15+ Insightful Poems about Imprisonment

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

Poems about imprisonment explore the harrowing reality of confinement and loss of freedom. They shed light on incarceration’s emotional and psychological toll, emphasizing the human capacity for resilience and hope even in the darkest circumstances.

These verses may contemplate themes of justice, forgiveness, and redemption, raising questions about the complexities of crime and punishment. Poets use interesting language to draw readers into the world of the imprisoned, encouraging empathy and understanding for those who have experienced the isolation and constraints of captivity.

These poems often call for social reform and compassion within the justice system.

Poems about Imprisonment Visual Representation

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Sympathy

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

‘Sympathy’ by Paul Laurence Dunbar evokes a profound sense of empathy in its attempt to understand the forlorn song of those who feel they are captives unable to reach the world beyond their respective cages.

Dunbar's poem also touches on the topic of imprisonment. According to the poem, there exists a variety of different kinds of captivity that a person or creature can endure. From the physical, as with the bird's cage or the enslavement of human beings, to the societal and spiritual, which is what the speaker as a Black person living in the aftermath of the Civil War now faces.

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!

When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;

When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,

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The Ballad of Reading Gaol

by Oscar Wilde

‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ is a scathing critique of the penal system and an exploration of complex human emotions.

'The Ballad of Reading Gaol' by Oscar Wilde is incredibly significant because of its unique use of ballad form to describe prison life and some of the darkest parts of humanity. This ballad takes the term "folk-tale" and turns it on its head, describing the unfortunate lives of the common folk confined in prison.

He did not wear his scarlet coat,

For blood and wine are red,

And blood and wine were on his hands

When they found him with the dead,

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Hard Rock Returns to Prison

by Etheridge Knight

‘Hard Rock Returns to Prison’ is an allegory of oppression and forced submission of Black inmates in America.

The poem tells the story of Hard Rock, a larger-than-life prisoner who becomes a symbol of hope and resistance for his fellow inmates but ultimately falls victim to the brutal and dehumanizing system of incarceration.

Hard Rock / was / “known not to take no shit

From nobody,” and he had the scars to prove it:

Split purple lips, lumbed ears, welts above

His yellow eyes, and one long scar that cut

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The Lady of Shalott

by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of Shalott’ narrates the tale of the cursed Lady entrapped in a tower on the island of Shalott, who meets a tragic end.

Imprisonment is twofold in the poem: artistic and domestic. As an artist, the Lady is imprisoned by her weaving, confined to observing the world instead of experiencing it. While she enjoys her artistry, she feels trapped by it, longing for worldly experience. Additionally, the fairy-like enigma and the curse mirror the domestic imprisonment of Victorian women, called 'angel(s) in the house,' untainted from worldly malice; the Lady's attempt to break free suggests the dire consequences for Victorian women who defied societal expectations.

On either side the river lie

Long fields of barley and of rye,

That clothe the wold and meet the sky;

And thro' the field the road runs by

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“Venice — Venus?” (#5 from Hermetic Definition: ‘Red Rose and a Beggar’)

by Hilda Doolittle

“Venice — Venus?” by Hilda Doolittle is an insightful poem about Doolittle’s reasons for writing despite critiques. Doolittle reveals that her ultimate source of inspiration is divine.

In this poem, Hilda Doolittle feels imprisoned in her poetry, forced by Venus to continue writing. If she stops creating, Doolittle will no longer have a purpose in life, and she might as well die. While this situation is familiar to any successful writer, it is bleak and harsh, as Doolittle is stuck in a conundrum where she simply cannot stop writing.

Venice — Venus?

this must be my stance,

my station: though you brushed aside

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Parrot

by Stevie Smith

Stevie Smith’s ‘Parrot’ is a moving exploration of a parrot’s imprisonment and suffering set against the backdrop of the modern urban world.

The physical imprisonment renders the parrot helpless and exacerbates its psychological suffering, as it is stripped of its autonomy and freedom. This imprisonment induces a sense of helplessness and frustration, symbolized by the parrot's burning rage. The poem poignantly portrays the psychological impact of imprisonment, evoking a sense of empathy for the parrot's plight and highlighting the devastating consequences of captivity on one's overall well-being.

The old sick green parrot

High in a dingy cage

Sick with malevolent rage

Beadily glutted his furious eye

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Loving Someone You Can't Have

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Mariana

by Alfred Lord Tennyson

‘Mariana’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson, drawing from a Shakespearean play, depicts the sorrow of a lonely woman abandoned by her lover.

Mariana's imprisonment is portrayed through her entrapment in dark, decaying surroundings that mirror her mental state. She is imprisoned or consumed by her overwhelmingly despairing thoughts and depression, which drain her vitality, rendering her lifeless and sterile, so much so that she yearns only for death. She can't bear to look at the sky or endure sunlight, symbolizing her loss of hope. Mariana longs to escape her own mental prison through death.

With blackest moss the flower-plots

Were thickly crusted, one and all:

The rusted nails fell from the knots

That held the pear to the gable-wall.

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Dolphins

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘Dolphins’ explores the sorrow of captive dolphins, mourning their ocean past and facing a bleak future in confinement.

Imprisonment is a central topic, as the poem portrays the dolphin’s physical captivity and psychological entrapment. Its repetitive movements symbolize a life restricted by human-imposed boundaries, creating a powerful commentary on freedom and control.

World is what you swim in, or dance, it is simple.

We are in our element but we are not free.

Outside this world you cannot breathe for long.

The other has my shape. The other's movement

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Getting There

by Sylvia Plath

‘Getting There’ depicts Plath’s journey through suffering, leading to her revival from a troubled past. This revival, however, is rooted in oblivion.

The poet feels imprisoned by the uncertainty and lack of agency posed by her situation.

How far is it?

How far is it now?

The gigantic gorilla interior

Of the wheels move, they appall me —

#10

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Who Understands Me but Me

by Jimmy Santiago Baca

‘Who Understands Me but Me’ by Jimmy Santiago Baca is about the poet’s prison experience, showing his hardships and isolation, but ultimately finding inner strength and self-discovery.

The poem details the physical confinement and restrictions placed on the speaker. This imprisonment is not just physical but also affects his emotional and mental state. It represents a loss of freedom and basic human needs. However, it also becomes a backdrop for his journey of inner freedom and self-discovery.

they have changed me, and I am not the same man,

they give me no shower, so I live with my smell,

they separate me from my brothers, so I live without brothers,

who understands me when I say this is beautiful?

#11

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Not My Business

by Niyi Osundare

‘Not My Business’ by Niyi Osundare is a powerful, satirical poem that explores the consequences of staying silent in the face of oppression.

The poem explicitly references oppression and imprisonment as the speaker witnesses the unjust treatment and disappearances of others. Osundare's poetry frequently explores the themes of oppression, captivity, and the quest for liberation. He sheds light on the experiences of marginalized individuals and the struggle for freedom in the face of oppressive systems.

They picked Akanni up one morning

Beat him soft like clay

And stuffed him down the belly

Of a waiting jeep.

#12

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Barbie Doll

by Marge Piercy

‘Barbie Doll’ by Marge Piercy shows the absurd ideals demanded of young girls and the consequences of those gendered expectations.

This girlchild was born as usual

and presented dolls that did pee-pee

and miniature GE stoves and irons

and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.

#13

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Loving Someone You Can't Have

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Sonnet 2

by Philip Sidney

A slow and painful surrender to love is at the heart of ‘Sonnet 2’ by Sir Philip Sidney, where the speaker loses his freedom and masks his suffering through carefully crafted verse.

The speaker describes love as something that takes away his freedom. He once had the ability to choose how he felt, but over time that disappears. He even compares himself to someone born into slavery, someone who never knew what freedom felt like. His mind, his choices, and even his honesty have been overtaken by something he no longer controls. It is not physical imprisonment, but something deeper that happens from the inside out.

Not at first sight, nor with a dribbèd shot,

Love gave the wound which while I breathe will bleed:

But known worth did in mine of time proceed,

Till by degrees it had full conquest got.

#14

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The Jaguar

by Ted Hughes

Hughes’ ‘The Jaguar’ contrasts subdued zoo animals with a fierce, untamed jaguar that captivates with its defiant spirit.

While the animals are not in prison in the usual sense, the zoo becomes a clear symbol of being trapped. The cages, the lack of movement, and the dull expressions show the effect of losing freedom. Hughes especially uses the jaguar to show what it means to resist this state. The poem highlights the emotional and physical weight of being confined, comparing it to something unnatural and harmful to creatures meant to be free.

The apes yawn and adore their fleas in the sun.

The parrots shriek as if they were on fire, or strut

Like cheap tarts to attract the stroller with the nut.

Fatigued with indolence, tiger and lion

#15

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The Butterfly

by Pavel Friedmann

In this heartbreaking poem, Friedmann writes about the last butterfly he saw and uses it as a symbol for loss and approaching death during the Holocaust.

The speaker openly describes being trapped in the ghetto. He talks about being penned in for weeks, with no way out. The contrast between the butterfly’s freedom and his own situation draws attention to the deep sense of being held back and cut off from the world. Though it is not a prison in the usual sense, the poem reflects emotional and physical confinement that feels just as painful. This quiet sense of being stuck never leaves the tone.

He was the last. Truly the last.

Such yellowness was bitter and blinding

Like the sun’s tear shattered on stone.

That was his true colour.

Home » Collection » Poems about Imprisonment

15+ Insightful Poems about Imprisonment

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

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15+ Insightful Poems about Imprisonment

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

by Oscar Wilde

by Etheridge Knight

by Alfred Lord Tennyson

by Hilda Doolittle

by Stevie Smith

by Alfred Lord Tennyson

by Carol Ann Duffy

by Sylvia Plath

by Jimmy Santiago Baca

by Niyi Osundare

by Marge Piercy

by Philip Sidney

by Ted Hughes

by Pavel Friedmann

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