What exactly constitutes a poem?
To some contemporary writers, one might consider a shopping list of milk, eggs, oats and tea a form of poetry. Classicists will look towards narrative epics by the likes of Homer, Virgil and Dante, while modern critics may focus solely on 20th and 21st-century works by zeitgeist-shifting authors and creators of new poetic genres.
In A Little History of Poetry, renowned academic and expert on the subject John Carey puts it succinctly, “If music is sound organised in a particular way, poetry is a way of organising language. It is language made special so that it will be remembered and valued.” Yet value is subjective, which means that the extent to which individuals will remember certain rhymes differs from one person to the next.
Allen Ginsburg saw poetry as an act of exposure, “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public”. Robert Frost had a similarly liberating idea of poetry, and he saw the medium as “[…] the renewal of words, setting them free, and that’s what a poet is doing: loosening the words.”
Though we’re taught as schoolchildren to ‘solve’ the problem of poetry through analysis, the recreational enjoyment of great poetry merely asks us to find joy in those loosened words and not-so-hidden thoughts, for we may see ourselves reflected in them. On the other hand, the poet may expertly conjure an intricately whimsical description, one that transports us into another realm entirely through rhythmic verse and repetitive refrains.
French poet, playwright and artist Jean Cocteau tells us to, “take a commonplace, clean and polish it, light it so that it produces the same effect of youth and freshness and spontaneity as it did originally, and you have done a poet’s job.”
Whether it be through line breaks to emphasise certain words, repetitions or chiastic structures which work to build lyrical hypnosis, the literary techniques employed by world-famous poets needn’t be known nor completely understood in order to enjoy the wonders of poetic verse.
If you’re looking to brush up on your poetic knowledge, we’ve got you covered. Keep scrolling for 25 of the best poetry books of all time and fill your shelves with cultural masterpieces.
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The Orange by Wendy Cope
One of our country’s best-loved contemporary poets, Wendy Cope offers a series of joyous, quick-witted and emotionally revelatory reflections on love and life in The Orange. A reaffirming treatise on the wonders of being alive, this is the perfect gift for someone reeling from heartbreak and grief.
Buy now £8.99, Waterstones
Poems on the Underground By Judith Chernaik, Gerard Benson and Cicely Herbert
Published in 2015 to celebrate the 30th birthday of Poems on the Underground, editors Chernaik, Benson and Herbert collate those wondrous literary marvels which illuminate our morning and evening commutes. Curated to celebrate the richness and diversity of our capital city and the breadth of our cultural influences, Poems on the Underground has become a veritable institution.
We just hope there will be a 40th birthday revision by 2025. This edition, however, contains works by the likes of Owen Sheers, Paul Muldoon, Sylvia Plath, William Blake, D. H. Lawrence, Kathleen Raine, Roger McGough, Wilfred Owen, Wendy Cope and John Clare, and many others.
Buy now £14.99, Waterstones
100 Poets: A Little Anthology by John Carey
Just like the cover of this brilliant anthology by John Carey suggests, expect a representation of the many, varied textures of poetic expression throughout history in these collected works. Hughes takes on the mammoth task of poetry curation with a fantastic distillation of major works by poets ranging from Homer and Sappho to Donne and Milton, Plath and Angelou.
Buy now £10.70, Amazon
City Psalms by Benjamin Zephaniah
The late, great Benjamin Zephaniah was a self-proclaimed anarchist, musical artist, poet, political activist, friend to Nelson Mandela and so much more. The people’s laureate has written a series of critically acclaimed collections of poetry geared towards adults and children alike, with City Psalms being the third anthology published by Bloodaxe in 1992. It includes some of his best-known poems, such as 'Dis Poetry', 'Money' and 'Us and Dem'.
Buy now £6.38, Amazon
Penguin's Poems for Life by Laura Barber
Inspired by Shakespeare’s idea of the seven stages of life, Laura Barber selects poems relating to childhood, growing up, making a living, making love, family life, getting older and approaching death. This wonderfully cyclical representation of poetry evokes the feeling of a tree sprouting and forming its fantastic branches from a newly germinated seedling.
With a poem for every life stage by the likes of Chaucer, Carol Ann Duffy, Shakespeare, Keats, Lemn Sissay and many others, this anthology may just serve as a form of catharsis no matter what it is that you’re going through.
Buy now £18.05, Amazon
Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World by Pádraig Ó Tuama
Podcast fans of Pádraig Ó Tuama rejoice for this anthology includes a sprawling selection of contemporary poetry heard on the Irish poet and theologian’s beloved podcast ‘Poetry Unbound’. Complete with Ó Tuama’s invaluable musings, the collection includes works by Hanif Abdurraqib, Patience Agbabi, Raymond Antrobus, Margaret Atwood, Ada Limón, Kei Miller, Roger Robinson, Lemn Sissay, Layli Long Soldier and more. Download on Audible for the true podcaster experience.
Buy now £11.95, Amazon
The New Faber Book of Love Poems edited by James Fenton
Who better to curate a selection of love poetry than the award-winning romantic bard, James Fenton? This anthology contains poetry ranging from the early 16th century all the way up to the present day, speckled with a mix of historical and contemporary favourites. With lyrical literature written by poets of all sexualities, expect everything from blues lyrics and American folk poetry to Broadway songs.
Buy now £10.87, Amazon
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem by Nam Le
Nam Le crafts a viscous and necessarily angry treatise on cultural identity in 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem. Thick with the weight of oppression and historical trauma, Nam Le’s fiery, self-indicting and violently critical anthology is for anyone struggling with displacement.
Buy now £12.99, Waterstones
HOWL and Other Poems by Allen Ginsburg
Otherwise known as the piece of literature which launched the Beat Generation, any poetry enthusiast requires a copy of HOWL & Other Poems on their bookshelf. Whether read aloud with friends or utilised for private musings on middle-class complacency and the horrors of consumerism, Ginsberg's magnum opus is as relevant now as it was when first published in 1956.
Buy now £5.99, Amazon
Faber and Faber Poetry Essentials Boxed Set
This limited edition box set by the famed poetry publishers Faber and Faber includes 10 volumes of must-read literature. A wonderful gift, the set includes The War Poems by Siegfried Sassoon, Ariel by Sylvia Plath, High Windows by Philip Larkin, Crow by Ted Hughes, Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney, The Waste Land and other poems, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis by Wendy Cope, Tell Me the Truth About Love by W. H. Auden, and Kid by Simon Armitage.
Buy now £4.11, Amazon
Lyrical Ballads by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth
Published in 1798, Lyrical Ballads remains the foremost representation of Romantic poetry written by friends and colleagues Coleridge and Wordsworth. Comprised of a series of spirit-stirring reflections on nature and mankind, this collection includes beloved poems such as ‘The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere’, ‘Tintern Abbey’, ‘The Nightingale’ and more.
Buy now £7.99, Amazon
Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake
As the name of William Blake’s beloved chef d’oeuvre suggests Songs of Innocence and Experience offers a series of reflections on youth and its eventual dissipation. The famed artist and poet produced a series of almost pyrogenic accompanying illuminations, all of which are included in this wonderful edition. The beautifully rendered artworks appear to dance around the page, filling words and figures with incandescent light.
Buy now £9.19, Amazon
All the Sonnets of Shakespeare by Paul Edmonson and Stanley Wells
As Dame Judi Dench says, Shakespeare’s sonnets offer wonderful training for an actor. Thanks to Paul Edmonson and Stanley Wells, understanding the Bard’s 154, 14-line poems has never been easier. Complete with a myth-busting introduction and invaluable paraphrases, reading through this fantastically edited collection is like having a set of brilliant teachers perched on either shoulder.
Buy now £11.99, Amazon
The Folio Book of War Poetry
This exclusive folio is adorned with illustrations by Jonathan Lloyd and Neil Gower. Curated by former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, the anthology contains moving pieces of war poetry from antiquity to the Cold War and beyond. While well-known voices such as Wilfried Owen and Siegfried Sassoon are certainly included, Motion also makes a point to draw from writers lesser known for their war writings including Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Bishop.
Buy now £49.95, The Folio Society
The Penguin Book of Irish Poetry
The greatest works of Irish Poetry are contained within the folds of this 1,000-page Penguin anthology. Enjoy the works of Nobel laureates W.B. Yeats and Seamus Heaney, as well as Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and the many other varied artists which help to reflect the stories cultural history of Ireland.
Buy now £17.47, Amazon
A Year of Scottish Poems by Gaby Morgan
Gaby Morgan curates a Scottish poem for each of the 365 days of the year in this lovely, celebratory anthology. Collated in an effort to reflect the wondrous landscape and rich cultural history of Scotland, the book includes a brilliant introduction by former Makar, Jackie Kay.
Buy now £11.75, Amazon
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Start your Penguin Clothbound collection off right with Milton’s infamous epic, Paradise Lost. It’s hard to conceive that the consciousness-shifting panoramic story of creation, betrayal, life and death was written by a jaded, blind Milton who was in danger of execution.
Buy now £17.47, Amazon
Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti
Rossetti’s first ever full volume of poetry, Goblin Market and Other Poems was originally published in 1862 and almost immediately established her as one of the foremost female poets of the era. The epic fairytale narrative poem ‘Goblin Market’ is perhaps Rossetti’s best-known work, simultaneously beloved and deemed highly controversial for its themes of sisterhood, temptation and sexuality.
Buy now £11.15, Amazon
The Iliad by Homer
Known as the first and greatest literary achievement of the Ancient Greeks, The Iliad is the foremost epic poem whose cultural influence knows no bounds. A story that needs no introduction, Homer’s panoramic piece begins in the last year of the Trojan War.
Buy now £15.29, Amazon
The Aeneid by Virgil
Virgil’s Aeneid was inspired by Homer and served as the inspiration for Milton’s Paradise Lost as well as Dante’s Inferno. Aeneas is Virgil’s hero in this epic poem, and we follow the heroic survivor of the fall of Troy as he embarks on the creation of a new empire.
Buy now £16.99, Waterstones
Inferno by Dante Alighieri
An examination of human sin, Dante’s Inferno plunges into the nine concentric circles of hell, each home to its own particular class of guilty souls.
Buy now £6.99, Amazon
