Best Poems About
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 in self-pity, and grappling with haunting questions about whether God could ever
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 to her ex-husband at his wedding feast. When he discovers what he has consumed, h
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 in a harsh household, confronts Orsino, a priest she once loved, about his empty
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 attempts to reach out to any conscience Cenci might still h
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 his old age. The poem unfolds as a list of glories, leading t
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, Margaret waits at home. The poem captures the wedding proce
This brief poem references the moment in the Bible when a servant girl identifies Peter as one of Jesus' followers, just before he denies knowing him. Longfellow condenses the scene into three lines, allowing the girl’s accusation to resona
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 about her weapon, but Olaf sees through her ruse and warns
This poem is from Longfellow's *Divine Tragedy* and depicts a childhood scene where the boy Jesus plays by a flooded stream, crafting sparrows from clay with other children — implicitly including the young Judas. It takes inspiration from t
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, Sigvald is secretly steering him right into an ambush arranged by
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 captures that heart-wrenching moment of discovering that someo
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 secretly married and then murdered to keep her quiet. As he steps o
This brief poem depicts the instant a servant girl identifies Peter as one of Jesus's followers, just moments before Peter denies knowing him. In these two concise lines, Longfellow captures a moment filled with warmth, danger, and the subt
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 oscillates between the urge to flee (as a wandering singer or
This brief poem recounts a moment during Jesus' trial when two false witnesses distort his words to portray him as a criminal. Longfellow allows both the witnesses who deceive and the religious authorities who exploit the ensuing silence to
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 dearly. In a tragic twist, Karker betrays and murders Hakon d
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 time she does. The gods themselves don’t seem to punish her; th
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 his daughter—breaks that vow out of pride. In retaliation, t
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 her lover, sacrificing her life in the process, while he is la
Act II of Longfellow's verse drama *The Spanish Student* centers on Preciosa, a Gypsy dancer in Madrid, who faces threats from a cunning nobleman, an overbearing father figure, and a jealous lover who leaves her due to deceitful rumors. Thi
This summary outlines the prose argument for Book 14 of Homer's *Iliad*, highlighting the main plot developments before the verse starts. Juno (Hera) devises a clever scheme: she borrows Aphrodite's magical girdle, enlists the god Sleep, ch
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 her lost chicks to a rat, and apples that fail to ripen. Lawr
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
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 establishment, becoming Poet Laureate and defending the very po
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, betrayal, and a puzzling sense of gratitude — or perhaps accept