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
Marriage.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about marriage, 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 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…”
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02
My Last Duchess
Robert Browning · 1842
“A Duke is displaying a painting of his deceased ex-wife to an envoy sent to discuss his upcoming marriage. As he speaks, it becomes evident that he orchestrated…”
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03
Home Burial
Robert Frost · 1914
“A husband and wife stand on a staircase after losing their baby. What begins as a tense discussion about what she keeps looking at out the window escalates into…”
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The complete index
- 04
The Death of the Hired Man
Robert Frost · 1914
A weary old farmhand named Silas has arrived unexpectedly and in a daze at the farm where he once worked. While he sleeps inside, the farmer Warren and his wife Mary sit on the por…
- 05
Hymen
H. D. · 1921
H.D.'s "Hymen" is a ceremonial poem-sequence that enacts a Greek-style wedding ritual, featuring processions of children, maidens, matrons, and Love himself. Each group carries flo…
- 06
A Game of Chess
T. S. Eliot · 1922
This is the second section of T. S. Eliot's *The Waste Land*, where two very different couples find themselves stuck in unfulfilling lives. In the first scene, a wealthy woman loun…
- 07
A Ballad
James Russell Lowell
A king inquires with his three daughters about the gifts they desire from a grand fair. The two older daughters request jewels and luxurious clothing, while the youngest expresses…
- 08
A Bridal Song
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A Bridal Song is a brief, joyful blessing for a newlywed couple on their wedding night. Shelley invokes the night sky, fairies, and angels to guard the bride while darkness softly…
- 09
A Chaucerian Paraphrase of Horace
Eugene Field
This poem playfully imitates Chaucer's medieval English and is written by Eugene Field. It retells a classic idea from the Roman poet Horace about a young woman named Chloe who hol…
- 10
A Little Bird in the Air
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A little bird is sharing gossip throughout a medieval town: a princess named Thyri ran away from her arranged marriage to King Burislaf and found refuge at the court of King Olaf,…
- 11
A Love Song
D. H. Lawrence
A speaker talks to a lover who isn’t there, confessing that the details of their presence have blurred over time—their voice, their gaze—but seeing apple blossoms illuminated by mo…
- 12
Another Version of the Same
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This is a wedding song — or epithalamium — intended for boys and girls celebrating a couple's wedding night. The boys wish for the night to last forever so the lovers can enjoy the…
- 13
Arcadia Rediviva
James Russell Lowell
A middle-aged man strolling down a bustling city street notices a young couple in the throes of new love, and the moment takes him back to his own days of youthful infatuation. He…
- 14
At Play
Eugene Field
A father engages in a pretend game with his young daughter, but as they play, it transforms into something more profound: he recognizes in her expressions both his wife and a long-…
- 15
Aurora Leigh
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
*Aurora Leigh* is a lengthy poem in nine volumes that tells the story of a young woman determined to pursue her dream of becoming a great poet, even when the man she loves urges he…
- 16
Before the Birth of One of Her Children
Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet wrote this poem as a heartfelt letter to her husband, aware that childbirth could be her last moment. She urges him to hold onto her love, take care of their childr…
- 17
Blessing the Cornfields
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem comes from Longfellow's epic *The Song of Hiawatha* and narrates the tale of the Ojibwe hero Hiawatha and his wife Minnehaha as they safeguard and tend to their cornfield…
- 18
Bronze Tablets
Amy Lowell
Bronze Tablets is a two-part poem by Amy Lowell that takes place in Napoleonic France. In the first part, "The Fruit Shop," we meet a young woman named Jeanne Tourmont as she buys…
- 19
By Gustav Pfizer
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A wandering young man dreams of having a wife and child, only to lose them both to death. Upon waking, he holds two locks of hair—one brown from the mother and one blond from the c…
- 20
By Jacques Jasmin
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Longfellow recounts a poignant Occitan folk tale about Baptiste, a young man who leaves his blind sweetheart, Margaret, to marry the more beautiful Angela. Unaware of the betrayal,…
- 21
By My Sweetheart
Eugene Field
A speaker asks the same person to be their sweetheart throughout all four seasons, symbolizing the four stages of life. It's a love poem expressing the desire for companionship not…
- 22
By Simon Dach
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem is a love song that honors the connection between a man and his wife, Annie of Tharaw. It conveys that true love isn't shattered by challenges — storms, illness, distance…
- 23
Credo: Latin, I believe: the first word in the Latin version of
James Russell Lowell
**The Courtin'** is a charming poem written in New England dialect that tells the story of a shy young man named Zekle who gathers the courage to pursue a girl named Huldy, and she…
- 24
Dark Night of the Soul
John of the Cross
A soul quietly leaves its home under the cover of night to secretly rendezvous with its beloved — God — in a garden, where they experience a profound spiritual union akin to marria…
- 25
Death of Queen Mercedes
James Russell Lowell
A young queen has all that life can provide — beauty, love, a crown, and a bright future — yet she passes away just five months after her wedding. Lowell tells her story to pose a…
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