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
War.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about war, 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 Destruction of Sennacherib
George Gordon Byron · 1815
“A vast Assyrian army advances on Jerusalem, appearing invincible. Yet, by morning, every soldier lies dead without a single sword being drawn. God's angel carri…”
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02
O Captain! My Captain!
Walt Whitman · 1865
“A sailor celebrates the end of a long, perilous voyage — but the captain who guided them through it has died just as the ship arrives at port. The crowd on shor…”
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03
Drummer Hodge
Thomas Hardy · 1899
“A young British soldier named Hodge is buried without a coffin on the South African veldt during the Boer War, far from his home in Wessex. Although he never un…”
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The complete index
- 04
The White Man's Burden
Rudyard Kipling · 1899
Kipling's poem urges the United States to assume colonial control over the Philippines following the Spanish-American War of 1898, portraying imperial conquest as a noble obligatio…
- 05
The Man He Killed
Thomas Hardy · 1902
A soldier thinks about the man he killed in battle, recognizing that they were likely quite alike and, in different circumstances, might have enjoyed a drink together at a pub. The…
- 06
The Phantom Fleet
Alfred Noyes · 1902
A man falls asleep in a cottage adorned with naval paintings and awakens in a dream where the spirits of Britain's most legendary admirals — Nelson, Drake, Raleigh, and others — re…
- 07
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 millennia of conflict…
- 08
Kilmeny
Alfred Noyes · 1907
A British naval drifter named Kilmeny heads out to sea at dusk, undertakes a secret and lethal task during World War One, and returns with her skipper dead but her mission fulfille…
- 09
Disabled
Wilfred Owen · 1917
A young soldier sits alone in a wheelchair as the day comes to a close, reflecting on the carefree life he once had before World War One took his legs. Owen reveals the stark contr…
- 10
The General
Siegfried Sassoon · 1917
A soldier angrily recounts how a cheerful, oblivious general sent his men to their deaths, all while smiling and greeting them. The general's friendly demeanor starkly contrasts wi…
- 11
Futility
Wilfred Owen · 1918
A soldier has just died on the Western Front, and the speaker urges his comrades to bring him into the sunlight — the same sun that used to greet him every morning back home. Yet,…
- 12
Grass
Carl Sandburg · 1918
Grass is a brief, haunting poem that gives voice to the grass itself, which calmly declares its intent to cover the bodies left behind by renowned battles — Austerlitz, Waterloo, G…
- 13
I Am the Grass
Carl Sandburg · 1918
In this brief, haunting poem, the grass narrates in the first person, sharing that its role is to conceal the fallen from renowned battlefields. It shows no concern for history or…
- 14
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…
- 15
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…
- 16
There Will Come Soft Rains
Sara Teasdale · 1918
A serene spring scene — the sound of birds, gentle rain, blooming trees — gradually uncovers a disturbing thought: nature would thrive just fine without any humans around. Written…
- 17
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Wilfred Owen · 1920
Wilfred Owen questions the type of funeral rites that soldiers who died in World War One truly receive — and the answer is that they receive none of the traditional ones. Rather th…
- 18
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley
Ezra Pound · 1920
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley marks Ezra Pound's farewell to his early career and offers a sharp critique of modern Western culture. A poet who feels out of sync with his time struggles to…
- 19
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…
- 20
Cap'n Storm-Along
Alfred Noyes · 1922
This is an energetic sea shanty-style poem celebrating a legendary British naval commander, "Cap'n Storm-along," who guides a ragtag fleet of fishing and patrol boats against Germa…
- 21
Namesakes
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A woman named Peggy Nutten watches as other sailors' boats come back home in the evening, but the boat that bears her name — and held her loved one — never returns. Each stanza dee…
- 22
Peace in a Palace
Alfred Noyes · 1922
The Empress of Germany dreams of drowning children reaching out to her, mistaking her for their mother. As the dream unfolds, it becomes evident that she's haunted by the passenger…
- 23
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…
- 24
Republic and Motherland
Alfred Noyes · 1922
Written after Alfred Noyes arrived in New York Harbor at dawn in 1912, this poem portrays the Statue of Liberty as a quiet, observant emblem of a dream that originated in Europe an…
- 25
The Night of the Lion
Alfred Noyes · 1922
Written just before Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, this poem envisions the British Empire as a mighty lion stirring from restless slumber in response to a moral su…
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