Theme Timeline

Pick a theme and see how often it shows up across 50-year cohorts of V2Melody poets. Bars are normalised so small cohorts don't get drowned out by large ones.

Choose a theme

— none — world life love death beauty nature self social beloved divine memory desire spiritual heart grief power romantic suffering woman light soul loss dead body pain wind philosophical voice music landscape hope religious sorrow spring children flowers faith bird water rose mortality silence domestic presence childhood lover sound earth past consciousness truth women dream flower irish garden mind rain summer lovers

“hope” across the centuries

Bar length = percentage of poems in that cohort whose critique surfaced this theme. Click an era to focus the poem list below.

pre-1500 0 / 28 BCE 1 / 12 1500s 1 / 9 1550s 3 / 89 1600s 2 / 176 1650s 2 / 57 1700s 1 / 34 1750s 4 / 161 1800s 32 / 683 1850s 33 / 937 1900s 16 / 1115 1950s 0 / 15

Sample poems · click an era above to focus

Time, the Devourer of All Things

Available versions

Time, the Devourer of All Things

by Publius Ovidius Naso · Latin

20 March 43 BC - c. 17 (~60)

When shall my sorrowful sighing slake

Available versions

When shall my sorrowful sighing slake

by Thomas Tallis · English

c. 1505 - 23 November 1585 (~80)

Fancy, Farewell

Available versions

Fancy, Farewell

by Sir Edward Dyer · English

c. October 1543 - 11 May 1607 (~64)

Since there's no help

Available versions

Since there's no help

by Michael Drayton · English

1563 - December 1631 (~68)

Flow, my tears

Available versions

Flow, my tears

by John Dowland · English

c. 1563 - 20 February 1626 (~63)

The Primrose

Available versions

The Primrose

by Robert Herrick · English

24 August 1591 - 15 October 1674 (~83)

The spring of joy is dry

Available versions

The spring of joy is dry

by Martin Peerson · English

c. 1571 - 16 January 1651 (~80)

While, Iris, I at distance gaze

Available versions

While, Iris, I at distance gaze

by Aphra Behn · English

1640 - 16 April 1689 (~49)

What have I left to doe but dye

Available versions

What have I left to doe but dye

by Charles Cotton · English

28 April 1630 - 16 February 1687 (~57)

Hope

Available versions

Hope

by Joseph Addison · English

1 May 1672 - 17 June 1719 (~47)

Oh, Hope! thou soother sweet of human woes

Available versions

Oh, Hope! thou soother sweet of human woes

by Charlotte Smith · English

4 May 1749 - 28 October 1806 (~57)

The wretch condemn'd with life to part

Available versions

The wretch condemn'd with life to part

by Oliver Goldsmith · English

c. 10 November 1728 - 4 April 1774 (~46)

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