Reading Willow Historic Speeches Library
Landmark speeches from history that shaped public thought and policy — studied for their rhetorical power, persuasive craft, and enduring relevance to modern issues.
Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley I met a traveller from an antique land, Meaning: The speaker reports meeting a traveler from a very old place. Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Meaning: The story...
Crossing the Bar
Alfred, Lord Tennyson Sunset and evening star, Meaning: The poem opens at sunset, a symbol of life's ending. And one clear call for me! Meaning: The speaker hears a personal call to depart. And ma...
When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be
John Keats When I have fears that I may cease to be Meaning: The speaker fears dying before completing his life's work. Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain, Meaning: His unwritten thoughts a...
The Swing
Robert Louis Stevenson How do you like to go up in a swing, Meaning: The speaker asks if the listener enjoys the feeling of swinging high. Up in the air so blue? Meaning: The child rises into the b...
The Lamb
William Blake Little Lamb who made thee Meaning: The speaker gently asks the lamb who created it. Dost thou know who made thee Meaning: The question is repeated to sound curious and tender. Gave t...
Leisure
W. H. Davies What is this life if, full of care, Meaning: The poem asks what kind of life we have if worry leaves no time to notice beauty. We have no time to stand and stare. Meaning: Davies sugge...
Hope is the thing with feathers
Emily Dickinson Hope is the thing with feathers Meaning: Hope is compared to a small bird. That perches in the soul, Meaning: That bird is imagined living inside the human soul. And sings the tune...
The Second Coming
W. B. Yeats Turning and turning in the widening gyre Meaning: The world is shown spinning farther and farther out of control. The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Meaning: The falcon has lost touch...