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
Fate.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about fate, 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
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…”
Open the poem
02
1492
Emma Lazarus · 1883
“In 1492, Spain expelled its Jewish population through the Alhambra Decree, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee without a destination. Emma Lazarus reflects on…”
Open the poem
03
Drummer Hodge
Thomas Hardy · 1899
“A young English drummer boy named "Hodge," a common name for a country worker, dies during the Boer War and is laid to rest in the South African veld, far from…”
Open the poem
The complete index
- 04
The Phantom Fleet
Alfred Noyes · 1902
A man falls asleep in a cottage adorned with naval paintings and awakens in a dream where the spirits of Britain's most legendary admirals — Nelson, Drake, Raleigh, and others — re…
- 05
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…
- 06
Kilmeny
Alfred Noyes · 1907
A British naval drifter named Kilmeny heads out to sea at dusk, undertakes a secret and lethal task during World War One, and returns with her skipper dead but her mission fulfille…
- 07
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost · 1915
A traveler finds himself at a fork in the woods, faced with the challenge of choosing one path, aware that he can't return to try the other. He reassures himself that the road he p…
- 08
Loss
H. D. · 1916
A survivor looks on as the person they cherish most is taken by the sea during what seems like a battle or catastrophe, and rather than just sorrow, they experience an odd relief —…
- 09
The Helmsman
H. D. · 1916
A group of people has ventured away from the sea into the forests and fields, captivated by the beauty of the land — but now they’re back on the water, battling the waves and calli…
- 10
The Shrine
H. D. · 1916
H. D.'s "The Shrine" explores a sacred yet perilous place—probably the sea—that both captivates and devastates those who approach, much like a god indifferent to their fate. The sp…
- 11
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…
- 12
An Open Boat
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A woman in a lifeboat tossed by stormy waves clings to the hope that her lover is still alive, wrapping her hair around him to keep him warm as the other survivors plead with her t…
- 13
Death by Water
T. S. Eliot · 1922
A dead sailor named Phlebas floats through the ocean, his body stripped bare by the sea, and all his worldly worries — money, ambition, life itself — vanish entirely. The poem conc…
- 14
Namesakes
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A woman named Peggy Nutten watches as other sailors' boats come back home in the evening, but the boat that bears her name — and held her loved one — never returns. Each stanza dee…
- 15
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…
- 16
The New Duckling
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A young duckling chooses to be completely different from what he was born as — he doesn’t want webbed feet, waddling, or quacking — and disregards all warnings about a fox lurking…
- 17
The Open Door
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A person reflects on the harsh timing of life — how we often learn to truly live just as life is coming to an end — and wonders if that’s really all there is. The poem grapples wit…
- 18
The Realms of Gold
Alfred Noyes · 1922
Alfred Noyes envisions an alternate reality where the dying Romantic poet John Keats reaches the sun-kissed shores of Southern California instead of succumbing in Rome. The poem pa…
- 19
Prisoners
H. D. · 1924
A prisoner awaiting execution writes a heartfelt final letter to a cherished fellow captive, pleading for one last sight of their face before facing death. The writer feels drained…
- 20
A Baby's Epitaph
Algernon Charles Swinburne
A baby who passed away before reaching its first birthday speaks from beyond, urging its grieving parents not to cry. The child shares that angels called it away to a better place…
- 21
A Conversation
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Julian and Maddalo is a lengthy, conversational poem featuring two brilliant friends—one an idealistic optimist (Julian, who represents Shelley himself) and the other a cynical ari…
- 22
Adonais
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Adonais is Shelley's lengthy elegy for the poet John Keats, who passed away in Rome in 1821 at the young age of twenty-five. Shelley holds hostile critics responsible for shortenin…
- 23
A Dream of Fair Women
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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…
- 24
A Fragment
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A Fragment is Shelley's unfinished sketch of Prince Athanase, a young idealist on a lifelong quest for a deep, soul-stirring love. He falls for a deceptive, superficial version of…
- 25
Aged 22
Amy Lowell
*Aged 22* is a set of three sonnets by Amy Lowell, each depicting a young man marked by loss, displacement, or unrealized potential. The first sonnet laments an unnamed young man w…
Read deeper