As anyone who’s ever tried to write a poem knows, it’s no easy endeavor. Don’t let their (generally) smaller size fool you—creating a world of meaning in just a few lines can be as challenging as writing an epic.
Thankfully, we have no shortage of talented and famous poets who have inspired dreamers and other writers for centuries.
Famous Poets
Below are 15 famous poets to add to your reading list so you can gain a deeper appreciation for some of literature’s greatest minds.
1. William Shakespeare (1564–1616, England)
William Shakespeare is arguably the world’s most famous poet and playwright. His works have been translated into every major language, and his plays have been performed more often than those of any other playwright.
His name is practically synonymous with the sonnet, as he wrote 154 of them (and there’s even a particular type of sonnet named for him, the Shakespearean sonnet). His influence can be felt in today’s literature and films, with themes from iconic works like Romeo and Juliet permeating modern romances.
Must-read Poem: Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”)
Famous Quote: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
2. Pablo Neruda (1904–1973, Chile)
Pablo Neruda was a famous Chilean poet and one of the most iconic writers of the twentieth century. Also a Chilean senator and diplomat, Neruda won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971.
He began writing at age 13, and among his collection are an epic, numerous love sonnets, odes, and also surrealist works, making him one of the most diverse talents in modern history.
Must-read Poem: “Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines“
Famous Quote: “To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life.”
3. Maya Angelou (1928–2014, United States)
Maya Angelou was more than a poet—she was also a civil rights activist who spoke of the Black experience in America, particularly that of Black women.
Many of her most celebrated works, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, are considered autobiographical. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, and she was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
Must-read Poem: “Still I Rise“
Famous Quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
4. Walt Whitman (1819–1892, United States)
His work is said to have influenced Pablo Neruda and countless other greats who followed him. He is best known for his poems that depict nature, love, and sexuality.
Whitman greatly admired Abraham Lincoln, on whose death he wrote “O Captain! My Captain!” and and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.”
Must-read Poem: “I Sing the Body Electric“
Famous Quote: “I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends.”
5. Robert Frost (1874–1963, United States)
Although he is known as one of America’s most beloved and decorated poets (he was the only poet to receive four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry), Frost’s work was initially published in England before it took off in the United States.
Frost was known for his depictions of rural New England life, his skilled use of colloquial speech, and his poems that depicted ordinary people in everyday life.
Must-read Poem: “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening“
Famous Quote: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
6. Rumi (1207–1273, Persia)
Born Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī, “Rumi” is the best-selling poet in the United States, and his influence in the Arab world remains even greater.
His poems cover themes of love, religion, and science, and have been studied and admired for centuries by scholars, mystics, philosophers, and priests.
Must-read Poem: “The Guest House“
Famous Quote: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.“
7. Emily Dickinson (1830–1886, United States)
While it’s a shame she didn’t gain much recognition during her lifetime, Emily Dickinson’s poems reemerged in the 1930s to become standards of greatness in American (and really, all English) poetry.
She was ahead of her time in her style, which has been categorized by some as Transcendentalist, but is difficult to place under any one genre. Her work, however, is known for its frequent use of humor, puns, irony, and satire.
Must-read Poem: “I taste a liquor never brewed“
Famous Quote: “Forever is composed of nows.”
8. T.S. Eliot (1888–1965, United States and England)
T.S. Eliot was a poet, essayist, playwright, literary critic, and editor born in the United States, but who later moved to England, where he published most of his known works and became a British citizen.
Eliot is considered a key figure in Modernist poetry, which was a reaction to the perceived excesses of Victorian poetry. He first gained acclaim for his poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” in 1915, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.
Must-read Poem: “The Waste Land“
Famous Quote: “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.“
9. E.E. Cummings (1894–1967, United States)
Although E.E. Cummings studied avant-garde styles and much of his work strays from standards of capitalization and syntax, his poems are quite traditional, with many taking the forms of sonnets with modern twists.
His poems often refelct themes of love, nature, and the relationship between an individual and the rest of the world. Cummings also employed satire in many of his works.
Must-read Poem: “anyone lived in a pretty how town“
Famous Quote: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
10. Langston Hughes (1902–1967, United States)
Langston Hughes was one of the earliest innovators of jazz poetry and a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He also wrote plays and short stories.
His works celebrated Black America, while also detailing the hardships and vast inequality suffered by his people. Discover some of Langston Hughes’ best poems.
Must-read Poem: “Harlem“
Famous Quote: “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”
11. Sylvia Plath (1932–1963, United States)
Sylvia Plath’s poems were known for personal and nature-based imagery with themes of love, rage, death, and resurrection. Many are thought to reflect her lifelong battle with depression and numerous breakdowns.
Some feminists her as a symbol for their movement, for the way her poems channeled female rage and grief. Plath died by suicide at the age of 30.
Must-read Poem: “Daddy“
Famous Quote: “And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
12. John Keats (1795–1891, England)
John Keats was a contemporary of second-generation Romantic poets, such as Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Like many talents on this list, his poems were unfortunately not well-appreciated by critics during his short lifetime (his poems were only in publication for four years before his death at age 25). By the end of 19th century, however, he became known as one of the most beloved English poets.
Must-read Poem: “To Autumn“
Famous Quote: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.“
13. William Butler Yeats (1865–1939, Ireland)
Widely considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, Yeats was known for using allusive imagery and symbolic structures.
His early poems drew on Irish myths and folklore, but his later works dealt more with contemporary issues. In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Must-read Poem: “When You Are Old“
Famous Quote: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
14. Wallace Stevens
How many Pulitzer-winning poets do you know who also worked as executives for insurance companies? William Stevens was a Hartford lawyer, insurance executive, and yes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who was part of the American modernist movement.
His poems showcase his extraordinary vocabulary and precision, as well as masterful imagery. His first major publication was released when he was 35, which marked the start of his “second” career as a poet.
Must-read Poem: “Sunday Morning“
Famous Quote: “The imperfect is our paradise.”
Who Is the Most Famous Chinese Poet?
Li Bai was born in 701 AD in China, and is renowned as China’s greatest poet alongside Du Fu. His romantic poems were reflections on the places he visited, friends he met, current events, and the nature that surrounded him. Li Bai’s work influenced many 20th-century poets, including Ezra Pound and James Wright.
Writing Your Own Poetry
There’s much to be learned by these great minds whose poems will continue to live on for generations. While they’ve left enormous shoes to fill, who’s to say you can’t be the next great poet of our time?
Review our tips on how to write a poem, then check out our creative writing prompts to get inspired and start writing your own poems!
Who is your favorite poet? Tell us in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- 13 of the Best Poetry Apps: Fun Tools for Readers and Writers
- 20 Best Poetry Books of All Time
- 9 Best Sites for Free Poetry
- List of Poetry Contests: Where to Submit Your Poems (Updated for 2021)
As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.
Hello
Excuse me, did you forget or not pay attention to Rudaki, Ferdowsi, Babatahir, Khayyam, Nizami, Attar, Maulvi, Saadi, Hafez, Jami, Khawaja Abbadallah Ansari, Vahzeh Bafqi, etc.?
Where is the name of Ravindranath Tagore who is by far the best among all poets ?
Please do research among Iranian poets, including Molavi and Saadi
I love reading Flash Fiction – short stories of 1400 words or less – so I’m going to try and read great poetry because it’s short and sweet to the senses.
Very informative. I shall definitely refresh my memory as far as certain of these poets and their poems are concerned. Others are completely new to me and I shall research them very soon.
Thank you