Poems that evoke disgust often explore the unsavory, unpleasant, or morally repugnant aspects of life and human nature. The poet’s use of strong, visceral language and vivid, unsettling imagery, brings to light feelings of intense dislike or aversion.
These poems may spotlight social injustices, unethical behaviors, or aspects of culture that the poet finds deeply troubling. By painting a vivid picture of the grotesque, they provoke a powerful emotional response, forcing the reader to confront uncomfortable truths and sparking deep introspection.
Charles Baudelaire’s ‘A Carcass’ intertwines beauty and decay, startling the readers through graphic imagery.
'A Carcass' effectively evokes emotions of disgust through its graphic and repulsive imagery. The detailed descriptions of the decomposing carcass, the buzzing blow-flies, and the oozing maggots out of the stomach of the decaying dead body create a visceral and unsettling atmosphere. The nauseous, nuanced visuals of the carcass cooked by the summer sun, along with the sensory language coveying the frightful stench, trigger a strong emotional response of disgust in the readers. Moreover, the poem leaves the readers with the horrifying imagery of worms eating the beloved's dead body.
Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market,’ narrates the fantastical tale of Laura and Lizzie, delving into sin, redemption, and sisterhood.
The shocking, disconcerting, and alarming scene of the poem where goblins try to physically overpower Lizzie suggesting sexual assault and rape, evokes disgust and moral outrage while reminding readers of the similar ordeals of many women. The petrifying assault is described in detail in the lines, 'Tore her gown and soiled her stocking, / Twitched her hair out by the roots, / Stamped upon her tender feet, / Held her hands and squeezed their fruits / Against her mouth to make her eat,' showing the extent of the dehumanizing physical and sexual violence and perversion the goblins perpetrate; it evokes readers' revulsion, leaving a knot in the stomach while confronting them with the truth of violence against women, making one unable to ever read this poem as an innocent children's poetry.
‘Anorexic’ by Eavan Boland presents a woman determined to destroy her physical body through starvation while alluding to the original sin.
The underlying emotion that drives the speaker to say such hateful words about her body is disgust. She feels disgusted by the wiles of her body, especially her mind. There is a dire need in her heart to “correct” her shape and return to her original sinless state.
‘jasper texas 1998’ by Lucille Clifton is a devastating poem that illustrates both the poet’s frustrated fury over and the dehumanizing barbarity of systemic racial violence against Black people in the United States.
Disgust is another emotion adjacent to anger that appears in Lucille Clifton's poem. The speaker expresses such vehement distaste toward the men who have killed the Black man's dead body that they now speak through. But it also offers up a wave of much more general anger that such atrocious acts of violence still occur in America.
‘Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed From a Skull’ was written in 1808 and expresses Byron’s disdainful thoughts surrounding death.
One of the more powerful emotions expressed by the speaker is a sense of disgust. This sentiment is directed at the thought of an alternate fate in which they'd still be rotting in the ground rather than holding wine. Words like "slimy brood," "reptile's food," "worms," and "wasting clay" all emphasize the speaker's distaste toward the tangible effects and consequences of death. Such an abhorrence to decomposition reveals the root of their issue with death to be its total breakdown of a person's very existence.
This section of ‘The Merchant’s Tale’ by Geoffrey Chaucer introduces January’s squire and provides details of the wedding night.
Disgust is a major emotion featured throughout this poem. However, the writer achieves this in an impressive manner. While May is evidently disgusted by her new geriatric husband and the acts he performs on her during their wedding night, the audience is equally disgusted by the idea of the unattractive January victimizing young May. Chaucer creates a situation that provokes intense disgust as the reader objects both morally and ideologically.
‘The Planners’ by Boey Kim Cheng is a powerful poem about the way that development and the creation of new infrastructure makes the world a less interesting place to live in.
In utter disgust and apathy, the poet says that his heart will not bleed any single drop of poetry. He is hopeless and at the same time confident about the fact that people will not listen until they erase the last block of the past.
‘A Red Stamp’ by Gertrude Stein is a poem that explores life’s routine, asking us to reflect on what truly matters.
The reference to the lilies being “dusty” and “dirty” may elicit feelings of disgust, as it contrasts the idealized image of pristine flowers. Instead of representing beauty and purity, the lilies become symbols of neglect and decay. This subversion of a typical symbol of beauty forces the reader to confront the unsettling reality that even beautiful things can harbor unpleasant, unspoken truths.
If lilies are lily white if they exhaust noise and distance and even dust,
‘Polar Exploration’ reflects upon peaceful isolation and urban life, particularly how the latter appears to make the former impossible.
The narrator's disgust is tangible and directed in many directions. This speaks to the fact that the narrator themselves is miserable and looking for ways to spread that feeling. Above all, they find urban life to be sickening and disgusting.
‘Kamikaze’ by Garland delves into a pilot’s conflict between duty and life, exploring the harsh societal aftermath of his choice.
There’s an strong sense of societal and familial disgust toward the pilot’s decision. Though unstated directly, the daughter’s narrative voice reveals how shame and judgment replaced empathy, mirroring the harsh consequences of defying collective ideals.
‘The Hands that Signed the Paper’ is a war protest poem that derides the appalling apathy and ruthlessness of the rulers toward ordinary citizens.
This poem very effectively brings out the emotion of disgust for the ruthless rulers of a country ruined by the war. You detest the apathy of the leaders who have big egos and can dictate the destiny of millions who have either died in war or are dying slowly due to hunger, diseases, or the extra burden of taxes. The leaders smugly sit in their ivory towers and don't even soothe the wounds of soldiers who fought the war.
Derek Walcott’s poem ‘The Virgins’ gives a holistic view of the life, economy, and culture of one of the Virgin Islands of the US, Saint Croix.
In 'The Virgins,' Walcott's lyrical first-person speaker expresses his disgust at the poor condition of the people and the deserted landscape of the historic town of Frederiksted.
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.
There is somewhere a hidden feeling of disgust in the speaker’s heart. She does not express it straightforwardly in the text. However, the repetition of no’s followed by the remark, “...it was too cold always,” makes it clear to readers.
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.
It somehow seems that the speaker feels disgusted with his generation. He cannot deny he is part of this generation. This is why he cannot help but accept the reality and wishes to improve without any further delay.
Auden’s ‘Consider This and in Our Time’ captures a society poised on the brink, blending serene imagery with ominous undertones of political upheaval.
Disgust emerges in Auden’s stark imagery of decay, such as “infected sinuses” and “derelict works.” It highlights the corruption of natural and human vitality, a visceral reaction to societal decline. This revulsion intensifies with the soft, insidious spread of “rumors,” underscoring how disgust, both literal and metaphorical, fosters deeper disconnection and instability.
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