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
Failure.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about failure, 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
Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley
“A traveler shares with the speaker a story about a ruined statue in the desert: a shattered king with a proud inscription, standing alone amidst endless sand. T…”
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02
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
T. S. Eliot · 1915
“A middle-aged man named Prufrock roams a city, trying to gather the courage to say something significant to someone — but he never quite gets there. The entire…”
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03
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
T. S. Eliot · 1915
“Prufrock is a middle-aged man trapped in a cycle of self-doubt, unable to express himself or take meaningful action at an elegant social event. Throughout the p…”
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The complete index
- 04
A Jacobite's Farewell
Algernon Charles Swinburne
A Jacobite soldier, locked away after the failed 1715 uprising, bids farewell to the woman he loves on the eve of his execution. He urges her not to mourn over lost territories or…
- 05
Astrophil and Stella
Sir Philip Sidney
*Astrophil and Stella* is a collection of 108 sonnets (along with 11 songs) by Sir Philip Sidney, narrating the tale of Astrophil — a lover of the stars — who is infatuated with St…
- 06
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…
- 07
Eldorado
Edgar Allan Poe
A knight dedicates his entire life to the pursuit of Eldorado, the mythical city of gold, yet he never discovers it. As he reaches old age and feels weary, he questions a mysteriou…
- 08
Festina Lente
James Russell Lowell
A group of well-meaning frogs thinks the tadpoles in their pond are growing up too slowly, so they cut off their tails to speed things up — and every tadpole dies. This fable in ve…
- 09
Harlem
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes poses a thought-provoking question: what becomes of a dream that is continually postponed? He outlines a series of grim outcomes — dreams that rot, dry out, crust o…
- 10
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…
- 11
Jugurtha
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This short poem draws on the actual last words of an ancient African king to explore two distinct forms of defeat: the downfall of a mighty ruler and the silent sorrow of a poet wh…
- 12
King Trisanku
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
King Trisanku is a brief poem that tells a tale from Hindu mythology: a king is magically propelled toward heaven, only to be rejected by the gods and left stuck in midair. Longfel…
- 13
Missing Dates
William Empson
William Empson's "Missing Dates" is a villanelle that obsessively explores the notion that small, overlooked losses accumulate until they completely engulf a person. The repeated r…
- 14
Spoon River Anthology
Edgar Lee Masters
*Spoon River Anthology* is a collection of free-verse epitaphs where the deceased residents of a fictional Illinois town voice their stories from beyond the grave, each uncovering…
- 15
The Children's Crusade
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem recounts the story of the Children's Crusade—a true historical event from 1212 when thousands of young people marched toward the Holy Land, armed solely with faith, only…
- 16
The Dunciad
Alexander Pope
*The Dunciad* is Alexander Pope's biting satirical poem that ridicules the poor writers, critics, and publishers he observed inundating early 18th-century London with subpar work.…
- 17
The Sifting of Peter
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem recounts the Bible story of Peter denying Jesus three times, offering a lesson for us all: temptation and failure are part of being human, but what truly matters is how w…
- 18
The Young Ruler
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A wealthy young man gazes bitterly at his own grave, recalling when Jesus asked him to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor in return for heavenly treasures.…
- 19
Vanity of Human Wishes
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson's *The Vanity of Human Wishes* is an extensive moral poem that walks through history, illustrating how various ambitions — whether for power, wealth, fame, beauty, o…
- 20
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley
Ezra Pound · 1920
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley marks Ezra Pound's farewell to his early career and offers a sharp critique of modern Western culture. A poet who feels out of sync with his time struggles to…
- 21
Last Words to Miriam
D. H. Lawrence
A man speaks to a woman named Miriam, admitting that he didn't push their relationship — or her — to the point of transformative suffering he thought was necessary. He sees himself…
- 22
To a Mouse
Robert Burns · 1785
A Scottish farmer unintentionally destroys a mouse's nest while ploughing a field. Instead of simply moving on, he takes a moment to apologise to the mouse and reflect on their sha…
- 23
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…
- 24
Slave and Emperor
Alfred Noyes · 1918
Alfred Noyes wrote this poem in reaction to World War I, highlighting a military emperor's arrogant rejection of Christianity alongside the eventual downfall of his power in battle…
- 25
Circe
H. D. · 1921
Circe, the formidable sorceress of Greek mythology, acknowledges that her magic is ultimately worthless since she cannot bring back the one man she loves — Odysseus. She can change…
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