what is a good 12-14 line poem for a high school senior to memorize??

Question

I am going to be a senior in high school and I need to memorize a 12-14 line poem to memorize and teach to the class. It has to be legit because i have to teach the class about the language used in it and find some criticism as well. I'm having a really hard time -- help!!

Answer 1

Sonnet: England in 1819
By Percy Bysshe Shelley

An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying king,--
Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who
Through public scorn,--mud from a muddy spring,--
Rulers who neither see, nor feel, nor know,
But leech-like to their fainting country cling,
Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow,--
A people starved and stabbed in the untilled field,--
An army, which liberticide and prey
Makes as a two-edged sword to all who wield,--
Golden and sanguine laws which tempt and slay;
Religion Christless, Godless--a book sealed;
A Senate, Time's worst statute unrepealed,--
Are graves, from which a glorious Phantom may
Burst, to illumine our tempestuous day.

All Sonnets have 14 lines, and are rhythmically easy to remember.
But this is a GREAT poem by a great Poet, who by the way was husband to Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein and lover of Lord Byron.

Answer 2

I love Emily Dickenson. I did a research paper on her in HS. There is a ton of info about her stuff...no shortage of info! Here is a short one:
Hope is the thing...


Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.


- Emily Dickinson

Answer 3

Yes, yes, I know this one is a little too long, but it's one of my favorites. I memorized this in junior high school (but I could not recite it today!) Maybe you could save it for a future semester, when something longer than 12-14 lines will be required. It's "The Village Smithy" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It's about a real-life working class American - they type of person who made this country strong.

This poem was written about an actual blacksmith who had a shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts.


Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,---rejoicing,---sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

Answer 4

Look up some of Shakespeare's sonnets, they have 14 lines in them. I'm sure an internet search will pull up loads of suitable possibilities.
Good luck!

Answer 5

well i don't think it is one you could memorize but

Mommy... Johnny brought a gun to school, He told his friends that it was cool, And when he pulled the trigger back, It shot with a great crack. Mommy, I was a good girl, I did what I was told, I went to school, I got straight A's, I even got the gold! But Mommy, when I went school that day, I never said good-bye, I'm sorry Mommy, I had to go, But Mommy, please don't cry. When Johnny shot the gun, He hit me and another, And all because Johnny, Got the gun from his older brother. Mommy, please tell Daddy; That I love him very much, And please tell Chris; my boyfriend; That it wasn't just a crush. And tell my little sister; That she is the only one now, And tell my dear sweet grandmother; I'll be waiting for her now, And tell my wonderful friends; That they always were the best; Mommy, I'm not the first, I'm no better than the rest. Mommy, tell my teachers; I won't show up for class, And never to forget this, And please don't let this pass. Mommy, why'd it have to be me? No one deserves this, Mommy, warn the others, Mommy I left without a kiss. And Mommy tell the doctors; I know they really did try, I think I even saw a doctor, Trying not to cry. Mommy, I'm slowly dying, With a bullet in my chest, But Mommy please remember, I'm in heaven with the rest. Mommy I ran as fast as I could, When I heard that crack, Mommy, listen to me if you would, I wanted to go to college; I wanted to try things that were new, I guess I'm not going with Daddy, On that trip to the new zoo. I wanted to get married, I wanted to have a kid, I wanted to be an actress, Mommy, I wanted to live. But Mommy I must go now, The time is getting late, Mommy, tell my Chris, I'm sorry but I had to cancel the date. I love you Mommy, I always have, I know; you know it's true, And Mommy all I wanted to say is, "Mommy, I love you." ****In Memory of The Columbine Students Who Were Lost**** Please if you would, Pass this around, I'd be happy if you could, Don't smash this on the ground. If you pass this on, Maybe people will cry, Just keep this in your heart, For the people who didn't get to say "Good-bye."

Answer 6

Well..

There's all the sonnets written by Shakespeare..
http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-sonnets.htm

Robert Frost has a bunch of poems:
http://www.ketzle.com/frost/

Probably one or two good ones here:
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/p180-list.html

Answer 7

first you have to wright one

Answer 8

try that romeo cameo.