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
Wedding.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about wedding, 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
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. Ea…”
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02
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 wh…”
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03
Hiawatha's Wedding-Feast
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“This is the wedding celebration of Hiawatha and Laughing Water, shared through the performances of three guests: Pau-Puk-Keewis dazzles with a wild, whirling da…”
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The complete index
- 04
The Bridegroom
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This short poem is Longfellow's reinterpretation of a well-known excerpt from the biblical Song of Solomon, told through the eyes of a lover who desires an everlasting connection w…
- 05
The Weary Wedding
Algernon Charles Swinburne
A young bride, compelled into marriage after her family murdered the knight she adored, navigates her wedding day feeling utterly devoid of spirit. Every inquiry about gifts, dress…
- 06
The Wedding-Day
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This chapter captures the wedding day from Longfellow's narrative poem *The Courtship of Miles Standish*. John Alden and Priscilla Mullins tie the knot, and just when everyone beli…
- 07
Fiordispina
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Fiordispina is an incomplete poem by Shelley that tells the story of a young woman, Fiordispina, on her wedding day as she expresses her love for her cousin Cosimo. The setting is…
- 08
Hiawatha's Wooing
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This chapter from Longfellow's epic poem *The Song of Hiawatha* tells the story of the young warrior Hiawatha as he chooses to marry Minnehaha, a Dacotah woman, despite his grandmo…
- 09
Ode VI
Sappho
This wedding song, known as an epithalamium, celebrates the groom on his big day. Sappho compliments the bride's extraordinary beauty, encourages the groom to stand tall, likens hi…
- 10
[st]'
Sappho
This brief wedding fragment by Sappho is a song performed as the groom approaches the bridal chamber. The carpenters are summoned to lift the roof-beam high because the bridegroom…
- 11
The Bride's Tragedy
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Two lovers are separated when Willie doesn't make it in time, and his bride is given to another man, Earl Robert. At dawn, he rides out and intercepts her on her wedding day. Toget…
- 12
The Doll's Wooing
Eugene Field
A worn-out toy soldier unexpectedly falls for a dainty French doll who can only say "Mamma!" He tries to impress her, she keeps repeating "Mamma!", and before you know it, they end…
- 13
The Hanging of the Crane
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A poet sits alone by the fire after a housewarming party, watching visions of the future unfold for the young couple whose new home has just been blessed. The poem follows the cran…
- 14
To the River Yvette
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Longfellow personifies the River Yvette in France, depicting it as a young bride excitedly hurrying to her wedding. The river flows through actual villages and valleys that attempt…
- 15
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…
- 16
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,…
- 17
Emma and Eginhard
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A young scholar named Eginhard becomes the favored companion of Emperor Charlemagne but secretly falls for the Emperor's daughter, Emma. When Charlemagne discovers their romance, h…
- 18
Ginevra
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Ginevra is a young woman trapped in a loveless marriage who meets her true love, Antonio, right after the wedding ceremony. She expresses to him that their love is stronger than an…
- 19
Gudrun
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
On his wedding night, King Olaf wakes up to find his new bride, Gudrun, looming over him with a concealed dagger, determined to avenge her father's murder. She tries to deceive him…
- 20
La Tombe De Timas
Sappho
This short poem expresses sorrow for Timas, a young woman who passed away before her wedding. In their grief, her friends cut their long hair and placed it on her tomb as a tribute…
- 21
Queen Sigrid the Haughty
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Queen Sigrid finds out that the gold ring King Olaf sent her as a wedding gift is really just copper, revealing his true character. When Olaf arrives and insists she convert to Chr…
- 22
Sonnet 8
William Shakespeare
Shakespeare speaks to a young man who, despite his love for music, feels a sense of sadness when he listens to it. He uses this contradiction to encourage the young man to marry an…
- 23
The Building of the Ship
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A merchant requests a Master shipbuilder to create a magnificent vessel, and the poem traces the journey of that ship from the first timber to its launch day — coinciding with the…
- 24
The Knight's Tale
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Knight's Tale is the first and longest story in Chaucer's *Canterbury Tales*, narrated by the most noble pilgrim in the group. It centers on two knights from Thebes, Palamon an…
- 25
The Son of the Evening Star
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem is a chapter from Longfellow's epic *The Song of Hiawatha*, presented as a story told during Hiawatha's wedding feast. The storyteller Iagoo shares the legend of Osseo, a…
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