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
betrayal.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about betrayal, 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
Judas Iscariot
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“This poem features a dramatic monologue delivered by Judas Iscariot in his last moments, right before he leaps from a cliff. He is consumed by guilt, drowning i…”
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02
The Witch-Mother
Algernon Charles Swinburne
“A mother, betrayed by her husband who left her for a new wife, makes a pact with the devil and murders her own children. She then serves their flesh and blood t…”
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03
A Garden of the Cenci Palace
Percy Bysshe Shelley
“This is the opening scene of Shelley's verse drama *The Cenci*, which takes place in the garden of the Cenci palace in Rome. Beatrice, a young noblewoman stuck…”
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The complete index
- 04
An Apartment in the Cenci Palace
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This is the opening scene of Shelley's verse drama *The Cenci*, where we meet Count Cenci, a ruthless Roman nobleman who has just bribed the Pope to hide a murder. Cardinal Camillo…
- 05
Belisarius
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A once-great general named Belisarius stands blind and begging beneath his own triumphal arch, recalling the victories he achieved for Emperor Justinian — only to be abandoned in h…
- 06
By Jacques Jasmin
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Longfellow recounts a poignant Occitan folk tale about Baptiste, a young man who leaves his blind sweetheart, Margaret, to marry the more beautiful Angela. Unaware of the betrayal,…
- 07
Gudrun
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
On his wedding night, King Olaf wakes up to find his new bride, Gudrun, looming over him with a concealed dagger, determined to avenge her father's murder. She tries to deceive him…
- 08
King Olaf and Earl Sigvald
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
King Olaf, the Norwegian king, sets out with a fleet of seventy ships, relying on the treacherous Earl Sigvald to navigate him through uncharted waters. Unbeknownst to Olaf, Sigval…
- 09
Perfidy
D. H. Lawrence
A man stands outside a woman's door, waiting for her return, but instead, he sees her sneak back from a secret meeting, slipping inside without realizing he’s watching. The poem ca…
- 10
Saint Edmond’s Eve
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A guilty priest known as the Black Canon is called to an abbey on a stormy night to put a restless ghost to rest — only to discover that the ghost is the spirit of a nun he secretl…
- 11
The Broken Ring
Eugene Field
A heartbroken speaker stands by a mill stream, clutching a ring his lover once gave him — a ring that has literally shattered, just like his heart after she broke her promise. He o…
- 12
Thora of Rimol
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem recounts the last moments of Jarl Hakon, a formidable Norse chieftain who takes refuge in a pigsty with his slave Karker, sheltered by a woman named Thora who loves him d…
- 13
To Barine
Horace
Horace addresses Barine, a woman who continuously breaks her romantic promises without facing any repercussions — in fact, she appears to grow more beautiful and desirable each tim…
- 14
Yvytot
Eugene Field
A prince from the kingdom of Yvytot falls for a mysterious figure he sees emerging from the sea, while his father—who had previously promised the sea-king that his son would marry…
- 15
The Highwayman
Alfred Noyes · 1906
A highwayman rides to meet his secret love, Bess, the landlord's daughter. However, a jealous soldier informs the redcoats, who set a trap using Bess. She fires a musket to warn he…
- 16
Ballad of Another Ophelia
D. H. Lawrence
A young woman, echoing Shakespeare's Ophelia, has been lured in and left behind, and the poem narrates her experience through the imagery of a rainy orchard, a brown hen mourning h…
- 17
Beware!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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 rei…
- 18
Damnation
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This poem is Shelley’s fierce comic critique of the poet Robert Southey, who is cleverly disguised as "Peter." Southey began as a radical writer but eventually conformed to the est…
- 19
Famous Blue Raincoat
Leonard Cohen
A man pens a late-night letter to the person who had an affair with his wife, addressing him with an unexpected tenderness instead of anger. The letter explores themes of loss, bet…
- 20
Forsaken
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A mother talks to her young child after the child's father has left, promising that she will never walk away like he did. In her child's innocent eyes, she sees a reason to perseve…
- 21
Is My Team Ploughing
A. E. Housman
A deceased young man poses various questions from the afterlife concerning his farm, his football team, his friends, and his girlfriend. A living friend responds to each of these q…
- 22
John Alden
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This section of Longfellow's epic poem tracks John Alden as he grapples with guilt and inner turmoil after Priscilla Mullins urges him to express his own feelings rather than act a…
- 23
King Svend of the Forked Bear
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem narrates a Viking plot to take down King Olaf of Norway. King Svend of Denmark, spurred on by his ambitious new wife Sigrid, teams up with the Swedish king and a Norse ea…
- 24
Old Spanish Song
Eugene Field
An older woman reflects on the young man who serenaded her with songs and sweet promises beneath the moonlight — only to abandon her for another. Despite his broken promises and th…
- 25
Punishment
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney gazes at the preserved body of a young woman discovered in a Danish bog — a victim of a murder from thousands of years ago, probably executed for adultery — and he fe…
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