Top 10 Greatest Poets of All Time

The language of poetry is universal, that desire to connect with humanity unhindered by borders or nations. This has allowed diverse voices to be discovered and celebrated over the years, including that of Rabindranath Tagore. This Bengali poet often centered his focus on the human spirit, writing about love and nature with a passion that leapt off the page. His love of music made many of his poems feel lyrical, having been designed to be sung with instrumental or vocal accompaniment. Tagore also didn’t feel limited with regards to his verse, sometimes rhyming, but other times composing in a looser and freer style.

We don’t feel that it’s a disservice to stress the importance of one singular artistic work. After all, wouldn’t anybody putting pen to paper desperately desire a piece as influential as “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” to wind up on their creative resume? This is one of the works most closely associated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet from the Romantic period with a legacy that endures today. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” was kept alive in the modern era with musical adaptations from the likes of Iron Maiden, while Coleridge’s artistic legacy remains secure. His was a world of imagination that also felt creatively tied to ideas of God, an exploration of humanity’s relationship with both the mundane and the unknown.

They may always say that “actions speak louder than words,” but let’s also never forget the power those same words possess when spoken in the face of adversity. Chile’s Pablo Neruda was a poet whose works could just as often be substituted for political diatribes as they could more intensely personal reflections of love. Yet, Neruda was also devoted to the ideology of communism, which was outlawed, for a time, in Chile, starting in 1948. This didn’t stop Neruda from working or writing, even in the face of those who desired his death. Pablo Neruda may not have lived to see Chile’s communist party legalized in 1990, but his reputation for integrity and passion have ignited influential fires that will never burn out.

It’s human nature, sometimes, to desire a distillation of an artist’s work. A sort of pared-down itemization of quotes and epithets from which we can then judge that work for ourselves. The poetry of the Persian poet Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī has seen many memorable quotes over the hundreds of years since the man’s death in 1273. Decidedly small quips such as “what you seek is seeking you” or “Try something different. Surrender.” say a lot with very little. And it’s this poetic iceberg of sorts that makes investigating Rumi so interesting for new scholars. It’s comforting, in a way, to know that a writer who lived so long ago still feels so tapped-into the universality of human love and relationships.

His is one of those “softball” sort of names that was destined for inclusion in a list such as this one. John Keats was a legend of Britain’s Romantic period, but he wasn’t celebrated as such while he was alive and working. It wasn’t until after his death that Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale” or “Hyperion[d]” would be rediscovered and placed alongside such contemporaries as Lord Byron or Percy Bysshe Shelley. Keats was a wordsmith whose language almost felt chewed and savored prior to hitting the page. His poems were often beautiful, but also realistic. Keats knew that this life was fleeting, and celebrated love and friendship during that all too-short time we all have upon this earth.

This is another choice that’s going to surprise absolutely no one. Maya Angelou was an activist whose very distinct-sounding voice and easily-replicated cadence has allowed many comedians and performers to do impressions of her work. Yet, these imitations never belittle the content of Angelou’s overall legacy, which is largely regarded today as formative when it comes to describing a contemporary and emotional human experience. Angelou possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of language that was matched only by her ability to choose just the right words to convey just the right feelings. It’s a rare and very special power that’s continued to resonate for generations.

It’s certainly true that John Milton was no one-trick pony when it comes to his epic and sprawling works of poetry. Both “Samson Agonistes[f]” and “Lycidas” remain important cultural touchstones and enduring examples of Milton’s talent. Yet, this English icon will always remain tethered to the masterpiece that is “Paradise Lost.” It’s a heavy-duty piece that muses upon humanity’s place in the world, as well as its relationship with a heavenly Creator. Atmospheric descriptions of Satan’s fall from grace are juxtaposed against apologetic descriptions of Adam and Eve within the context of their own fall. It’s hopelessly and gorgeously evocative stuff that’s served as a crux of English poetry for hundreds and hundreds of years.

This is another poet whose talent for telling mythological and epic adventures remains relevant for so many scholars and historians. Dante Alighieri and his “Divine Comedy” was a monumental achievement during the Middle Ages, cementing his reputation as one of Italy’s most iconic poets. The “Inferno” section of Divina Commedia has become particularly famous for its often macabre and explicit depiction of hell. This includes not only its demonic denizens, but also those famous figures from history who remain tortured and imprisoned within its depths. Beyond this, however, Dante’s skill with words exists beyond so many contemporaries from his time.

It’s truly incredible and mind boggling to think of just how many contemporary stories still take their story queues from the works of The Bard, William Shakespeare. Classics such as “Hamlet,” “Othello”, and “Macbeth” all possess universal themes that have enabled them to be updated for generation after generation. It’s sort of like the bones of a good song that can be played on piano, acoustic guitar or with a full band. The structure is sound, and not limited to just one specific avenue. So too has the work of Shakespeare transcended writing and poetry to become a proving ground for actors and artists from all walks of life.


Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

A Tragic Death Does Not Define Her Creative Legacy

This Talented Poet Wasn’t Properly Appreciated During Her Time

Spoke From the Heart About Subjects of Love

Worked Free From the Constraints of Rhyme & Meter

The Macabre Maestro of Mystery

Casting our collective eyes and ears to the age of antiquity, we can still observe the reverberating echoes of Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad. These two foundational works of Greek literature are enough to cement Homer’s place as a grandmaster, a craftsman whose stories of adventure united the ancient world. This is a crossroads of myth, magic and morality, that are adventure stories, sure, but also hugely important to Greece’s cultural identity. These are poems that feel cinematic because they are cinematic, as evidenced by the multitude of “sword and sandal” films that have adapted either the Odyssey or Iliad to the silver screen.

Is poetry a lost or dying art? Where do you think it belongs within our current society? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


[a]raw-BINDRA-NOT teg-GORE https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/47/Tagor.ogg/Tagor.ogg.mp3 https://youtu.be/HnpMTINOBHo?si=pHm2KPac3rgyUDUE&t=1 https://youtu.be/P8HLIF32clU?si=c7P-KAgGKcvSy5O3&t=22
[b]https://youtu.be/D0JIwwwpRXk?si=iUSqH_4FQo6ubK9q&t=93
[c]https://youtu.be/MNw9x53Ybos?si=8xCfQ2GDs3x8WI77&t=23
jah-lawl eh-DEEN moo-hahm-MED rrrooo-MEE https://youtu.be/7xcBDg2JYkg?si=ih_y8zZ6C4QXrUd1&t=10 https://forvo.com/search/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%91%D8%AF/
https://forvo.com/search/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%91%D8%AF/
https://forvo.com/search/%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%85%DB%8C/
[d]hye-PEERY-in https://www.dictionary.com/browse/Hyperion
https://forvo.com/word/percy_bysshe_shelley/#en
[e]anja-loh / lao https://youtu.be/W2nZIRwzB1E?si=WDhFJ30ICab_ZxC-&t=2 https://soundcloud.com/npr/maya-angelou-explains-her-name?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=atc&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140528
[f]aga-NISS-teez https://forvo.com/search/Samson%20Agonistes/
https://youtu.be/JBYnHy6YxOU?si=Xg6SCJyOOnlYa9Dj&t=37
LISSA-diss https://forvo.com/word/lycidas/#en
[g]DAWN-tay al-ee-G"YARE-ree https://forvo.com/word/dante_alighieri/#it
dee-VEE-nah coh-MEDD-yah https://forvo.com/search/Divina%20Commedia/