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
Fear.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about fear, 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
Death Be Not Proud
John Donne · 1633
“Death Be Not Proud is John Donne's bold challenge to the common belief that death holds great power. He turns the argument on its head: if sleep (essentially a…”
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02
A Poison Tree
William Blake · 1794
“A Poison Tree is a brief poem that explores the consequences of suppressing anger instead of expressing it. Blake illustrates that when you share your anger wit…”
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03
Strange fits of passion have I known
William Wordsworth · 1800
“A man rides his horse toward Lucy's cottage on a moonlit evening, observing the moon descend as he approaches. Just as it vanishes behind her roof, an unsettlin…”
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The complete index
- 04
Thanatopsis
William Cullen Bryant · 1817
Thanatopsis — Greek for "a view of death" — is Bryant's reflection on death and our feelings about it. He suggests that nature offers a reassuring message: every person who has eve…
- 05
Pursuit
H. D. · 1916
A speaker traces the path left by a fleeing figure through the forest — crushed hyacinths, broken roots, a dragged limb — assembling the chase like a detective piecing together clu…
- 06
Storm
H. D. · 1916
A storm rips through a grove of trees, breaking branches and tearing leaves apart with fierce intensity. H. D. observes closely, capturing the destruction in vivid detail — splinte…
- 07
The Farmer's Bride
Charlotte Mew · 1916
A farmer shares the story of the young woman he married, who became so afraid of him and others that she fled, forcing him to chase her down and lock her in the house. Now, she liv…
- 08
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…
- 09
The Cool Web
Robert Graves · 1927
Robert Graves's "The Cool Web" suggests that language is what keeps us from being consumed by intense experiences — the scorching summer heat, the fear of a soldier's charge, the h…
- 10
Acceptance
Robert Frost · 1928
A bird observes the sun setting and, rather than feeling anxious, it just locates its tree and settles in for the night. Frost uses that brief, serene moment to convey a deeper mes…
- 11
Bayonet Charge
Ted Hughes · 1957
A soldier unexpectedly charges across open ground, bayonet fixed, with no moment to consider patriotism or purpose — just the primal fear of survival. Hughes removes any notions of…
- 12
Storm on the Island
Seamus Heaney · 1966
A community on a desolate Atlantic island gets ready for a violent storm, only to realize that the true horror lies not in the wind or the sea, but in the emptiness — the lack of a…
- 13
An Apartment in the Castle
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This intense moment from Shelley's verse play *The Cenci* depicts Beatrice Cenci as she plots to kill her abusive father, Count Cenci. Just before the act, two hired assassins hesi…
- 14
An Apartment in the Castle of Petrella
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This scene from Shelley’s verse drama *The Cenci* depicts the monstrous Count Cenci as he schemes to ruin his daughter Beatrice—physically, mentally, and socially—while his wife Lu…
- 15
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…
- 16
A Narrow Fellow in the Grass
Emily Dickinson
A speaker recounts a surprising encounter with a snake hidden in the grass—its movements, habitat, and the shock of stumbling upon it. While the speaker generally feels a sense of…
- 17
Another Version of the Preceding
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This brief lyric captures a choral song about a nighttime meeting between two lovers, under the watchful gaze of the moon and the passing hours. Boys and girls alternate in singing…
- 18
Anxiety
D. H. Lawrence
A speaker gazes out of a window, anxiously awaiting the arrival of a telegram boy at their gate—because a telegram would bring news of someone they care about who is gravely ill. T…
- 19
Azrael
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A visiting Indian prince notices the Angel of Death standing outside King Solomon's palace and pleads with Solomon to use his famed control over the wind to carry him to safety. So…
- 20
Before the Castle of Petrella
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This is a tense moment from Shelley's verse play *The Cenci*, taking place on a castle's ramparts at midnight. Beatrice and her mother Lucretia are plotting the murder of Beatrice'…
- 21
Bluebird
Charles Bukowski
Bukowski's "Bluebird" is a brief, personal poem where the speaker reveals that he has a delicate, sensitive part of himself—a bluebird—that he keeps hidden from the world. He drink…
- 22
By Clotilde De Surville
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A mother gazes at her sleeping baby and feels a jolt of fear: the child lies so still and pale that he seems lifeless. In a panic, she gently wakes him to confirm he’s alive, then…
- 23
By Santa Teresa De Avila
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This brief poem is Longfellow's English version of a well-known prayer-poem by the 16th-century Spanish mystic, Saint Teresa of Ávila. It encourages readers not to fear or be distu…
- 24
Canidia's Answer
Horace
A witch named Canidia gives an angry, triumphant speech to a man who ridiculed her dark rituals and exposed her secrets to the people of Rome. She informs him that no amount of ple…
- 25
Captains
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A small, weary, and under-equipped group gazes at a massive enemy force shining in the morning sun, questioning how they could even hope to win. It's a moment filled with raw human…
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