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
despair.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about despair, 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
Despair
Percy Bysshe Shelley
“A man is overwhelmed by grief, isolating himself from the world around him. He struggles to connect with anyone, indifferent to whether people are friends or fo…”
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02
Elm
Sylvia Plath
“In "Elm," Sylvia Plath presents an ancient elm tree that talks directly to the reader about suffering, fear, and the frightening depths of the self. The tree sy…”
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03
From the Raven
Edgar Allan Poe
“A grieving man sits alone at night, tormented by memories of his lost love, Lenore, when a raven swoops in and settles above his door. No matter what the man in…”
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The complete index
- 04
The Raven
Edgar Allan Poe
A grieving man sits alone late at night, missing his deceased love Lenore, when a mysterious Raven flies into his room and only utters one word: "Nevermore." No matter what the man…
- 05
The Hollow Men
T. S. Eliot · 1925
*The Hollow Men* (1925) is T. S. Eliot's depiction of individuals who are spiritually vacant—alive physically but dead within, unable to take action, believe, or truly feel anythin…
- 06
Inferno 33, 22-75
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This is Shelley's revised translation of a section from Dante's *Inferno*, where Count Ugolino recounts his harrowing experience of being imprisoned in a tower with his sons and gr…
- 07
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 in self-pity, and gra…
- 08
Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A profoundly unhappy Shelley sits by himself on a beach near Naples on a beautiful December afternoon, observing the sun, sea, and birds around him — yet feeling entirely disconnec…
- 09
Gerontion
T. S. Eliot · 1920
An old man who has never truly lived—never fought, never felt, never believed—sits in a decaying house, pondering history, faith, and the gradual decline of his inner life. He obse…
- 10
The Second Coming
W. B. Yeats · 1920
The world feels like it’s unraveling — violence surrounds us, decent people seem to have fallen silent, and the fanatics are drowning them out. Yeats imagines a terrifying creature…
- 11
The Burial of the Dead
T. S. Eliot · 1922
This is the opening section of T. S. Eliot's influential poem *The Waste Land* (1922), and it lays the groundwork for the entire piece: a world where spring feels more like a curse…
- 12
The Waste Land
T. S. Eliot · 1922
*The Waste Land* is a lengthy, fragmented poem that captures a world drained of spirit and energy in the wake of World War I. Eliot weaves together various voices, languages, and m…
- 13
A Dirge
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A Dirge is a brief, eight-line lament where Shelley invokes natural forces — like the wind, storm, bare trees, caves, and the sea — to express a sorrow so profound that a typical s…
- 14
A Hall of the Prison
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This is the final scene from Shelley's verse drama *The Cenci*, set in a prison where Beatrice Cenci and her family await execution for killing their abusive father. Beatrice shift…
- 15
An echo of _Macbeth_, V, 5:
James Russell Lowell
This short poem features Lowell quoting the famous "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" speech from Shakespeare's *Macbeth*, presenting it as his own "echo." In this line, life i…
- 16
Carrion Comfort
Gerard Manley Hopkins
In "Carrion Comfort," Hopkins stands firm against despair—he won't consume it like a scavenger devours dead flesh. The poem depicts a grueling battle between the speaker and what h…
- 17
Hap
Thomas Hardy
Hardy's "Hap" is a sonnet that explores the idea that it's random, indifferent chance — rather than a cruel god — that causes life's pain. The speaker expresses that he could cope…
- 18
Hell
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shelley examines early 19th-century London and essentially declares, "this place is already Hell." He highlights the corrupt politicians, greedy lawyers, hypocritical churchmen, an…
- 19
Howl
Allen Ginsberg
Written in 1955 and published in 1956, "Howl" is Allen Ginsberg's powerful, lengthy poem that captures the struggles of a generation of brilliant yet troubled individuals torn apar…
- 20
I Felt a Funeral in My Brain
Emily Dickinson
A speaker conveys the sensation of losing their mind by picturing a funeral taking place within their own brain. The mourners, the service, the coffin, and ultimately the tolling b…
- 21
In a Dark Time
Theodore Roethke
In a Dark Time is Theodore Roethke's exploration of mental breakdown as a means to gain self-awareness and perhaps connect with God. The speaker spirals into madness and despair, o…
- 22
Laus Veneris
Algernon Charles Swinburne
In "Laus Veneris" ("Praise of Venus"), Swinburne reimagines the medieval tale of Tannhäuser, a knight forever ensnared in Venus's underground palace, overwhelmed by a love that's t…
- 23
Not Waving but Drowning
Stevie Smith
A drowned man attempts to convey that he was never cheerfully waving — he was urgently signaling for help, and no one saw. The poem then expands on this idea: it wasn't just a sing…
- 24
Richard Cory
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Richard Cory tells the story of a wealthy and admired man who appears to possess everything—good looks, money, and charm—while the working-class people around him envy his seemingl…
- 25
—sister Rosa: A Ballad
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A monk is consumed by grief after the passing of a nun named Rosa, and his sorrow leads him to her grave on a stormy night. He pries open her coffin, and her decayed body rises to…
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