“If thou must love me…” (Sonnet 14)
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘If thou must love me’ (Sonnet 14) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning declares the speaker’s intentions for how she is to be loved.
10 Famous Short Love Poems
On this list you will find ten of the best-loved, and most famous, love poems ever written. When You Are Old by William Butler Yeats This twelve-line poem is another on this list that uses natural imagery as a way to speak about beauty.
10 of the Best Poems about the Heart
Here is a list of 10 heart-to-heart poems from poets ranging from William Shakespeare, Dante Alighieri, Emily Dickinson, and Dylan Thomas. These poems explore the nature of love, heartache, and hearty emotions stored within.
10 of the Best Poems for Father’s Day
On this list, readers will find ten of the best poems to read in celebration of father’s day. They explore themes of child/parent relationships, love, and generational wisdom.
A False Step
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘A False Step’ written by Elizabeth Barret Browning explores how a woman regrets her heartless action taken during her youth.
A Song
by Helen Maria Williams
‘A Song’ is a poem by Helen Maria Williams it has six sections. Each section consists of one stanza that has four lines and an ABAB rhyme scheme.
Advice to a Girl
by Thomas Campion
Thomas Campion’s ‘Advice to a Girl’ is a piece of advice dedicated to 17th-century women regarding men’s nature and follies. It highlights some negative aspects in men that women should know before loving them.
Advice to Women
by Eunice de Souza
‘Advice to Women’ by Eunice de Souza is a clever poem that suggests women should own a cat in order to understand relationships.
Anne Hathaway
by Carol Ann Duffy
‘Anne Hathaway’ by Carol Ann Duffy is told from the perceptive of Shakespeare’s wife who discusses their enduring love through the symbol of a bed.
Before the Birth of One of Her Children
by Anne Bradstreet
‘Before the Birth of One of Her Children’ by Anne Bradstreet is a moving poem about a woman’s opinion on death. Inspired by her pregnancy, the speaker pens this epistolary to her husband.
Betrothal
by Carol Ann Duffy
‘Betrothal’ appears in Carol Ann Duffy’s T.S. Eliot Prize-winning collection of poetry Rapture (2005). It offers readers a speaker’s desperate attempts to submit herself through the institution of marriage.
Break of Day
by John Donne
‘Break of Day’ by John Donne is an aubade told from a female perspective. It conveys a woman’s understanding of her relationship with a busy lover.
Change Upon Change
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Change Upon Change’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a poem about lost love and change. The poet depicts her internal changes through images of the changing seasons.
Cinderella
by Roald Dahl
‘Cinderella’ by Roald Dahl retells the story of Cinderella and how rather than marrying the Prince, she ends up with a lovely man who makes jam.
Farewell, Ungrateful Traitor!
by John Dryden
‘Farewell, Ungrateful Traitor!’ by John Dryden swears off men and relationships. The speaker asserts that men are incapable of being truthful or loving as much as women.
Fish Bouncing Kiss
by Riyas Qurana
‘Fish Bouncing Kiss’ by Riyas Qurana describes a moment between lovers which contains hundreds of other memories retold beneath a tree.
Friendship
by Henry David Thoreau
‘Friendship’ is about the love Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson had for one another. This poem describes the nature of true devotion and how two souls are tied in a bond of love, goodness, and truthfulness.
He Is More Than A Hero
by Sappho
‘He is more than a hero’ by Sappho describes a speaker’s turbulent emotions in regards to a woman she loves but she cannot have.
He Told Us He Wanted a Black Coffin
by Jackie Kay
‘He Told Us He Wanted a Black Coffin’ by Jackie Kay is a heart-wrenching poem narrated by a mother whose son passed away from AIDs.
I Gave Myself To Him
by Emily Dickinson
‘I Gave Myself To Him’ by Emily Dickinson is a clever love poem. It gives the readers a glimpse of the intensity of a relationship between the speaker and her subject.
I Have Fallen in Love
by Akka Mahadevi
‘I Have Fallen in Love’ by Akka Mahadevi expresses the poet’s faith with incredible honesty. She uses powerful images and metaphors to speak of religion and love.
I Want to Die While You Love Me
by Georgia Douglas Johnson
‘I Want to Die While You Love Me’ by Georgia Douglas Johnson is a moving love poem. In it, the speaker addresses her desire to die before a love affair ends.
I Wouldn’t Thank You for a Valentine
by Liz Lochhead
I Wouldn’t Thank You for a Valentine’ by Liz Lochhead is what would appear to be a series of criticisms in regard to methods of expressing affection on Valentine’s Day.
I’m a Fool to Love You
by Cornelius Eady
‘I’m a Fool to Love You’ by Cornelius Eady is a moving poem. It details the choices of a young black woman, the speaker’s mother, and why she did what she did.