Lines 1–10 The first line of “Having a Coke with You” is a predicate to the title. The speaker lists the reasons why he would rather have a Coke with the person he loves. The list of names in the first line refers to the cities in Spain on O’Hara’s itinerary. The second line refers…
Tag: Summary
A Grafted Tongue by John Montague – Summary
Stanza 1 The first eight lines of “A Grafted Tongue” are enclosed in parentheses, separating them from the main body of the poem. Line 1, consisting of just one word, “Dumb,” succinctly announces one of the poem’s themes: the inability to communicate through a language that has been forcibly imposed on one’s native tongue. Line…
Filling Station – Poem Summary
Lines 1–6 The first line of “Filling Station” is an exclamation: “Oh, but it is dirty!” The last line of that stanza also exclaims, in an imperative warning: “Be careful with that match!” Between those lines, this world is described as black and greasy. And that “overall black translucency” is “disturbing,” not because it is…
The Base Stealer – Poem Summary
Lines 1–3 Both the language and images of the first three lines convey the sense of balance, of being “poised between” two contrary states. When a runner takes his lead away from the base, he enters a dangerous region, a no-man’s land between the security of one base and the promise of the next. If…
An Arundel Tomb – Summary
Stanza 1 The first two lines of “An Arundel Tomb” describe the stone effigies of two figures, an earl and a countess, lying side by side on top of their tomb. Their faces are not distinct, and the formal, dignified clothes in which the sculptor has represented them (“their proper habits”) are shown only vaguely….
Anorexic by Eavan Boland – Poem Summary
Line 1 The first line of “Anorexic” shocks the reader with its bluntness and sets the tone for the entire poem. The word “heretic,” meaning something contrary to accepted beliefs, implies a religious theme, since it usually refers to something or someone that opposes the doctrines of Christianity. This subject will return later in the…
Two Friends by Guy de Maupassant – Summary
Maupassant begins ‘‘Two Friends’’ with a description of conditions of privation inside the city of Paris after a few months of being besieged by the Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian war: ‘‘Paris hung by a thread. Sparrows were rare on the rooftops. The rat population in the sewers had thinned. People were eating anything.’’ The…
Once Upon A Time by Nadine Gordimer – Summary
‘‘Once Upon a Time’’ is a short story in two parts; the first part is a first-person account by the narrator, who may or may not be read as Gordimer herself, explaining how she came to write the story that follows. She explains that she has been asked to write a story for children to…
A Mystery of Heroism – Summary
Crane begins ‘‘A Mystery of Heroism’’ by setting the scene, describing the field of battle. At the top of a hill the artillerymen rush about, firing and reloading their guns, while below the hill the infantrymen of A company await their turn to fight. The infantrymen look onto ‘‘a fair little meadow,’’ and just beyond…
The Medicine Bag – Summary
‘‘The Medicine Bag’’ is a story narrated by a young Native American boy named Martin. Martin’s mother is also Native American, but his father is a white man who teaches at a college. Although Martin’s age is not mentioned, other details in the story suggest that he is thirteen or fourteen years old; in the…