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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”

Like Longfellow’s poem, “The Wild Iris” foregrounds the mystery of death. However, whereas Longfellow’s poem meditates on human mortality, Glück’s poem rethinks the concept of death from a botanical perspective.

Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning”

Although thematically quite different from “The Wild Iris,” Angelou’s poem also features nonhuman speakers. It’s therefore worth comparing these poems for the insightful perspectives their speakers present to us human readers.

Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese”

“Wild Geese” and “The Wild Iris” are both examples of contemporary nature poems. Though they differ in theme as well as tone, they both develop profound insights from their attention to the natural world.

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