The 333 Greatest Short Poems of All Time

Greatest Short Poems | Greatest Long Poems | Greatest Poetry Collections

Poetry comes in all shapes, styles and sizes, with no reigning definition of what even constitutes a poem. Even less consensus exists on what makes a good poem.

Another problem in compiling this list is that most anthologies, critical works, and lists of the supposed greatest poetry in the world focus on British, American and related works, seldom considering more than a few token works translated into English—and most of those being European. We have endeavoured to consult experts, anthologies, college reading lists, readers and reviewers from around the world—to highlight great poetry of diverse eras and origins.

We have also split the works into three distinct "greatest" lists. Separating long and short verse helps us avoid the ludicrous situation of having single-line poems, book-length epics, and everything in-between competing for the same honours. Further we are distinguishing single poems from collections of poems.

Of course, the categories of greatest short poems (below), greatest long poems and greatest poetry collections often overlap. We have some rules of thumb to determine which group a given work falls into but it sometimes comes down to a subjective judgment.

The short poems listed below can generally be read and appreciated in a single sitting—from a minute to an hour or so. Such poems are generally under a dozen pages long. They tend to be poems that present single moods and thoughts, featuring unitary themes with compact, cohesive storylines, although there are always exceptions.

Latest update: December 4, 2022

See also:

Article
Creating the Greatest Literature of All Time list

List
Greatest Literature of All Time

List
Greatest Novels of All Time

List
Greatest Novellas of All Time

List
Greatest Stories of All Time

List
Greatest Plays of All Time

On Amazon:

Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs

On Twitter: