Poems about hatred delve into the darker aspects of human emotions and explore hatred’s destructive power and consequences.
These poems often examine the causes and manifestations of hatred, such as prejudice, discrimination, or personal grievances. They may depict the intense emotions accompanying hatred, including anger, resentment, and bitterness.
Poems about hatred can also explore its impact on individuals, relationships, and society. Through imagery and poignant language, these poems shed light on the dangers of hatred, the need for empathy and understanding, and the potential for healing and reconciliation.
‘The Portrait’ by Stanley Kunitz is a sad poem about the speaker’s ill-fated attempt to learn more about their deceased father.
My mother never forgave my father
for killing himself,
especially at such an awkward time
and in a public park,
‘The Snowman on the Moor’ explores the turbulent and abusive relationship between the speaker (presumably Plath herself) and her male spouse.
Stalemated their armies stood, with tottering banners:
She flung from a room
Still ringing with bruit of insults and dishonors
‘The Wound’ by Ruth Stone describes with unflinching detail the harmful ways in which some words can inflict lasting hurt.
The shock comes slowly
as an afterthought.
First you hear the words
and they are like all other words,
‘1861’ by Walt Whitman is a moving Civil War poem written from the perspective of a soldier. He details the difficulty of a particular year.
No dainty rhymes or sentimental love verses for you,
terrible year!
Not you as some pale poetling, seated at a desk, lisp-
ing cadenzas piano;
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.
I won’t buy
The New York Times today.
I can’t. I’m sorry.
But when I walk into the bookstore
Three times I had the lust to kill,
To clutch a throat so young and fair,
And squeeze with all my might until
No breath of being lingered there.
The poem ‘A Poison Tree,’ published in the year 1794, is one of the most wonderful and appreciated works of poetry by William Blake.
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
Stephen Spender’s poem ‘Air Raid’ depicts the impact of the Blitz or German Luftwaffe air strike on the United Kingdom.
‘Amethyst Beads’ by Eavan Boland alludes to Greek mythology and the suffering of a child, Persephone, after she was separated from her mother, Demeter.
‘Elegy VII’ by John Donne, also known as ‘Nature’s lay idiot, I taught thee to love,’ is a typical piece about unrequited love.
Nature’s lay idiot, I taught thee to love,
And in that sophistry, oh, thou dost prove
Too subtle: Fool, thou didst not understand
The mystic language of the eye nor hand:
Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Havisham’ is a response to Charles Dickens’s portrayal of the character Miss Havisham in his famous novel Great Expectations. This poem refers to the character as “Havisham” rather than “Miss Havisham.”
Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then
I haven’t wished him dead. Prayed for it
so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes,
ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.
Thoreau’s ‘Indeed, Indeed I cannot Tell’ was written about Ellen Sewall. This piece manages to relate with almost every living human being and communicates a feeling that is familiar for many.
Robert Browning’s poem, ‘Porphyria’s Lover,’ opens up with a classic setting of a stormy evening. It is a story of a deranged and lovesick man.
The rain set early in to-night,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake:
‘The People of the Other Village’ is a satire of how one group of people hates the other one. It appears in Thomas Lux’s collection of poetry, Split Horizon (1994).
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