Paired Texts > When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be

Robert Frost (1874-1963) was one of the most popular and critically respected American poets in history. At first glance, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is a rather simple poem — a man pausing his horse to observe a wintery landscape before moving on — but its carefully constructed lines, like the woods, hold a deeper power.

Emily Jane Brontë (1818-1848) was an English writer who is best known for her novel, Wuthering Heights. In this short poem, Brontë contemplates existing in a solitary, meditative state.

This informational text describes the terrible tragedy of Pompeii in 79 A.D., when the Roman town was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. It details life in the town before the eruption and how volcanic ash has preserved the town for modern day archaeologists to explore.

In the poem “On the Death of Anne Brontë,” Charlotte Brontë discusses the death of her sister, and how she feels about facing life without her.

In Guy de Maupassant’s “The Devil”, Honore Bontemps bargains with a nurse to take care of his dying mother.

In John Keats’ poem “The Human Seasons,” a speaker compares the four seasons to the stages of life.

In the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” Keats describes elaborate images on a vase.

In William Butler Yeat's “When You Are Old,” a speaker asks someone to reflect on their life and on lost love in their old age.