15+ Significant Poems about Confidence

(15 to start, 175+ to explore)

Confidence-inspiring poems are dynamic, empowering, and uplifting. They speak of self-assurance, personal strength, and the courage to embrace one’s true self.

Using positive affirmations, striking imagery, and persuasive rhetoric, the poet explores the transformative power of self-belief. Such poetry serves as a rallying cry for inner strength and self-reliance, urging the reader to trust in their abilities and inspiring them to conquer their doubts.

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

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Call Letters: Mrs V.B.

by Maya Angelou

‘Call Letters: Mrs V.B.’ by Maya Angelou is a motivational poem that speaks about approach life with confidence and determination.

The overwhelming emotion felt in this poem is confidence. The speaker's tone is incredibly determined as she discusses what she's capable of. Readers may also feel some of this confidence rubbing off on them.

Ships?

Sure I’ll sail them.

Show me the boat,

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Loving Someone You Can't Have

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Sonnet 131

by William Shakespeare

‘Sonnet 131,’ also known as ‘Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,’ is a poem about how the Dark Lady’s beauty moves the speaker. He knows she’s untraditionally beautiful but he doesn’t care!

In the first stanza of this sonnet, Shakespeare describes how confident the Dark Lady is. She is tyrannical and continues to be so just like any other women of her time considered beautiful and highly admired. Shakespeare feels confident in his love for the Lady, but sometimes gets swayed by society’s “slander.”

Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,

As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel;

For well thou know'st to my dear doting heart

Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel.

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The Soul selects her own Society

by Emily Dickinson

Dickinson’s ‘The Soul selects her own Society’ depicts a Soul that isolates herself and selectively chooses one companion.

The emotion of confidence is evident as the Soul makes independent choices, unwavering in its beliefs and values. The Soul's rejection of emperors and chariots symbolizes a strong self-assurance, refusing to succumb to material comforts or seek external validation. This confidence in making firm, personal decisions reflects a robust identity characterized by conviction and inner strength. The poem celebrates this self-reliance, illustrating how an authentic, confident identity is formed through steadfast adherence to one's own principles and intrinsic values.

The Soul selects her own Society —

Then — shuts the Door —

To her divine Majority —

Present no more —

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The Lost Generation

by Jonathan Reed

Jonathan Reed’s ‘The Lost Generation’ is a palindrome poem that utilizes an innovative approach in order to dictate the future course of the present generation.

Almost for the entirety of the poem, in both ways, the speaker seems confident and honest in his approach. When he deals with negative aspects, he does it straightforwardly. In the reverse reading, his voice is filled with positivity and hope.

I'm part of a Lost Generation

and I refuse to believe that

I can change the world.

I realize this may be a shock, but

"Happiness comes from within"

is a lie, and "Money will make me happy"

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I Never Saw a Moor

by Emily Dickinson

‘I Never Saw a Moor’ is a simple but powerful affirmation of faith and acceptance of the limits of empiricism.

The poem's strength lies in the subtle confidence that underpins it. The speaker is confident enough in themselves, their intellect, and their faith to admit the things they do not know and the places they have not been. This is because that ignorance serves to support their faith, rather than undermine it.

I never saw a moor;

I never saw the sea,

Yet know I how the heather looks

And what a billow be.

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Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem

by Helene Johnson

‘Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem’ by Helene Johnson is a deeply affecting poem that lucidly attempts to uncover a man’s shortcomings alongside all that makes his superbly admirable.

Without a doubt, one of the poem's most powerful emotions is confidence. The speaker's descriptions of the man overflow with the perceived dignity and boldness with which he appears to carry himself. Although this can be perceived as arrogant, that doesn't exactly discourage the speaker, who finds them still exceptionally compelling in spite of it.

You are disdainful and magnificent—

Your perfect body and your pompous gait,

Your dark eyes flashing solemnly with hate,

Small wonder that you are incompetent

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Home Body

by Rupi Kaur

‘Home Body’ reminds us that everything we need for fulfilment already resides within us. Instead of seeking validation or happiness externally, the poem encourages us to look inward.

This poem instils confidence by emphasizing that everything you need is already within you. Kaur’s words suggest that self-assurance comes from trusting yourself. The poem reassures that internal wisdom and strength are enough, which empowers readers to embrace who they are, just as they are, without seeking validation from the outside world. Her own confidence is shown in the latter lines of the poem, in which she resolves to connect with her inner self and stop chasing the validation of others.

i dive into the well of my body

and end up in another world

everything i need

already exists in me

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Australia 1970

by Judith Wright

‘Australia 1970’ by Judith Wright speaks on the changing landscape of Australia in the 1970s. It promotes a fierce, wild, and dangerous version of Australia like the animals that have always lived within its boundaries.

This piece is told from the perspective of a confident and proud speaker, who unrelentingly wishes her country to fight back.

Die, wild country, like the eaglehawk,

dangerous till the last breath's gone,

clawing and striking. Die

cursing your captor through a raging eye.

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I’m Nobody! Who are you?

by Emily Dickinson

Dickinson’s ‘I’m Nobody! Who are you?’ celebrates the nobodies of society while criticizing the mainstream and mocking the somebodies.

The speaker rejects the societal perception of nobodies that deems them insignificant, unworthy, incapable of being somebodies, outsiders, and thus, smaller or less than the mainstream. Instead, they proudly own their nobody identity, presenting it as a deliberate choice, a willful withdrawal, and seclusion against somebodies' absurd and meaningless public identities, displaying self-confidence that emerges from knowing the self and staying true to the inner self. While satirically ridiculing what society values, the speaker celebrates the strength, authenticity, and self-belief of nobodies resisting the mainstream herd.

I'm Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too? T

hen there's a pair of us!

Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!

#10

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Death, be not Proud (Holy Sonnet 10)

by John Donne

Donne’s ‘Death, be not proud,’ rooted in the Christian idea of the afterlife, challenges the personified death, exposing its illusory power.

The speaker challenges death firmly, 'thou canst not kill me.' His confident rhetoric, filled with logical arguments based on his faith and scornful taunts, can sway readers to share his perspective. The personification further enhances the emotion of confidence as he boldly addresses death directly, diminishing its stature and exposing its supposed power as a mere illusion. The speaker's assured, confident tone convinces readers to see death not as a fearsome end but as a conquered foe.

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

#11

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Part II: The Merchant’s Tale

by Geoffrey Chaucer

This section of ‘The Merchant’s Tale’ by Geoffrey Chaucer establishes January’s impossible expectations of a wife and his own shortcomings.

Throughout this section of the poem, the main character is shown to be egotistical and vain due to his overabundance of confidence. Despite being old and sexually undesirable to women, he remains confident that he is an attractive marriage prospect for a beautiful woman under the age of twenty. The poet highlights how misplaced this confidence is, and will deliver fabliau justice to January for his hubris.

With face sad his tale he hath hem toold.

He seyde, "Freendes, I am hoor and oold,

And almoost, God woot, on my pittes brynke;

Upon my soule somewhat moste I thynke.

#12

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Our Deepest Fear

by Marianne Williamson

‘Our Deepest Fear’ by Marianne Williamson is a popular contemporary poem. It addresses themes of spirituality and inner power.

Rather than simple self-assurance, the poem presents confidence as a spiritual imperative. It reframes self-doubt as resistance to divine gifts and portrays confidence as responsibility rather than ego. This elevated view of confidence connects personal power with collective purpose, making it both a right and obligation.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness

That most frightens us.

#13

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Sacred Emily

by Gertrude Stein

‘Sacred Emily’ is an avant-garde poem that challenges conventional language with the iconic phrase, “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.”

Confidence is inherent in Stein's avant-garde approach in 'Sacred Emily.' The deliberate repetition and abstraction showcase a poet confidently challenging traditional norms. Through linguistic experimentation, Stein asserts her mastery, inviting readers to engage with the poem's complexities and embrace the confidence exuded in its unconventional style.

Argonauts.

That is plenty.

Cunning saxon symbol.

Symbol of beauty.

#14

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Mrs Beast

by Carol Ann Duffy

Belle, as Mrs Beast, corrects the narrative of her story as well as other women’s stories in this masterful poem by Carol Ann Duffy.

Carol Ann Duffy portrays Mrs Beast as an unshakably confident woman. This is notable from the tone of the poem throughout. But, perhaps most apparent in the opening lines, in which the speaker commands the reader to listen to her and positions herself as an unquestionable authority on the matter. This confidence is used as a manner of securing dominance, as she refuses humility and acknowledges that she is a gift.

These myths going round, these legends, fairytales,

I’ll put them straight; so when you stare

into my face – Helen’s face, Cleopatra’s,

Queen of Sheba’s, Juliet’s – then, deeper,

#15

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The Present Crisis

by James Russell Lowell

‘The Present Crisis’ by James Russell Lowell is an anthem against slavery and, by extension, other racially-induced crimes. Penned in 1845 as a protest against the permission of slavery in Texas, this long poem now serves as a voice for all people of color who continue to face discrimination today.

This ties into the speaker's bravery. Lowell is confident that his cause is right and that the government is wrong. He says that throughout the poem and even gives reasons with facts and opinions some may feel inclined to argue with. Nonetheless, he delivers his poem confidently, making this emotion evident.

Slavery, the earth-born Cyclops, fellest of the giant brood,

Sons of brutish Force and Darkness, who have drenched the earth with blood,

Famished in his self-made desert, blinded by our purer day,

Gropes in yet unblasted regions for his miserable prey;—

Home » Collection » Poems about Confidence

15+ Significant Poems about Confidence

(15 to start, 175+ to explore)

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15+ Significant Poems about Confidence

(15 to start, 175+ to explore)

by Maya Angelou

by William Shakespeare

by Emily Dickinson

by Jonathan Reed

by Emily Dickinson

by Helene Johnson

by Rupi Kaur

by Judith Wright

by Emily Dickinson

by John Donne

by Geoffrey Chaucer

by Marianne Williamson

by Gertrude Stein

by Carol Ann Duffy

by James Russell Lowell

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