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
Sadness.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about sadness, 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
Disabled
Wilfred Owen · 1917
“A young soldier sits in a wheelchair, waiting for someone to help him to bed, while he reflects on the life he had before the war took his legs and his future.…”
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02
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…”
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03
A Dirge
Percy Bysshe Shelley
“A Dirge is a brief, eight-line lament where Shelley invokes natural forces — like the wind, storm, bare trees, caves, and the sea — to express a sorrow so profo…”
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The complete index
- 04
After Death
Christina Rossetti
A dead woman tells the story of the moment after she dies, observing the man she loved as he stands next to her body — and comes to the painful realization that he never really lov…
- 05
After Great Pain a Formal Feeling Comes
Emily Dickinson
After a devastating emotional blow, the mind and body become numb and mechanical — going through the motions of life without truly feeling anything. Dickinson captures that unsettl…
- 06
After the Burial
James Russell Lowell
A father has just buried his young daughter and is resisting a well-meaning friend's attempts at offering religious comfort. He expresses that faith is helpful when life is steady,…
- 07
An Elegy on the Death of John Keats,
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Adonais is Shelley’s lengthy elegy expressing sorrow for the death of fellow poet John Keats, who passed away in Rome in 1821 at the young age of 25. Shelley envisions Keats as a m…
- 08
Ave Atque Vale
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Written as a farewell elegy for the French poet Charles Baudelaire, "Ave Atque Vale" ("Hail and Farewell") expresses the deep sorrow of Swinburne for a fellow artist he admired but…
- 09
Ballad of Birmingham
Dudley Randall
A mother doesn't allow her child to participate in a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama, believing the church is a safer option — only for a bomb to destroy that church in…
- 10
Dolor
Theodore Roethke
Dolor is a brief poem by Theodore Roethke that captures a deep, lingering sadness in the mundane items of office and institutional life — the manila folders, the paper clips, the s…
- 11
Elegy for Jane
Theodore Roethke
Theodore Roethke wrote this poem after the tragic death of his student, Jane, who died in a horse-riding accident. The speaker expresses deep sorrow for her, tenderly comparing her…
- 12
From the Raven
Edgar Allan Poe
A grieving man sits alone at night, tormented by memories of his lost love, Lenore, when a raven swoops in and settles above his door. No matter what the man inquires — will his so…
- 13
I Felt a Funeral in My Brain
Emily Dickinson
A speaker conveys the sensation of losing their mind by picturing a funeral taking place within their own brain. The mourners, the service, the coffin, and ultimately the tolling b…
- 14
In Time of Mourning
Algernon Charles Swinburne
This short poem captures Swinburne's grief after losing a dear one—someone whose kindness and warmth impacted everyone nearby. He recognizes our deep desire to bring back the decea…
- 15
Little Boy Blue
Eugene Field
A little boy tucks his toy dog and toy soldier into bed before going to sleep himself, assuring them he’ll return soon — but he never does, because he dies that night. The toys wai…
- 16
Sonnet 30
William Shakespeare
When the speaker sits in silence and lets old memories flow through him, he feels the heavy burden of everything he's lost—friends who have passed away, loves that faded, time that…
- 17
Sorrow
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A young speaker reflects on a time when life was joyful and brimming with promise, then describes how profound sorrow has sapped that energy. The poem follows a journey from innoce…
- 18
Tears Idle Tears
Lord Alfred Tennyson
A speaker finds themselves unexpectedly gripped by a deep, mysterious sadness—tears springing up from nowhere without a clear reason. The poem attempts to capture this feeling, lik…
- 19
The Cross of Snow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Longfellow wrote this sonnet reflecting on the portrait of his wife Fanny, who tragically died in a fire in 1861. He conveys his grief as a constant cross of snow—a mark on a mount…
- 20
—the Drowned Lover
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A young woman hurries through a stormy night to meet her lover, Henry, at a lake, only to discover that he has already drowned. The poem follows her hopeful journey, then delivers…
- 21
The Raven
Edgar Allan Poe
A grieving man sits alone late at night, missing his deceased love Lenore, when a mysterious Raven flies into his room and only utters one word: "Nevermore." No matter what the man…
- 22
Threnodia
James Russell Lowell
Lowell wrote this poem to grieve the loss of a young child, probably an infant or toddler, while also providing solace to the grieving mother. Each stanza returns to the painful re…
- 23
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 a fierce argument a…
- 24
Judas Iscariot
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem features a dramatic monologue delivered by Judas Iscariot in his last moments, right before he leaps from a cliff. He is consumed by guilt, drowning in self-pity, and gra…
- 25
Neutral Tones
Thomas Hardy
A couple stands by a frozen pond on a dreary winter day, and everything around them — the pale sun, the dead leaves, the silence — reflects the reality that their love has faded. H…
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