50+ Poems about Anger - Poem Analysis

The Almond Trees

by Derek Walcott

‘The Almond Trees’ By Derek Walcott is a confessional poem about identity, history, and cultural identity.

The poem's rage stems from the speakers' frustration about their cultural identity. They do not know how to accept their identity as it is today when the culture has endured such suffering that it was bound to have been changed along the way. You can see the anger in the speaker mentioning the tree screaming out. The tree is related to the speaker at this moment, as the speaker, just like the tree, cannot do anything to change history.

There's nothing here

this early;

cold sand

cold churning ocean, the Atlantic,

no visible history,

Explore more poems about Anger

Love of Country

by Sir Walter Scott

‘Love of Country’ presents a world in which patriotism is the most important virtue of all and the lack of it is unforgivable.

The poem's anger is directed towards anyone that does not feel overwhelmed by patriotism and national pride. This is, in the eyes of the narrator, the greatest failing of all.

The Portrait

by Stanley Kunitz

‘The Portrait’ by Stanley Kunitz is a sad poem about the speaker’s ill-fated attempt to learn more about their deceased father.

The mother's anger is the primary driving force in the poem. Spurred out of the suicide of her husband and leaving her alone with their child, it eventually starts to negatively effect her relationship with the speaker. Kunitz is clear that her inability to let go of that anger leads to it manifesting in violent ways.

My Mother Would Be a Falconress

by Robert Duncan

‘My Mother Would Be a Falconress’ by Robert Duncan explores a son and mother’s relationship through the lens of a falcon breaking free from his handler.

As the speaker ages, he grows angry with his mother for being so controlling and domineering. His anger, while subtle at first, climaxes as the son rips away from his mother's hand and flys away. However, the mother also feels anger as she punishes her son early in the poem and then later watches him leave her.

The Hand That Signed the Paper

by Dylan Thomas

‘The Hands that Signed the Paper’ is a war protest poem that derides the appalling apathy and ruthlessness of the rulers toward ordinary citizens.

Because the poem throughout has an undercurrent of angst against these powerful hands that control the lives of ordinary people by just signing a document. This makes the reader equally angry about the general situation in the world at large.

The Nightingale

by Philip Sidney

‘The Nightingale’ is a unique love-lyric that exploits the classical myth of Philomel to morph the personal rue of a lovelorn heart into a superb piece of poetry.

Though the poem is about love and anger coming simultaneously. The anger of Philomela for Tereus and Procne for his husband is shown. Tereus cuts off Philomela's tongue out of anger and Procne vents his anger by cutting their son and presenting him as a dish before Tereus. Philomela sing out the tragedy that turned her whole life and thus in any way, anger is peeping out from the poem.

I have never seen “Volcanoes”

by Emily Dickinson

‘I have never seen “Volcanoes”’ by Emily Dickinson is a clever, complex poem that compares humans and their emotions to a volcano’s eruptive power.

Dickinson conflates the explosive power of volcanic lava and ash to the kind of angry outbursts both she, and most humans, are capable of when provoked.

an afternoon nap

by Arthur Yap

‘an afternoon nap’ by Arthur Yap explores the lacunae in the modern education system and how it results in anxiety and stress in students.

This poem is about an angry and frustrated tiger mom who is totally disappointed at his son's mediocre academic performance.

The Rose That Grew From Concrete

by Tupac Shakur

‘The Rose That Grew From Concrete’ is a moving celebration of personal resolve against the backdrop of oppressive forces.

Despite celebrating the rose, there is an underlying anger to the poem as the poet felt frustrated that only the exceptional people could thrive whereas the rest were left oppressed.

Poem About My Rights

by June Jordan

‘Poem About My Rights’ by June Jordan is a one-stanza poem revealing a speaker’s thoughts on misogyny, sexism, and racism from their experience. It is celebrated for accurately portraying the struggles of women and men of color in a patriarchial and predominantly white society.

The persona's anger is apparent in only half of the poem, when she talks about sexual assault and the aftermath of the suppression of her rights.

Parrot

by Stevie Smith

‘Parrot’ is a moving exploration of imprisonment and suffering set against the backdrop of the modern, urban world.

The narrator clearly regards the plight of the captive bird with scorn and wishes to share this outrage with the readers.

Ruins of a Great House

by Derek Walcott

Derek Walcott’s ‘Ruins of a Great House’ combines themes of historical and cultural abuse with factual reasoning and literary references to bring together a massive emotional conflict in the Speaker’s perception.

This poem has moments of rage, and the Speaker seems too mad to ever return to normal. The horrors insinuated by the ruins in this poem and the death around the Speaker are too much for the Speaker to imagine. They let their imagination provide the worst scenarios, and while probably accurate, they are horrible images to witness, even in their mind. The anger these images cause is a fury with nowhere to go, so the Speaker must work through it alone.

The Confessional

by Robert Browning

‘The Confessional’ by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue following a woman who is betrayed for her blind faith.

Anger is one of the primary emotions of this poem, as the main character is deeply angered by what has been done to her and her lover. She is screaming at both the beginning and end of the poem, their stanza's purely anger-filled exclamations.

The Powwow at the End of the World

by Sherman Alexie

‘The Powwow at the End of the World’ by Sherman Alexie is a stunning poem that reveals the apocalyptic price of an indigenous person’s forgiveness.

This is a poem filled with emotions but the one that stands out is anger. The use of anaphora helps escalate and reveal the speaker's refusal to forgive and forget when so many injustices are left unanswered for.

3 November 1984

by Sujata Bhatt

In ‘3 November 1984,’ Indian-English poet Sujata Bhatt shows how history plays a vital role in the process of writing poetry, and their interconnectedness.

A Long Journey

by Musaemura Zimunya

‘A Long Journey’ by Musaemura Zimunya is based on the changes that came to Rhodesia, a small country in southern Africa, after British colonial rule. The speaker explores the positive changes and the negative.

A Poison Tree

by William Blake

The poem ‘A Poison Tree,’ published in the year 1794, is one of the most wonderful and appreciated works of poetry by William Blake.

A Song: “Men of England”

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘A Song: “Men of England”’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley is a Romantic poem that calls for the English revolution. It is set in England in 1819 when the poem itself was written.

After Auschwitz

by Anne Sexton

‘After Auschwitz’ by Anne Sexton explores the poet’s emotional reaction to the horrors of the Holocaust and her plea to God to hear her.

Amethyst Beads

by Eavan Boland

‘Amethyst Beads’ by Eavan Boland alludes to Greek mythology and the suffering of a child, Persephone, after she was separated from her mother, Demeter.

Anorexic

by Eavan Boland

‘Anorexic’ by Eavan Boland conveys the mindset of a woman determined to destroy her physical body through starvation and filled with hatred for her sinful past, as according to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve.

Anthem for Doomed Youth

by Wilfred Owen

As the First World War raged on to its completion, Wilfred Owen, the poem, spent the final days of the war incarcerated in Craiglockhart, suffering from an acute case of shellshock and trying to write through the trauma using poetry.

Australia 1970

by Judith Wright

‘Australia 1970’ by Judith Wright speaks on the changing landscape of Australia in the 1970s. It promotes a version of Australia that is fierce, wild, and dangerous just like the animals that have always lived within its boundaries.

Binsey Poplars

by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Caged Bird

by Maya Angelou

‘Caged Bird’, or ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ as the poem is sometimes referred to, by Maya Angelou, is arguably one of the most moving and eye-opening poems ever written.

Daddy

by Sylvia Plath

‘Daddy’ by Sylvia Plath uses emotional, and sometimes, painful metaphors to depict the poet’s own opinion of her father.

DEAD

by Kanye West

‘DEAD’ by Kanye West addresses feelings of alienation and isolation. Specifically, those surrounding the writer’s relationship with his now ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

Divorce

by Jackie Kay

‘Divorce’ by Jackie Kay is about parent-child relationships and how children are impacted by adults’ issues. The speaker is a teenager who is struggling to contend with her parent’s relationship with one another.

Docker

by Seamus Heaney

‘Docker’ is a 1966 poem by Seamus Heaney which depicts the life of a dockworker in Belfast and explores his personal and religious sense of discord.

Anger Poems

Explore more poems about Anger