Romance Poems

Permanently

by Kenneth Koch

‘Permanently’ by Kenneth Koch is a poem that compares the speaker’s love to the part of speech they view as the most essential.

The poem is about the expression of the speaker's love and the unique path it takes to doing that makes it a memorable romance poem. In truth only the last stanza really deals with the romance while the stanzas preceding it serve as a distraction to that reveal.

Love Poem

by Gregory Orr

‘Love Poem’ by Gregory Orr is a short poem about a speaker’s imaginative telling of asking for someone’s phone number.

It's not he most illustrious or profound romance poem but it does ironically toy with our preconceived ideas about love.

My True Love Hath My Heart

by Philip Sidney

‘My True Love Hath My Heart’ by Sir Philip Sidney is a Shakespearean sonnet. It captures the intensity and depth of two people who experience love at first sight.

This is a beautiful if not slightly repetitive, love poem that uses the familiar form of a Shakespearean sonnet. The poet chose to engage with the age-old theme of love in a way that readers should appreciate easily.

A Thunderstorm In Town

by Thomas Hardy

‘A Thunderstorm In Town’ by Thomas Hardy presents two contrasting scenes: the dry interior of a carriage and the havoc of a thunderstorm outside. But the powerful imagery and symbolism mainly illustrate a memory of lovelorn regret by the speaker.

The poem centers on the regret at not expressing one’s feelings, a poignant memory that is perhaps more melancholic than romantic.

A Dream Girl

by Carl Sandburg

‘A Dream Girl’ by Carl Sandburg is a romantic poem that expresses the author’s hope that he will one day find the woman of his dreams.

I am very bothered

by Simon Armitage

In ‘I am very bothered’, the Speaker takes on the role of confessor, as he shares a shameful event from his past and offers it up to the Reader to make up their minds about the misdemeanor.

I Looked Up from My Writing

by Thomas Hardy

‘I Looked Up from My Writing’ by Thomas Hardy is a existentially contemplative piece in which a writer is confronted with his own ignorance and irresponsibility. 

Living in Sin

by Adrienne Rich

‘Living in Sin’ by Adrienne Rich is a deeply evocative poem. In it, the poet depicts a woman’s exceptions and contrasts them with reality.

Love and Friendship

by Emily Brontë

‘Love and Friendship’, by Emily Brontë, is a three-stanza poem that functions as a compare/contrast piece between “love and friendship.”

Love is…

by Adrian Henri

‘Love is…’ by Adrian Henri provides readers with various ways to consider love and how it tints even the smallest objects and experiences with more meaning.

My Box

by Gillian Clarke

‘My Box’, by Gillian Clarke, explores the themes of relationships, strength, love and eternity in this poem with the metaphor of the box.

My Fancy

by Lewis Carroll

‘My Fancy’ by Lewis Carroll is a poem where confusion and exaggeration are offered to show a distinct variation between expectation and reality.

My Heart Leaps Up

by William Wordsworth

On the surface, William Wordsworth’s ‘My Heart Leaps Up’ is about the simple beauty of a rainbow. Looking at it more closely, the poet is saying people should maintain their sense of childlike wonder well into adulthood and old age.

Piteous My Rhyme

by Christina Rossetti

‘Piteous My Rhyme’ contains a speaker’s musings on the nature of love and the different forms, all immortal, that it can take. 

Sonnet 1

by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s first sonnet, ‘From fairest creatures we desire increase,’ serves to introduce many of the themes which echo through the rest of the collection.

Sonnet 18

by William Shakespeare

Read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, ‘Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?,’ with a summary and complete analysis of the poem.

Sonnet 54

by Edmund Spenser

‘Sonnet 54’ is part of Spenser’s Amoretti and is a Spenserian sonnet, formed by three interlocked quatrains and a couplet.

Sonnet 8

by Louise Labé

The French poet Louise Labé, who wrote Sonnet 8, lived as a middle-class citizen in 16th century France. In this poem, she used the Petrarchan form to explain the positive and negative effects of love.

The Triple Fool

by John Donne

In ‘The Triple Fool’, Donne deals with unrequited love. Heartbroken, he writes poetry to alleviate the pain.

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