Free Resources for Leaving Cert Poetry 2025

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  Portrait of Eavan Boland http://www.irishtimes.com. Illustration: Dearbhla Kelly

I have been posting English notes on my blog, Reviews Rants and Rambles, since I retired as an English teacher and an Advising Examiner for English Higher Level.  I have brought all those links together here in one post or blog  – an Index of all the posts I’ve written that are relevant to Leaving Cert English Poetry 2025.  Bookmark this to save you the trouble of constantly searching the internet each time you want to do some background work on a particular poet or author. It’s imperfect and won’t suit every student, class, or teacher but it’s my version of a ‘Pop-Up-One-Stop Shop’ and you know the drill: just click on the link if it’s relevant to your studies!  My choice of poets is personal and you will easily see where my own preferences lie by simply viewing the number of links provided for each text or poet!

However, Caveat Emptor!  Leaving Cert Student Beware !!  These are resources that you should use wisely.  They are my personal responses to the various texts and you should read and consider them and decide to study them if you find them useful.
IN OTHER WORDS, MAKE YOUR OWN OF THEM, ADD TO THEM, OR DELETE FROM THEM AS YOU SEE FIT.
Eavan Boland

Major Themes in Eavan Boland’s Poetry

The Beauty of Ordinary Things  In the Poetry of Eavan Boland

Child of Our Time by Eavan Boland

Emily Dickinson

An Overview of the Poetry of Emily Dickinson

T. S. Eliot

Observations on ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ by T. S. Eliot

The Religious Poetry of T. S. Eliot (with a particular focus on ‘Journey of the Magi’ and

‘A Song for Simeon‘)

Gerard Manley Hopkins

The Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins

An Analysis of Inversnaid by Gerard Manley Hopkins

An Analysis of Spring by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Analysis of ‘The Windhover’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins

The Terrible Sonnets,  not so terrible after all!

Commentary on ‘Pied Beauty’ by Hopkins

Patrick Kavanagh

The Poetry of Patrick Kavanagh

Some Recurring Themes in the Poetry of Patrick Kavanagh

Analysis of Patrick Kavanagh’s Use of the Sonnet

An Overview of Patrick Kavanagh’s Poetry

A Christmas Childhood by Patrick Kavanagh

Advent by Patrick Kavanagh

Canal Bank Walk by Patrick Kavanagh

Patrick Kavanagh is a very Religious Poet’  Discuss

A sense of loss pervades much of Patrick Kavanagh’s poetry’  Discuss

Patrick Kavanagh’s Poetry is full of Honesty, Integrity and Simplicity’   Discuss

Patrick Kavanagh is a poet of the Ordinary’   Discuss

Bonus Kavanagh Stuff – Have a read!  Enjoy!

Luke Kelly : Raglan Road (A Parade of Posts for St Patrick 1)

An Introduction to ‘Tarry Flynn’ by Patrick Kavanagh

Stony Grey Soil by Patrick Kavanagh

Derek Mahon

Derek Mahon:  An Overview

Sylvia Plath

The Poetry of Sylvia Plath

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