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
Redemption.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about redemption, 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
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…”
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03
Fishers of Men
Alfred Noyes · 1907
“Alfred Noyes reflects on the well-known Gospel moment when Jesus invites his disciples to become "fishers of men" and poses a challenging question: after two mi…”
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The complete index
- 04
On the Western Front
Alfred Noyes · 1918
Written in 1916, at the peak of World War One, "On the Western Front" by Alfred Noyes reflects on the soldiers laid to rest in the battlefields of France. The poem shifts between t…
- 05
Peace
Alfred Noyes · 1918
A speaker, exhausted by the chaos of modern life, yearns to return to a simpler, quieter world — the sea, the fields at harvest time, and the people who care for him. He wishes to…
- 06
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…
- 07
Compensations
Alfred Noyes · 1922
Alfred Noyes's "Compensations" explores the subtle, often unnoticed ways that justice, mercy, and goodness manifest in the world — not with dramatic displays, but gradually and ste…
- 08
Ghosts of the New World
Alfred Noyes · 1922
Alfred Noyes strongly contests the notion that America is too new and modern to have ghosts. He guides the reader through centuries of American history—explorers, witch trials, rev…
- 09
On a Mountain Top
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A speaker stands on a mountaintop at dawn, feeling as if they are on a sacred altar — a spot where the noise and troubles of everyday life just fade away. Noyes observes that the t…
- 10
Princeton
Alfred Noyes · 1922
Written as a tribute to Princeton, New Jersey — the location of a significant Revolutionary War battle — this poem envisions the ghost of George Washington strolling through the no…
- 11
The Bell
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A temple bell keeps going out of tune no matter how often it’s recast with gold, silver, wine, and blood — until a mother throws her baby into the molten metal, and the bell finall…
- 12
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…
- 13
The Chimney-Sweeps of Cheltenham
Alfred Noyes · 1922
Every spring in Cheltenham, chimney sweeps — many of whom are young boys who were once made to crawl up dark flues — don bright may-flower colors and dance through the streets. A m…
- 14
The Fire Sermon
T. S. Eliot · 1922
This part of T. S. Eliot's *The Waste Land* takes us along the Thames River through a modern London that seems empty and spiritually lifeless. We hear from various voices—a blind p…
- 15
The Lost Battle
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A poet inspires fellow idealists feeling weary from a lengthy battle for truth and justice, reminding them that the cause persists even when its champions fade. Noyes suggests that…
- 16
The Old Gentleman with the Amber Snuff-Box
Alfred Noyes · 1922
An old man sits alone by a fading fire, pouring his heart into a poem that reflects on the friendships he ruined with his pride and ignorance. After writing it, he burns the poem,…
- 17
The Old Meeting House
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A quiet graveyard in New Jersey, filled with colonial-era Americans, remains undisturbed as World War One unfolds far away — until a bell rings, awakening the buried Founding-era d…
- 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
The Road Through Chaos
Alfred Noyes · 1922
This poem suggests that true freedom and meaning come from adhering to the path of Law, beginning with straightforward, honest truths (such as basic arithmetic) and progressing tow…
- 20
The Union
Alfred Noyes · 1922
Written in 1917, "The Union" is Alfred Noyes's homage to the United States joining World War One alongside the Allied nations. He honors America as a nation formed by people from d…
- 21
The War Widow
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A war widow rides through a world filled with "Good News" — headlines, victories, celebrations — but none of it touches her because her heart is still consumed by the memory of her…
- 22
The Waste Land
T. S. Eliot · 1922
*The Waste Land* is a lengthy, fragmented poem that captures a world drained of spirit and energy in the wake of World War I. Eliot weaves together various voices, languages, and m…
- 23
Victory
Alfred Noyes · 1922
"Victory," written after a memorial service in New York at the end of World War One, is Alfred Noyes's reflection on the true meaning of winning a war in the wake of so much loss.…
- 24
What the Thunder Said
T. S. Eliot · 1922
This is the fifth and final section of T. S. Eliot's *The Waste Land*, bringing the entire poem to a fragmented and introspective conclusion. A weary group of figures meanders thro…
- 25
Dust of Snow
Robert Frost · 1923
A crow shakes snow from a hemlock tree, and it lands on the speaker — that brief, unexpected moment is enough to lift a bad mood and save what seemed like a wasted day. It's a poem…
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