Life is one of the enduring themes in poems around the globe. Poets try to explore its meaning and value and cherish it with their poetic words.
On this list concerning the poems about life, readers can come across poems that are going to stick with their hearts forever. Some of them will teach them the lessons to lead a better life. While some pieces will dive deeper into its intricacies.
Many people consider ‘If—’ to be one of the most inspirational poems ever written. It is certainly a poem that has garnered a great deal of attention in popular culture.
‘If’ is one of the best poems about life and is inspired by nature and gives a reader advice on how to live their life. There are a number of examples in the text of adverse conditions one might come across, and how it is best to surmount them. Anything can upset one’s life, and it is necessary to be prepared for when that happens. The “If” portion of the poem is complemented by the “then” portion. Every scenario is followed by a solution.
‘November Graveyard’ by Sylvia Plath describes a cemetery in November. She discusses her views on the afterlife and what the graveyard truly symbolizes.
The poem takes place in a cemetery in the month of November. It discusses how there is really nothing present in the land beyond the physical. It is winter, therefore all the plants are dying, but not willingly. They cling desperately and uselessly to their foliage. Just as the plants attempt to maintain life into the winter, so too does humanity seek something after death.
The scene stands stubborn: skinflint trees
Hoard last year's leaves, won't mourn, wear sackcloth, or turn
‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night’ is Dylan Thomas’s most famous work, penned in response to his father’s death. This powerful poem urges resistance against the inevitable nature of death, encapsulating Thomas’s rich imagery and universal themes.
The poem opens with its famous lines, “Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rave at close of day.” Through powerful and skillfully composed language, Thomas encourages his father, and the larger population, to realize the importance of their own lives, by fighting back against the dark.
‘Toads’ by Philip Larkin explores the confines of everyday life. Throughout, he uses a frog as a way to depict duel pressures in his life.
Larkin’s speaker states that there is one thing that plagues him more than anything else, a toad. This toad, represents work, exterior obligations and financial pressures. It is always there, forcing poison into his life. Perhaps, he wonders, he’d be happier if he were poor. He speaker looks at the poor people around him and thinks they look happy enough, and none of them ever seem to starve.
‘The heart asks pleasure first’ by Emily Dickinson depicts the needs of the heart. They are highly changeable and include pleasure and excuse from pain.
The speaker moves through the things that a human being wants most in their life. The first, is an active pleasure. But for some, this is impossible. Next on her list is an escape from pain. If life could progress without trauma, that would be enough. Lastly, there are sleep and death. It is better to die, the speaker implies than to live a life of suffering, devoid of pleasure or peace.
Betjeman’s famed poem humorously narrates his affection for Joan Hunter Dunn, blending tennis, social status, and a heartfelt confession.
The poem begins with the speaker exclaiming over how much he cares for Dunn. At this point, they’re playing tennis. Their wealth is quickly revealed and lightly mocked as the two prepare for a dance. The speaker clearly adores this woman, who is very much above him in the social hierarchy. Rather than go into the dance, the two remain in their car and he confesses his love to her.
‘To Earthward’ by Robert Frost contemplates the speaker’s connection to the earth. As he’s aged, he’s sought out more painful experiences in order to feel the same as he did in his youth.
This is a poem that describes a speaker’s connection to his own emotions and eventual desire to draw closer to the strength of the earth. The speaker’s youth was a powerful influence on him. It was so sweet that it was almost too much for him to handle. Since he has grown older his desires have changed. Now, he is looking for pain in his life, rather than pleasure. He is seeking to feel something real, to turn “earthward” and know the full range of his emotions.
The speaker in the poem requests no sorrowful tributes after her passing, as she enters a state of oblivious rest.
Within this piece the speaker, who is addressing her lover, tells them to “Sing no sad songs for” her. She doesn’t want him to fret over her because she is going to be dead, and won’t know the difference. Rather, he should go about his life, remembering or forgetting her. She’s fine with whatever he ends up doing in the world of the living, as she may or may not remember him once she’s dead.
‘The Convergence of the Twain’ meditates on the Titanic’s collision with an iceberg, portraying human pride against nature’s menace.
Within this piece, the sea symbolizes another world, one that is impossible for humankind to fully understand. There is an inherent mystery to its impenetrable depths. Additionally, the speaker emphasizes the solitude which one is forced into while in or on the sea. There is no one else to speak or fight with, instead, one is forced to contend with their own consciousness.
In a solitude of the sea
Deep from human vanity,
And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
‘Don’t Bother the Earth Spirit’ by Joy Harjo is a heavily symbolic poem that personifies nature as a mesmerizing storyteller.
Joy Harjo's poem uses the earth's spirit's story as a metaphor for life. One that takes into account all the grandiose ways it brings both joy and agony to those who are forced to endure it, much like a story too captivating to pull away from. As a result, the poem reveals a certain universality to life's basic experiences.
Don’t bother the earth spirit who lives here. She is working on a story. It is the oldest story in the world and it is delicate, changing.
‘Carpe Diem’ by Robert Frost is a poem that encourages the reader to live in the present and comments on people’s tendency to focus on the past and the future instead.
The poem reflects deeply on life, specifically on the tension between living in the present and the tendency to dwell on the past or future. Frost’s contemplation of how we experience life resonates with the existential reflections common in his work, urging readers to seize the moments that make life meaningful.
‘Counting Sheep White Blood Cells’ by Sujata Bhatt speaks of the joy one can find in mundane, everyday activities and how careful consideration of something doesn’t have to be exhausting or boring.
Life, in its various scales and complexities, is a central theme in this Bhatt poem. From the vastness of stars to the intricacies of blood cells, Bhatt contemplates the various facets of existence. Her poem emphasizes the depth and wonder that can be found in every aspect of life.
Stevie Smith’s ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ is a tragic account of a dead man whose cry for help is mistakenly regarded as a mere greeting.
This piece is largely about life and one person’s trials to be heard or understood. Throughout his life, he tried to find someone who could understand him. Sadly, he could not get one. Even his cry for help while drowning is regarded as a cordial gesture at the crowd.
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.
Life contrasts the Lady's ethereal yet sterile existence with the vibrant, passionate world outside. Her isolated, monotonous life lacks human connection, love, and vitality, symbolizing a Victorian woman's entrapment in domesticity. The lively feelings of love and passion compel her to leave her shadowy, unreal world and seek real human experience despite the consequences. This act hints at the struggle against societal constraints that confine women into ideal images of beauty and purity, snatching the very life from their souls.
Our Poem Guides, PDFs, Study Tools, and Articles are created by a team of qualified poetry experts to provide an unparalleled in-depth look into poetry.
