The Reader's Atlas · Chapter The interior
Poems About Lonelinessin the open canon
What do you turn to when you feel utterly alone — not just in a physical sense, but in that way where others are right beside you and it still doesn't make a difference? That's the question central to poems about loneliness, and it's why writers have been exploring this theme for as long as poetry has existed.
- Indexed poems
- 292
- Indexed poets
- 62
- Short poems
- 35
§01 Opening
On loneliness
A reader's preface to the theme — what to listen for as you move through the poems below.
Where to begin with loneliness
Three ways inA GAME OF CHESS
by T. S. Eliot, 1922
Read the line-by-line analysis, themes, and historical context for this entry in Storgy's index.
AT BAIA
by H. D., 1921
Read the line-by-line analysis, themes, and historical context for this entry in Storgy's index.
BEETHOVEN IN CENTRAL PARK
by Alfred Noyes, 1922
Read the line-by-line analysis, themes, and historical context for this entry in Storgy's index.
§03 The index
Every poem in this theme
- 01
A GAME OF CHESS
T. S. Eliot1922Excerpt - 02
AT BAIA
H. D.1921Excerpt - 03
BEETHOVEN IN CENTRAL PARK
Alfred Noyes1922Excerpt - 04
CIRCE
H. D.1921Excerpt - 05
CUCKOO SONG
H. D.1924Excerpt - 06
DEAD MAN'S MORRICE
Alfred Noyes1907Excerpt - 07
Home Burial
Robert Frost1914Excerpt - 08
In a Station of the Metro
Ezra Pound1913Excerpt - 09
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
T. S. Eliot1915Excerpt - 10
MEMORIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST
Alfred Noyes1922Excerpt - 11
MID-DAY
H. D.1916Excerpt - 12
Morning at the Window
T. S. Eliot1917Excerpt - 13
NAMESAKES
Alfred Noyes1922Excerpt - 14
ORCHARD
H. D.1916Excerpt - 15
Portrait of a Lady
T. S. Eliot1915Excerpt - 16
Preludes
T. S. Eliot1917Excerpt - 17
PRISONERS
H. D.1924Excerpt - 18
Rhapsody on a Windy Night
T. S. Eliot1917Excerpt - 19
Sea Fever
John Masefield1902Excerpt - 20
SEA HEROES
H. D.1924Excerpt
The remaining 272 poems about loneliness are indexed but not yet featured here. Use the search index in the footer to surface them.
Notable poets on loneliness
CartographyStevie Smith
1902–1971
Open profileRainer Maria Rilke
1875–1926
Open profileEdward Lear
1812–1888
Open profileEdwin Arlington Robinson
1869–1935
Open profileCharlotte Smith
1749–1806
Open profileChristina Rossetti
1830–1894
Open profileArchibald Lampman
1861–1899
Open profileEdgar Lee Masters
1868–1950
Open profile
Reading on the move
Short poems about loneliness
Twelve lines or fewer — a curated facet for the commute, the inbox, the lock screen. Hand-filtered for length, sequenced by canonical weight.
35
Under 12 lines
§04 Reader's questions
On loneliness, frequently asked
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