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
Freedom.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about freedom, 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
The Ruined Maid
Thomas Hardy
“Two women run into each other in the city: one is still a poor farm girl, the other has clearly come up in the world — nice clothes, soft hands, polished speech…”
Open the poem
02
The Flea
John Donne · 1633
“A man is attempting to persuade a woman to sleep with him by highlighting a flea that has bitten them both. He argues that since the flea now has their blood mi…”
Open the poem
03
To His Mistress Going to Bed
John Donne · 1654
“A man encourages his lover to take off her clothes and join him in bed, slowly removing each piece until they are both completely naked. Donne depicts this mome…”
Open the poem
The complete index
- 04
Ode on Solitude
Alexander Pope · 1726
A man who lives a simple life on his own land, surrounded by enough food, warmth, and tranquility, is the happiest man alive. Pope honors a life devoid of ambition and public commo…
- 05
On Being Brought from Africa to America
Phillis Wheatley · 1773
A young enslaved woman contemplates her journey from Africa to America, viewing it as a spiritual path toward Christianity. At the same time, she firmly confronts white Christians…
- 06
The Divine Image
William Blake · 1789
Blake's poem expresses that the four great virtues — Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love — are not merely attributes of God but also qualities inherent in every human being. Since God ins…
- 07
The Schoolboy
William Blake · 1789
A young boy cherishes summer mornings filled with birdsong and freedom, but heading to school snatches that joy away. Blake uses the boy's perspective to argue that pushing childre…
- 08
Ah! Sun-flower
William Blake · 1794
A sunflower that constantly turns to follow the sun represents Blake's metaphor for every person who spends their life yearning for something just beyond their grasp. The poem invi…
- 09
London, 1802
William Wordsworth · 1807
Wordsworth surveys England in 1802 and concludes that it has lost its moral compass—its churches, armies, writers, and homes have become weak and self-centered. He reaches out to t…
- 10
Prometheus
George Gordon Byron · 1816
Byron's "Prometheus" is a retelling of the Greek myth about the Titan who took fire from the gods and shared it with humanity, only to be bound to a rock and tortured for eternity.…
- 11
England in 1819
Percy Bysshe Shelley · 1819
Shelley examines Britain in 1819, detailing everything he believes is wrong — from a senile king and corrupt princes to starving citizens, harsh laws, and an empty church — each is…
- 12
Love's Philosophy
Percy Bysshe Shelley · 1819
Shelley observes the natural world — rivers meeting the ocean, winds intertwining, mountains reaching for the sky — and sees it as proof that everything in existence is meant to co…
- 13
The Lady of Shalott
Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1832
A mysterious woman known as the Lady of Shalott is confined to an island, cursed to never look directly at the outside world — she can only observe it through a mirror and weave wh…
- 14
Concord Hymn
Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1837
Written to be sung at the dedication of a battle monument in Concord, Massachusetts, this poem honors the colonial farmers who fired the first shots of the American Revolution in 1…
- 15
I Sing the Body Electric
Walt Whitman · 1855
Whitman's poem passionately celebrates the human body — every limb, organ, and gesture — as something sacred and inseparable from the soul. He expresses that loving a body means lo…
- 16
I Hear America Singing
Walt Whitman · 1860
Walt Whitman's poem celebrates the everyday American workers — carpenters, boatmen, shoemakers, mothers — as they go through their daily lives, each "singing" their own unique song…
- 17
In a London Drawingroom
George Eliot · 1865
George Eliot gazes out a window in Victorian London and takes in a city that seems to have drained the vitality from everything — the sky, the people, the light. Each detail she ob…
- 18
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
Walt Whitman · 1865
A speaker sits in a lecture hall, listening to an astronomer explain the stars using charts, numbers, and diagrams — and he feels bored and somewhat unwell. He quietly slips out in…
- 19
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
Edward Lear · 1870
Two unexpected lovers, an Owl and a Pussy-Cat, set sail together, tie the knot in a distant enchanted land, and dance joyfully on the beach. This whimsical love story is filled wit…
- 20
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 that year as a coin…
- 21
The New Colossus
Emma Lazarus · 1883
A statue stands at the entrance to America, speaking not as a conqueror but as a mother welcoming the world's most desperate people. Emma Lazarus gives the Statue of Liberty a voic…
- 22
The Soul selects her own Society
Emily Dickinson · 1890
Emily Dickinson's poem explores the idea that the soul — the innermost essence of a person — has the authority to choose who it allows in, locking out everyone else permanently. No…
- 23
A Bird, came down the Walk
Emily Dickinson · 1891
A person observes a bird going about its daily routine on a garden path — eating a worm, drinking dew, and politely stepping aside for a beetle — then attempts to offer it a crumb.…
- 24
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Emily Dickinson · 1891
Emily Dickinson's brief poem applauds the beauty of being unknown and ordinary, presenting it as a shared secret among friends instead of a source of shame. She turns the narrative…
- 25
We Wear the Mask
Paul Laurence Dunbar · 1896
A group of people—Black Americans during Dunbar's era—must conceal their true pain behind cheerful, agreeable expressions just to navigate a hostile environment. This mask is a per…
Read deeper