The Starry Night by Anne Sexton
‘The Starry Night’ by Anne Sexton is an ekphrastic that explores Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. It delves into the emotions that a speaker interprets in the painted elements.
Suicide in the Trenches by Siegfried Sassoon
‘Suicide in the Trenches’ is an incredibly tragic poem. Siegfried Sassoon explores the mental deterioration of a young soldier in the trenches of WW1 and his suicide.
In a Dark Time by Theodore Roethke
‘In a Dark Time’ by Theodore Roethke is a powerful, short poem about identity. The speaker contends with their mental health while exploring their darkness.
Sonnet 147 by William Shakespeare
‘Sonnet 147,’ also known as ‘My love is as a fever, longing still,’ is a dark poem. It expresses the speaker’s loss of control over his body and mind. The Dark Lady has consumed his life like an illness.
To God by Ivor Gurney
‘To God’ is a poem of the early twentieth century. It expresses the plight of the poet persona as he laments to God about his mental illness.
Hospital for Defectives by Thomas Blackburn
‘Hospital for Defectives’ by Thomas Blackburn depicts a speaker’s inability to understand why God would create men who are unable to communicate.
I look into my glass by Thomas Hardy
‘I look into my glass’ by Thomas Hardy describes the painful process of aging and how one’s mental age is not always in line with one’s physical.