 
But now prepare thee for another scene. 
He looked, and saw wide territory spread 
Before him, towns, and ...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Strayed Crab

...nd elegant; I move with great precision, 
cleverly managing all my smaller yellow claws. I believe in the 
oblique, the indirect approach, and I keep my feelings to myself. 
 But on this strange, smooth surface I am making too much 
noise. I wasn't meant for this. If I maneuver a bit and keep a 
sharp lookout, I shall find my pool again. Watch out for my right 
claw, all passersby! This place is too hard. The rain has stopped, 
and it is damp, but still not wet enough to plea...Read more of this...
by Bishop, Elizabeth

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