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A List of Famous Poets
At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.
An Intro Into 50 Famous Poets: A Superb Selection of Many Greats
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Poetry has long been a beloved form of artistic expression, with poets using their words to inspire, provoke, and engage readers for centuries. From the ancient Greeks to the modern day, poets have played a significant role in shaping the literary landscape and the way we think about the world around us.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the 50 most famous poets in history, spanning a wide range of time periods and styles.
From the timeless works of Shakespeare and Homer, to the revolutionary poetry of Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes, this list is a celebration of the diversity and beauty of poetry through the ages.
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William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet who is widely considered one of the greatest writers in the English language. He is known for his plays, which include classics such as “Romeo and Juliet,” “Hamlet,” “Othello,” and “Macbeth.”
To learn more about William Shakespeare and his life, visit the links below.
A Biography of William Shakespeare
An Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Work
Homer (8th century BC)
Homer was an ancient Greek poet who is credited with writing the epic poems “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” These poems are considered some of the most important works in Western literature, and they have had a lasting influence on Western culture.
To learn more about Homer and his life, visit the link below.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
Maya Angelou was an American poet, novelist, and civil rights activist. She is known for her memoirs, which include “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” and for her poetry collections, which include “And Still I Rise.” Angelou was also known for her work as an actress and singer, and for her activism on behalf of civil rights and women’s rights.
To learn more about Maya Angelou and her life, visit the link below.
Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an American poet, novelist, and playwright who was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He is known for his poetry collections, which include “The Weary Blues” and “Montage of a Dream Deferred,” and for his plays, which include “Mule Bone” and “Tambourines to Glory.”
To learn more about Langston Hughes and his life, visit the link below.
Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is known for her confessional poetry and for her novel “The Bell Jar,” which was published under a pseudonym shortly before her death. Plath’s poetry is known for its intense and personal nature, and she is often associated with the “confessional” movement in poetry.
To learn more about Sylvia Plath and her life, visit the link below.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poems and short stories. Poe is credited with inventing the detective fiction genre, and his works are known for their dark and gothic themes. Some of his most famous poems include “The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,” and “The Bells.”
To learn more about Edgar Allan Poe and his life, visit the link below.
John Keats (1795-1821)
John Keats was an English poet who is known for his romantic and expressive poetry. He is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language, and his works are known for their beauty and emotional depth. Some of Keats’s most famous poems include “To Autumn,” “On Seeing the Elgin Marbles,” and “Ode to a Nightingale.”
To learn more about John Keats and his life, visit the link below.
Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Robert Frost was an American poet who is known for his poems about rural life in New England. He is one of the most widely read and beloved poets in American history, and his works are known for their simplicity, clarity, and sense of place. Some of Frost’s most famous poems include “The Road Not Taken,” “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” and “Mending Wall.”
To learn more about the life of Robert Frost, visit the link below.
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Emily Dickinson was an American poet who is known for her unique style and her innovative use of language. She is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language, and her works are known for their wit, intelligence, and intensity. Some of Dickinson’s most famous poems include “Hope is the thing with feathers,” “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” and “Because I could not stop for Death.”
To learn more about the life of Emily Dickinson, visit the link below.
W.B. Yeats (1865-1939)
W.B. Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright who was a leading figure in the Irish Literary Revival. He is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language, and his works are known for their beauty, complexity, and their engagement with Irish mythology and folklore.
Yeats was a prolific writer, and his poetry collections include “The Wind Among the Reeds,” “The Tower,” and “The Wild Swans at Coole.”
In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.” Yeats’s legacy continues to influence poets and writers around the world to this day.
To learn more about the life of William Butler Yeats, visit the link below.
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Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)
Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet and diplomat who is considered one of the greatest poets in the Spanish language. Neruda’s poetry is known for its passion, political commitment, and its celebration of love and nature. Some of his most famous collections include “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair,” “The Captain’s Verses,” and “Canto General.” Neruda was also an active politician and a vocal critic of the government, and he was forced into exile during the early years of the Pinochet regime.
To learn more about the life of Pablo Neruda, visit the link below.
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
William Wordsworth was an English poet who was a key figure in the Romantic movement. He is known for his celebration of nature, his introspection, and his belief in the spiritual power of the natural world. Wordsworth’s most famous poems include “The Prelude,” “Tintern Abbey,” and “Daffodils.” He was also a close friend of fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and the two collaborated on several works, including the collection “Lyrical Ballads.”
To learn more about the life of William Wordsworth, visit the link below.
Robert Hayden (1913-1980)
Robert Hayden was an American poet and professor who was the first African American to be appointed as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now known as the Poet Laureate of the United States. Hayden’s poetry is known for its engagement with African American history and culture, and for its use of African American vernacular and musical forms. Some of his most famous poems include “Those Winter Sundays,” “Middle Passage,” and “The Ballad of Nat Turner.”
To learn more about the life of Robert Hayden, visit the link below.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an English poet who is known for her romantic and expressive poetry. She is considered one of the greatest female poets in the English language, and her works are known for their beauty and emotional depth. Barrett Browning’s most famous collection is “Sonnets from the Portuguese,” which was written for her husband, the poet Robert Browning.
To learn more about the life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, visit the link below.
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
T.S. Eliot was an American-born British poet, playwright, and literary critic who is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. Eliot’s poetry is known for its modernist style, its engagement with myth and tradition, and its focus on the individual in an urban and modern world. His most famous poems include “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” “The Waste Land,” and “Four Quartets.”
To learn more about the life of T.S. Eliot, visit the link below.
Lord Byron (1788-1824)
Lord Byron was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. He is known for his poetry collections, which include “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” and “Don Juan,” and for his dramatic and flamboyant lifestyle. Byron’s poetry is known for its wit, its celebration of individualism, and its engagement with myth and history.
To learn more about the life of Lord Byron, visit the link below.
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)
Rainer Maria Rilke was a German-speaking Bohemian poet and novelist who is considered one of the greatest poets in the German language. Rilke’s poetry is known for its sensitivity, its philosophical depth, and its focus on the inner life of the individual. Some of his most famous collections include “The Book of Hours,” “The Book of Pictures,” and “The Duino Elegies.”
To learn more about the life of Rainer Maria Rilke, visit the link below.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
Rabindranath Tagore was an Indian poet, philosopher, and polymath who was the first non-Westerner to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1913. Tagore’s poetry is known for its mysticism, its celebration of nature and the spiritual life, and its engagement with Indian mythology and culture. Some of his most famous collections include “Gitanjali,”
To learn more about the life of Rabindranath Tagore, visit the link below.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, philosopher, and critic who was a key figure in the Romantic movement. He is known for his poetry collections, which include “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “Kubla Khan,” and for his collaboration with fellow poet William Wordsworth on the collection “Lyrical Ballads.” Coleridge’s poetry is known for its imagination, its musicality, and its engagement with themes of nature, the supernatural, and the human mind.
To learn more about the life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, visit the link below.
John Donne (1572-1631)
John Donne was an English poet, lawyer, and cleric who is known for his metaphysical poetry, which is characterized by its wit, its intellectualism, and its use of paradox and conceit. Donne’s most famous poems include “The Flea,” “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” and “Death Be Not Proud.” He is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language, and his works continue to be widely read and admired.
To learn more about the life of John Donne, visit the link below.
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Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
Seamus Heaney was an Irish poet, playwright, and translator who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. Heaney’s poetry is known for its engagement with Irish history and folklore, and for its exploration of themes of violence, conflict, and reconciliation. Some of his most famous collections include “Death of a Naturalist,” “Field Work,” and “Beowulf: A New Translation.” Heaney was also known for his translations of the works of other poets, including the Anglo-Saxon epic “Beowulf.”
If you wish to learn more about Seamus Heaney, Click Below.
E.E. Cummings (1894-1962)
E.E. Cummings was an American poet and artist who is known for his innovative and experimental use of language and form. Cummings’s poetry is known for its playfulness, its wit, and its unconventional use of punctuation and capitalization. Some of his most famous poems include “I carry your heart with me,” “since feeling is first,” and “Buffalo Bill’s.”
To learn more about the life of E.E Cummings, visit the link below.
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)
Gerard Manley Hopkins was an English poet and Jesuit priest who is known for his innovative use of language and for his engagement with themes of nature and faith. Hopkins’s poetry is known for its rhythmic and musical qualities, and for its use of sprung rhythm and alliteration. Some of his most famous poems include “The Wreck of the Deutschland,” “God’s Grandeur,” and “The Windhover.”
If you wish to learn more about Gerard Manley Hopkins, Click Below.
Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891)
Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet who was a leading figure in the Symbolist movement. Rimbaud’s poetry is known for its radical style, its exploration of the irrational and the unconscious, and its rejection of traditional poetic forms and structures. Some of Rimbaud’s most famous poems include “Le Bateau ivre,” “Le Dormeur du val,” and “Mauvais Sang.”
If you wish to learn more about Arthur Rimbaud, Click Below.
Emily Brontë (1818-1848)
Emily Brontë was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her novel “Wuthering Heights.” Brontë’s poetry is known for its intense emotion, its dramatic imagery, and its engagement with themes of love, loss, and nature. Some of Brontë’s most famous poems include “No Coward Soul is Mine” and “Last Lines.”
A.E. Housman (1859-1936)
A.E. Housman was an English classical scholar and poet who is known for his collection “A Shropshire Lad.” Housman’s poetry is known for its simplicity, its nostalgia, and its celebration of rural England. Housman’s poems are often characterized by their elegiac tone and their focus on themes of loss and mortality.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, scientist, and statesman who is considered one of the greatest figures in German literature. Goethe’s poetry is known for its engagement with classical themes and forms, and for its exploration of the human experience. Some of Goethe’s most famous poems include “Faust” and “The S
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet who was a leading figure in the Transcendentalist movement. Emerson’s poetry is known for its celebration of nature, its focus on the individual, and its exploration of spiritual themes. Some of Emerson’s most famous poems include “Concord Hymn,” “The Rhodora,” and “Brahma.”
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)
Samuel Beckett was an Irish novelist, playwright, and poet who is known for his contributions to the Theater of the Absurd. Beckett’s poetry is known for its minimalism, its absurdist humor, and its exploration of themes of isolation and despair. Some of Beckett’s most famous poems include “Whoroscope,” “Wormwood,” and “What is the Word.”
Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)
Wallace Stevens was an American poet and lawyer who is known for his modernist style and his exploration of themes of art, reality, and the imagination. Stevens’s poetry is known for its use of vivid imagery, its philosophical depth, and its musicality. Some of Stevens’s most famous poems include “The Idea of Order at Key West,” “Sunday Morning,” and “The Emperor of Ice-Cream.”
Yeats was a prolific writer, and his poetry collections include “The Wind Among the Reeds,” “The Tower,” and “The Wild Swans at Coole.”
In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.” Yeats’s legacy continues to influence poets and writers around the world to this day.
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Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Christina Rossetti was an English poet and a leading figure in the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Rossetti’s poetry is known for its beauty, its religious themes, and its exploration of love and loss. Some of Rossetti’s most famous poems include “Goblin Market,” “Remember,” and “In an Artist’s Studio.”
Charles Bukowski (1920-1994)
Charles Bukowski was an American poet and novelist who is known for his gritty, urban style and his celebration of the lowlife. Bukowski’s poetry is known for its raw honesty, its humor, and its exploration of themes of alcoholism, poverty, and personal struggle. Some of Bukowski’s most famous poems include “The Laughing Heart,” “Bluebird,” and “So You Want to Be a Writer.”
Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American poet and novelist who was one of the first African American writers to gain national recognition. Dunbar’s poetry is known for its engagement with African American history and culture, and for its use of African American vernacular and musical forms. Some of Dunbar’s most famous poems include “We Wear the Mask,” “Sympathy,” and “The Colored Soldiers.”
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Walt Whitman was an American poet and journalist who is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. Whitman’s poetry is known for its celebration of democracy, its celebration of the individual, and its engagement with the natural world. Some of Whitman’s most famous poems include “Song of Myself,” “I Sing the Body Electric,” and “Leaves of Grass.”
Li Bai (701-762)
Li Bai was an ancient Chinese poet who is considered one of the greatest poets in the Chinese language. Li Bai’s poetry is known for its celebration of nature, its focus on the beauty of the world, and its spiritual themes. Some of Li Bai’s most famous poems include “Quiet Night Thoughts,” “Drinking Alone by Moonlight,” and “The River Merchant’s Wife.”
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
Dylan Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer who is known for his vivid and musical language, his celebration of the natural world, and his exploration of themes of life and death. Some of Thomas’s most famous poems include “Do not go gentle into that good night,” “Fern Hill,” and “The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower.”
John Milton (1608-1674)
John Milton was an English poet and civil servant who is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. Milton’s poetry is known for its epic scope, its engagement with classical themes and forms, and its exploration of moral and philosophical issues. Some of Milton’s most famous poems include “Paradise Lost,” “Paradise Regained,” and “Sonnets.”
Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997)
Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and activist who was a leading figure in the Beat movement. Ginsberg’s poetry is known for its radical style, its engagement with social and political issues, and its celebration of individuality and nonconformity. Some of Ginsberg’s most famous poems include “Howl,” “A Supermarket in California,” and “Kaddish.”
Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
Lord Alfred Tennyson was an English poet who was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria’s reign. Tennyson’s poetry is known for its musicality, its engagement with classical themes and forms, and its exploration of emotional and psychological states. Some of Tennyson’s most famous poems include “The Lady of Shalott,” “Ulysses,” and “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”
William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)
William Carlos Williams was an American poet and physician who is known for his modernist style and his celebration of everyday life and the natural world. Williams’s poetry is known for its use of simple, straightforward language, and for its focus on the immediate and the sensory. Some of Williams’s most famous poems include “The Red Wheelbarrow,” “Spring and All,” and “This Is Just to Say.”
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Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)
Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet who was known for her precise and graceful style and her exploration of themes of loss and displacement. Bishop’s poetry is known for its attention to detail, its use of imagery, and its ability to convey emotion through subtle means. Some of Bishop’s most famous poems include “One Art,” “The Fish,” and “The Moose.”
Robert Browning (1812-1889)
Robert Browning was an English poet who is known for his dramatic monologues and his engagement with themes of love, loss, and the human condition. Browning’s poetry is known for its musicality, its psychological depth, and its use of character and dialogue. Some of Browning’s most famous poems include “My Last Duchess,” “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” and “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.”
Gwen Harwood (1920-1995)
Gwen Harwood was an Australian poet and translator who is known for her exploration of themes of identity, memory, and loss. Harwood’s poetry is known for its lyricism, its attention to the natural world, and its use of classical and literary allusions. Some of Harwood’s most famous poems include “In the Park,” “The Violets,” and “Father and Child.”
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)
J.R.R. Tolkien was an English writer, scholar, and poet who is best known for his fantasy novels, including “The Lord of the Rings.” Tolkien’s poetry is known for its engagement with myth and legend, and for its celebration of nature and the imagination. Some of Tolkien’s most famous poems include “The Road Goes Ever On,” “The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun,” and “Mythopoeia.”
Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)
Matsuo Bashō was an ancient Japanese poet who is considered one of the greatest poets in the Japanese language. Bashō’s poetry is known for its simplicity, its focus on the natural world, and its celebration of the impermanence of life. Some of Bashō’s most famous poems include “The Old Pond,” “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” and “A World of dew.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Percy Bysshe Shelley was an English poet who was a leading figure in the Romantic movement. Shelley’s poetry is known for its radicalism, its celebration of nature and the imagination, and its exploration of themes of love, loss, and human nature. Some of Shelley’s most famous poems include “Ozymandias,” “To a Skylark,” and “Adonais.”
Shelley was also a political activist and a vocal advocate for social and political reform. He died at the age of 29 in a sailing accident. Despite his early death, Shelley’s poetry has had a lasting impact and has been widely anthologized and studied.
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)
Ogden Nash was an American poet and humorist who is known for his lighthearted and whimsical verse. Nash’s poetry is known for its playfulness, its wordplay, and its use of humor to address serious themes. Some of Nash’s most famous poems include “The Camel,” “The Hyena,” and “Spring Comes to Murray Hill.”
Allen Tate (1899-1979)
Allen Tate was an American poet and critic who was a leading figure in the Southern Agrarian movement. Tate’s poetry is known for its engagement with Southern culture and history, and for its exploration of themes of loss and memory. Some of Tate’s most famous poems include “Ode to the Confederate Dead,” “The Swimmers,” and “The Mediterranean.”
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)
Gwendolyn Brooks was an American poet and novelist who was the first African American to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Brooks’s poetry is known for its engagement with African American history and culture, and for its exploration of themes of identity, race, and social justice. Some of Brooks’s most famous poems include “We Real Cool,” “The Mother,” and “The Ballad of Rudolph Reed.”
Jorie Graham (born 1951)
Jorie Graham is an American poet and academic who is known for her innovative and experimental style and her exploration of themes of history, memory, and the environment. Graham’s poetry is known for its use of imagery, its focus on the natural world, and its engagement with philosophical and spiritual themes. Some of Graham’s most famous poems include “The Errancy,” “Swarm,” and “Never.”
Famous Poets and Their Influential Works: An Exploration of William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, and Emily Dickinson
When it comes to famous poets, a few names immediately come to mind: William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, and Emily Dickinson are among the most famous poets of all time. Each of these poets has left a lasting impact on the world of literature, and their works continue to be studied and admired today.
William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous poet in history. His plays and sonnets have become iconic, and his influence can be seen in literature, theater, and even pop culture. One of his most famous poems, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?,” is a timeless love poem that explores the beauty and brevity of life.
Robert Frost is another one of the famous poets who has had a significant impact on American literature. Known for his use of rural imagery and themes, Frost’s poetry is often associated with the natural world. One of his most famous poems, “The Road Not Taken,” is a reflection on the choices we make in life and the paths we choose to follow.
Emily Dickinson, one of the famous poets who was largely unknown during her lifetime, but has since become one of the most celebrated poets of the 19th century. Her poetry is known for its unique form, often consisting of short, one-line stanzas, and her use of extended metaphor and other poetic devices. Her famous poem “Because I could not stop for Death” is a perfect example of her unique style.
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement in the 1920s and 1930s that saw a flowering of African American art and literature, including poetry. One of the most famous poets of this era was Langston Hughes, whose poem “I, Too” is a powerful statement of the African American experience.
Chilean poet Pablo Neruda is one of the most famous poets of the 20th century. He is known for his passionate love poems, which often draw on imagery from nature. His “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair” is one of his most famous works, and one of the most renowned collection of love poetry of the century.
These famous poets, along with many others like Maya Angelou and Martin Luther King Jr, have all left a lasting impact on literature and continue to be studied and admired today. Each of them has their own unique style and themes, and their personal life, has influenced their work.
Many poets have also won prestigious awards like the Pulitzer Prize, such as Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath and Billy Collins. The Pulitzer Prize recognizes outstanding literary works and the poets who create them.
These many famous poets through all time have influenced not only their own generation but also the generations to come. They have become an integral part of modern literature and continue to be studied and admired by literary critics and readers alike. The Poetry Foundation is an organization that promotes poetry and poets and offers resources to help readers understand and appreciate poetry.
In conclusion, the famous poets have left an enduring legacy through their powerful and influential works. Whether it’s the epic poem “Divine Comedy” of Dante, the iconic poem “I hear America singing” of Walt Whitman, or the modernist poetry of T.S. Eliot, these poets continue to inspire and influence readers and writers of all ages. Everyone has their own favourite poets and favourite poems, but it is undeniable that the most influential poets have left a lasting impact on the world of literature.
