Best Poems About
Baudelaire's "Hymn to Beauty" poses a compelling question: does it really matter if Beauty originates from heaven or hell, as long as it changes the world and makes life meaningful? He speaks to Beauty as if in prayer, listing its overwhelm
This poem serves as a love letter to the rose, elevating it to queen of all flowers and a living symbol of beauty, love, and pleasure. Sappho (or a poet inspired by her) layers images — portraying the rose as earth's jewel, as Aphrodite's o
In "Pied Beauty," Gerard Manley Hopkins celebrates God for crafting a world filled with spotted, streaked, mixed, and varied things — in other words, everything that isn't plain or uniform. He presents a flurry of vivid, contrasting images
Byron notices a beautiful woman and attempts to express what makes her so captivating—it's not merely her looks, but how the interplay of light and darkness is in perfect harmony in her presence. He believes this balance reveals something p
Christina Rossetti's "The Beauties" is a brief lyric that presents various forms of natural beauty—like flowers, light, and the changing seasons—and gently questions which of these lasts the longest. By the end, Rossetti leans toward an inn
A poet gazes at an ancient Greek urn adorned with carved figures — lovers, musicians, a priest conducting a sacrifice — and ponders the stories captured on its surface. Since the scenes can never shift or evolve, the figures on the urn esca
Two lines and fourteen words, and Ezra Pound captures the strange beauty of human faces flashing by in a Paris subway. He likens those faces to flower petals clinging to a dark, rain-soaked branch. That's the entire poem—and somehow it feel
Two people wander into a small, sunlit meadow full of wild orchids, feeling so awestruck by the beauty that it feels almost sacred. They gather some flowers and whisper a quiet prayer, hoping that whoever mows the field will leave this spot
A speaker is so struck by the beauty of a harvest-season orchard that she collapses to the ground and pleads with a god to intervene — the beauty feels nearly unbearable. She then presents an offering of fallen fruit to a rough, unadorned d
A speaker gazes up at a pear tree bursting with white blossoms, nearly overwhelmed by its sheer size and brightness against the sky. H. D. presents the tree as a vibrant entity—something significant enough to warrant direct address. In the
A speaker admires a sea poppy flourishing in a tough coastal setting, amazed that such a beautiful and fragrant flower can thrive amid rocks, shells, and salt-strewn debris. The poem serves as a love letter to this resilient, stunning wildf
A small, weathered rose growing on a beach is compared to a flawless, well-tended garden rose — and the rugged beach rose comes out on top. H.D. suggests that beauty shaped by struggle is more authentic and precious than beauty that has bee
H. D.'s "Thetis" vividly imagines the sea-goddess Thetis gliding through a bright, jewel-like coastal realm. The poem focuses on light, color, and texture—amber stones, crimson sandal straps, gold, ivory, and a dolphin shimmering in the sun
This brief excerpt is Shelley’s loose translation of a section from Dante's *Vita Nuova*, where the speaker attempts—though he acknowledges his failure—to capture the moment his beloved smiles. The smile is so remarkable that both words and
A Dream of Fair Women is Tennyson's lengthy poem where the speaker drifts off to sleep after reading Chaucer and finds himself in a dream filled with a procession of notable women from history and mythology—like Helen of Troy, Iphigenia, an
William Morris's "A Garden by the Sea" is a brief, lyrical poem where the speaker looks out at a stunning coastal garden and experiences a profound sense of yearning — for something that feels lost, for someone who's not there, or for a joy
Longfellow's speaker strolls into Hephæstus's forge, the workshop of the Greek god of blacksmithing, and is amazed to discover a fourth Grace—Aglaia—alongside the original three. The poem captures the wonder of transforming mundane earthly
Swinburne speaks to a baby as if it were a singing bird, declaring that the child's sounds, movements, and gaze are more joyful and beautiful than any music on earth. The baby's presence drives away sorrow, fills the world with love, and gi
Beautiful Dreamer is a soothing lullaby by Stephen Foster, composed during the final years of his life. The song gently urges a sleeping loved one to awaken to a serene and beautiful world. The speaker reaches out to someone caught in their
A speaker cautions an unnamed listener about a stunning yet deceitful woman, detailing her physical allure piece by piece to illustrate how each feature is a snare. Each stanza reinforces the same message: she appears beautiful, but she is
Written on a coach crossing Westminster Bridge at dawn, this sonnet expresses Wordsworth's astonishment at the stunning beauty of London in the early morning calm. The city, often linked to noise and crowds, is enveloped in fresh air and go
A brief 17th-century lyric where the speaker reveals that he finds small, accidental flaws in a woman's clothing — like a loose ribbon or a rumpled cuff — much more appealing than anything perfectly put together. The poem's message is strai
Epipsychidion is a lengthy, passionate love poem by Shelley dedicated to Teresa "Emilia" Viviani, a young Italian woman he encountered during her time in a convent. In the poem, Shelley envisions her as the realization of the ideal Beauty h
Longfellow's "Euphrosyne" is a brief tribute poem where the speaker gives a woman the name Pandora, celebrating her gifts, beauty, and mastery of the arts. The title references one of the three Graces from Greek mythology, a goddess associa
It's the freezing eve of St. Agnes' Day, and an old Beadsman — a man whose job is to pray for others — is saying his rosary in the biting cold. Keats employs the chill and the Beadsman's numbed fingers to create a sense of deep winter and q