Editor's note
Ranking is generated by Storgy's classification model, which scores each poem's thematic depth on this subject relative to the rest of the corpus. The list is re-indexed weekly as new poems enter the public-domain corpus.
Best poems about — Storgy
Anger.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about anger, ranked by thematic depth. Scored by Storgy's classification model against the rest of the corpus, and re-indexed weekly as new works enter the canon.
The leading three
01
A Poison Tree
William Blake · 1794
“A Poison Tree is a brief poem that explores the consequences of suppressing anger instead of expressing it. Blake illustrates that when you share your anger wit…”
Open the poem
02
England in 1819
Percy Bysshe Shelley · 1819
“Shelley examines Britain in 1819, detailing everything he believes is wrong — from a senile king and corrupt princes to starving citizens, harsh laws, and an em…”
Open the poem
03
Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister
Robert Browning · 1842
“A monk in a Spanish monastery is filled with an almost absurd hatred for his fellow brother, Lawrence, who appears to be nothing but kind and devout. Throughout…”
Open the poem
The complete index
- 04
The General
Siegfried Sassoon · 1917
A soldier angrily recounts how a cheerful, oblivious general sent his men to their deaths, all while smiling and greeting them. The general's friendly demeanor starkly contrasts wi…
- 05
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Wilfred Owen · 1920
Wilfred Owen questions the type of funeral rites that soldiers who died in World War One truly receive — and the answer is that they receive none of the traditional ones. Rather th…
- 06
A Ballad
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shelley outfits the Devil in elegant attire and sends him on a journey through early 19th-century Britain, where he discovers that priests, kings, lawyers, bishops, and statesmen a…
- 07
Against Cassius Severus
Horace
Horace confronts a critic named Cassius Severus, labeling him a coward for going after easy targets rather than facing someone who can push back. He likens himself to a fierce guar…
- 08
Against Maevius
Horace
Horace unleashes a fierce storm upon a ship that’s transporting a man named Maevius, whom he clearly loathes. He hurls one curse after another—raging winds, shattered oars, terrifi…
- 09
A Hate-Song
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A bitter man sits by a ditch, strumming a broken lute and letting out a song — or more like a screech — filled with pure hatred for a woman he sees as cruel. It’s a brief, biting,…
- 10
America
Claude McKay
Claude McKay's "America" is a sonnet exploring the complex and defiant relationship a Black man has with a country that both oppresses and inspires him. He acknowledges the reality…
- 11
An Apartment in the Castle of Petrella
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This scene from Shelley’s verse drama *The Cenci* depicts the monstrous Count Cenci as he schemes to ruin his daughter Beatrice—physically, mentally, and socially—while his wife Lu…
- 12
An Old Jew
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
An elderly Jewish man reprimands a group of children who are bothering him, using a powerful tale from the Hebrew Bible to send them a warning. He recounts how, when children made…
- 13
A Spiritual Woman
D. H. Lawrence
A man begs the woman he loves to stop dissecting him so clinically and simply allow herself to experience emotions. She has transformed love into a riddle to be unraveled with her…
- 14
At an Extrumpery Caucus in State Street, Reported by Mr. H. Biglow
James Russell Lowell
A fictional political speech, delivered in a thick New England dialect, by a corrupt Whig party insider who is furious that Congressman John Palfrey wouldn’t support the party’s pr…
- 15
Ballad of the Landlord
Langston Hughes
A Black tenant confronts his landlord, insisting on repairs for a leaking roof and broken steps, even threatening to withhold rent. In response, he finds himself arrested, jailed,…
- 16
Black Art
Amiri Baraka
Written in 1965 during the peak of the Black Arts Movement, "Black Art" is Amiri Baraka's passionate manifesto-poem urging Black poetry to move beyond decoration and become a tool…
- 17
Bulls, and Arrange Themselves Quietly Behind the Altar. the Image Of
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This satirical scene from Shelley's political drama *Swellfoot the Tyrant* (1820) features mythological figures representing actual British political figures. The Minotaur, who int…
- 18
By Homer Wilbur, A.m
James Russell Lowell
This poem narrates the tale of two brothers, North and South, who co-own a farm but have starkly contrasting work ethics and values. It's a subtle allegory for the conflict between…
- 19
Caliban on Ariel
Algernon Charles Swinburne
This is a Shakespearean-style sonnet where Swinburne adopts the voice of Caliban — the brutish, resentful slave from *The Tempest* — and uses Caliban's own harsh words against him.…
- 20
Canidia's Answer
Horace
A witch named Canidia gives an angry, triumphant speech to a man who ridiculed her dark rituals and exposed her secrets to the people of Rome. She informs him that no amount of ple…
- 21
Chorus of Priests, Accompanied by the Court Porkman on Marrow-Bones
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A group of priests and court officials chant a hymn of praise to "Famine" — a goddess they've created to explain why the rich continue to thrive while the poor suffer. It's Shelley…
- 22
Cole
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This brief dramatic poem captures a moment of dialogue where someone is reprimanding Cole for bringing troublemakers, probably Quakers, from Barbados to a Puritan town in New Engla…
- 23
Daddy
Sylvia Plath
Written in 1962, "Daddy" is Sylvia Plath's intense confrontation with her memories of her father, Otto Plath, who passed away when she was just eight. The speaker navigates through…
- 24
Dear John Wayne
Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich's "Dear John Wayne" is a letter-poem directed at the iconic Hollywood cowboy actor, crafted from the viewpoint of Native Americans viewing a Western film at a drive-…
- 25
Enter Swellfoot, in His Royal Robes, Without Perceiving the Pigs
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A proud king named Swellfoot admires his own hefty figure and prays to a goddess of excess. He then spots a group of starving pigs, symbolizing the average people of his kingdom. T…
Read deeper