Poetry that conveys nervousness often explores the uneasy anticipation, anxiety, and tension associated with challenging situations or uncertainties. The poet uses evocative imagery and rhythmic language to replicate the jittery, apprehensive feelings that define nervousness.
These poems dig into the racing thoughts, restless energy, and the nervous anticipation that precede significant moments, offering the reader a mirror to their own anxieties and fears. Such poetry creates a shared emotional experience, validating the universal human experience of nervousness.
Dickinson’s ‘A narrow Fellow in the Grass’ captures snakes’ unsettling presence, reflecting fear and human vulnerability amid nature.
The description of feeling 'tighter Breathing' and experiencing a chilling sensation reaching 'Zero at the Bone' reflects an acute stress response to the snake's presence. This heightened awareness and physical reaction suggest a temporary but intense state of nervousness directly resulting from the perceived threat posed by the snake. The poem's suspenseful tone evokes a sense of unease in readers, mirroring the speaker's nervousness. Snakes' uncertain, unpredictable, and deceptive nature contributes to the poem's pervasive sense of nervous anticipation.
‘The Listeners’ by Walter de la Mare describes a traveler knocking at the door of a deserted home inhabited by phantoms at night in a forest.
The eerie setting and uncanny phantoms amid an obscure natural environment detached from the human world create a nervous mood. Though the poem lacks context, the message the traveler leaves shows the great significance of his visit, creating dramatic suspense. Moreover, he is nervous; his apprehension shows through his repeated knocking and words, 'Is there anybody there?' as if he is anxious to see whoever will answer the door or afraid that no one will respond. The tense and nervous mood amplifies as no one answers the door, and the traveler's knocking becomes more agitated and intense.
Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market,’ narrates the fantastical tale of Laura and Lizzie, delving into sin, redemption, and sisterhood.
The poem creates a nervous mood whenever the mysterious goblins come to the scene, and the readers anticipate what the uncanny creatures and their enchanted fruits will do. Lizzie's caution of the goblins, Jeanie's death, and Laura's consumption of the fruits enhance the dramatic tension as the readers might apprehensively anticipate what tragedy could happen with the sisters. Laura's dwindling health and Lizzie's growing tension create an unsettling aura. Moreover, the rapid adjectives used, particularly in goblins' scenes, accentuate the nervousness and apprehensive feelings.
‘Half-Past Two’ utilizes childish vernacular and mismatched capitalization to reflect the stress of a young boy, who in the past was punished for “Something Very Wrong.”
In Fanthorpe's poem, the child becomes nervous in the first few moments of realizing what the punishment means. When he fails to do so, he keeps just passing the time and waiting until his teacher tells him he is free to go.
William Butler Yeats’s ‘The Second Coming’ delves into the hopeless atmosphere of post-World War I Europe through apocalyptic imagery.
Nervousness is embodied in the speaker’s anxious repetition of “Surely some revelation is at hand.” The tone is one of fragile expectation, disrupted by the unsettling vision of the “rough beast” rising from the desert. As the poem unravels, the speaker’s initial hope for divine intervention collapses, leaving them nervously contemplating a future shaped by chaos rather than salvation.
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Vernon Scannell’s ‘Hide and Seek’ delves into loneliness and abandonment through a narrative of a hide-and-seek game.
The anxiety of being found evokes sensations of unease and nervousness. Each moment spent in hiding is tinged with nervous energy, heightened by the uncertainty of the seekers' next move. Through sensory details, the poem immerses the reader in the protagonist's experience of nervousness, capturing the butterflies in the stomach and racing heartbeat accompanying the game's suspense.
Call out. Call loud: ‘I’m ready! Come and find me!’
The sacks in the toolshed smell like the seaside.
They’ll never find you in this salty dark,
But be careful that your feet aren’t sticking out.
‘At the Bus Station’ by Julius Chingono offers advice on how to survive the selfish pandemonium of a bus commute.
Another emotion inspired by the poem is nervousness. Imagine you are the person the speaker is unloading all this advice to, that this is your first time riding the bus in such a busy city, how could you feel anything but nervous? You are being told that you've just agreed to participate in a mass scuffle and all you can do is brace yourself for it. Even with all those exaggerations it's not exactly an appealing experience.
‘Caliban upon Setebos’ by Robert Browning delves into Caliban’s contemplation of God’s power, nature, and his place in the universe.
This poem brings out nervousness through Caliban's uneasy contemplation of Setebos. The unpredictable and whimsical nature of the deity, coupled with Caliban's attempts to understand and appease, creates an atmosphere of uncertainty. The constant tension between Caliban's desire for favor and the fear of Setebos' wrath contributes to a pervasive sense of nervousness that permeates the poem.
'Will sprawl, now that the heat of day is best,
Flat on his belly in the pit's much mire,
With elbows wide, fists clenched to prop his chin,
‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night,’ with its spooky mood and setting, captures the tortured and fragmented human psyche amidst a destructed world.
As the speaker moves more and more into the strange urban street at midnight, the poem evokes nervousness for the speaker's future as the imagery becomes increasingly dark and objects creepy. The reader might move nervously with the speaker's thoughts in the dreadful landscape.
‘Two’s Company’ by Raymond Wilson is a funny and lighthearted poem about a man who mocks ghost stories but ends up meeting a ghost himself.
As soon as the night settles in, you can tell the man is starting to feel nervous. He hears strange sounds, and even though he tries to brush them off, he still closes the curtains, locks the doors, and grabs something to defend himself. He tells himself it’s just his imagination, but the way he acts says otherwise. That nervous feeling builds line by line, showing how hard it is to stay calm when things feel off.
‘On Peace’ is a hopeful but cautious celebration of its titular subject, which lauds the positive effects it has had on the world.
Behind its celebratory tone, the poem is imbued with nervous energy, which reflects the ways in which people felt about the situation in the early nineteenth century. They had achieved peace but were fearful of losing it.
‘The Migrant’ by A. L. Hendriks is an emotional journey of a migrant. It deals with themes of fear and resilience.
This poem subtly conveys a sense of nervousness through the emotional tone and actions of the protagonist. The poet describes the woman as "fearful and unutterably lonely" when she approaches the gate for embarking passengers. This choice of words suggests a heightened emotional state, including nervousness or anxiety, as she faces the imminent departure. The portrayal of her actions, such as studying travel brochures, considering the onward journey, and dreading boarding announcements, indicates a level of unease and apprehension. The overall atmosphere of the poem captures the nervous anticipation associated with the migration.
She could not remember anything about the voyage,
Her country of origin, or if someone had paid for the passage.
‘Lady Luncheon Club’ by Maya Angelou critiques societal superficiality, urging for meaningful engagement with urgent issues amidst casual gatherings.
This poem elicits a sense of nervousness through its portrayal of societal expectations and discomfort. Maya Angelou's depiction of the speaker's attempts to engage with weighty topics amidst the triviality of the gathering hints at underlying tension and unease. The poem prompts reflection on the challenges of navigating social norms and the fear of judgment, stirring feelings of nervousness and apprehension.
‘I tie my Hat—I crease my Shawl’ by Emily Dickinson is a deeply melancholic poem that elucidates the ways in which people try to go on living when they’ve lost all love of life.
There's a feeling akin to nervousness that's created by the speaker's tone and the imagery provided of them obsessively working around the house. It's clear the speaker is tip-toeing around some powerful bottled-up emotions that they are unable to even express to those closest to them. Even the fragmented voice created by the hyphens adds to this, presenting a speaker that is struggling to both convey and hide these feelings.
‘Our Lady’ by Carl Phillips reflects on identity, mortality, and the transient nature of beauty and fame with poignant introspection.
This poem evokes nervousness through the character's introspective reflections on mortality and the uncertainty of the future. The anticipation of impending death and the recognition of life's unpredictability evoke a sense of anxiety and apprehension. Through poignant language and vivid imagery, the poem captures the trembling uncertainty of existence, eliciting a profound sense of nervousness and unease.
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