Poetry In Popular Culture

Many years ago, those in the public eye were authors and poets instead of athletes and movie stars. This being said, sources of entertainment were poems and novels and people all over the world became addicted to their favorite readings. It may even be said that there were families who gathered around the fireplace to read an excerpt from their favorite poem every night at 9:00 pm, just like today many families will with the shows Glee or Gossip Girl, for example.

With the idea in mind that the popularity of literature sparked the necessity for shows and movies in today's technological world, it is wonderful to witness today's shows paying tribute to those poems that once were the entertainment industry, and still captivate us today.

In Episode 9, Season 2 of Gossip Girl the character Blaire states that she has her own albatross to worry about. This idea of the albatross is a reference to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poem that gave the symbol of an albatross great significance and power. (I could not find this particular episode online because it is from an old season, but I would recommend watching it, and the other episodes as well as they have tremendous literary references throughout the witty dialogue).

Scrolling down the list of titles on hulu.com it is easy to point out the ones that references literature. The witty play on words many titles contain is what draws someone in to watching that particular episode. The link i have included below is simply a list of current show titles involving "The Road Not Taken." This ever famous poem by Robert Frost is so prevalent in popular culture that many people even still quote this poem in everyday life. The show Glee presented one of its more recent episodes with the title "The Rhodes Not Taken" (this episode is included in the link below). In this episode one of the main characters states "Its times like these I know I chose the right path." This quote emphasizes the title and overall message that this show and the Frost's poem are sending to readers and watchers.

http://www.hulu.com/search?query=the+road+not+taken&st=