I am sure that I have read "An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard" before. The reason I say this is because even though I think I read it quite some time ago, it left quite an impression on me. There is just a mood in this poem that is very resonant. I find that the imagery used in the poem is very potent. I especially love the night time images....it conjures up the feel of a lonely, still evening perfectly. I especially like that line "The moping Owl does to the moon complain". Very haunting.

I also enjoyed Collins' "Ode to Fear". But this is probably due to the fact that I have always had a liking for anything dark or slightly gothic. This poem actually reminded me very much of Edgar Allen Poe's work. In fact, I could easily imagine Vincent Price reading this poem. :) On the subject of fear, I think we are all controlled by fear to one degree or another. I think the poem does a great job of capturing the intense paralysis that fear can induce: "Ah Fear! Ah frantic Fear! I see, I see Thee near". Brilliant.

I also thought that the excerpt from More's "Sensibility" was interesting. I especially found this part intriguing: "He, scorning life's low duties to attend, Writes odes on friendship, while he cheats his friend". I find it fascinating that quite often (in literature and in real life, it seems) that people are frequently contradicting themselves. I have always found that this sort of duality makes for great drama in a story.