13+ Most Famous English Poets and Their Works Through Ages

Throughout time, poetry has been a powerful medium of conveying one’s thoughts, feelings, and perspective on life in a sophisticated manner. With English at the world stage’s centre, poetry and literary devices led to the rise of many famous English poets and their iconic pieces in the English literature that we know and read even today. In this blog, we will look into the lives of ten such renowned English poets and some of their influential works. We will also explore the timeless themes that continue to resonate with readers to this day. Read on to know more!

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List of Famous English Poets Who Shaped Our Imagination

Here’s a list of some famous English poets we have all heard of, even as children. Be it the medieval era or the modern day, these poems never fail to captivate audiences with their beauty, power, and emotional depth. Let’s get to know these wordsmiths who have left an indelible mark on our culture:

William Shakespeare

One of the most famous English poets, William Shakespeare has become a household name. Known as the Bard of Avon, Shakespeare has around 154 sonnets, 3 long narrative poems, and 34 plays to his credit spanning genres like comedies, histories, tragedies and tragicomedies (aka romances). Some of his popular works include “Venus and Adonis”, “A Lover’s Complaint”, “The Phoenix and the Turtle”, and “The Passionate Pilgrim” among others. 

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William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth is another literary icon in the list of famous English poets. A leading figure in the Romantic movement, he was known for his lyrical and introspective poetry that often explored themes of nature, childhood, and the human experience. Wordsworth became a prominent figure in English literary circles and served as Poet Laureate from 1843 until he died in 1850. Some of his popular works include “Daffodils”, “The Prelude”, “Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood”, “Tintern Abbey”, and “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold”.

Robert Frost

One of the most influential American poets, Robert Frost’s works are known for their simple, everyday language and ability to create vivid images. His poems often featured complex characters and ambiguous endings, leading him to win 4 Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1958 to 1961, with his most famous poems including “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “The Road Not Taken,” “Mending Wall,” and “Birches.

William Blake

Another major figure in the Romantic movement, William Blake, is among the famous English poets and also a painter and printmaker. This visionary artist’s work often explored themes of religion, politics, and social justice, considered controversial and misunderstood during his lifetime. Some of his popular works include “Songs of Innocence and Experience”, “The Tyger”, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”, and “Jerusalem”. 

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson is another famous English poet in American Literature known for her introspective and unconventional poetry. Often featuring short lines, slant rhymes, and unusual punctuation, she explored themes of love, death, nature, and the human condition in her work. While most of her work gained widespread recognition after her death, Dickinson’s poetry has influenced countless other writers and continues to be studied and admired today. Some of her timeless works include “Because I could not stop for Death”, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?”, “Hope is the thing with feathers”, and “The Soul selects her own Society”.

Sylvia Plath

Known as a pioneer of confessional poetry, Sylvia Plath’s writing career began early, with her poems appearing in various publications during her teenage years. Her poems display an unflinching exploration of genres like mental health, sexuality, and death, stemming from her personal experiences and emotions. Despite her short life, Plath’s works such as “Daddy,” “Lady Lazarus,” and “Ariel” have had a profound impact on literature, making her a beloved and influential figure in the literary world.   

Maya Angelou

Born Marguerite Annie Johnson, Maya Angelou became a powerful voice for social justice and personal empowerment in the 21st century. Counted among the famous English poets, she was also a memoirist and civil rights activist, her poetry often addressing issues of identity, race, and gender. Her work, especially “On the Pulse of Morning” has inspired millions around the world with its raw honesty and unwavering optimism.

The Brontë Sisters

Sisters and famous English poets and novelists, the Brontë sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne left a lasting legacy in literature. Spending much of their childhood in isolation, they were content creating their own imaginary worlds and writing stories together. Their novels, such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, explore themes of love, loss, and the human condition. Considered classics of English literature, their work continues to inspire readers and women around the world.

Timeless English Poets and Their Poems

Apart from the above-mentioned figures, there are many other famous English poets who carved a niche for themselves in the field of literature. They are as follows:

S.No.	All Time Famous Poets	Famous English Poems
1.	Oscar Wilde	The Ballad of Reading Gaol, Symphony in Yellow, Ravenna, The Sphinx, etc.
2.	Dylan Thomas	Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, And Death Shall Have No Dominion, Fern Hill, The Hunchback in the Park, etc.
3.	Lord Byron	Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Don Juan, She Walks in Beauty Like the Night, When We Two Parted, etc.
4.	Percy Bysshe Shelley	Ode to the West Wind, Prometheus Unbound, Adonais, The Cloud, etc.
5.	Rudyard Kipling	If, Gunga Din, The White Man’s Burden, Recessional, etc.
6.	Samuel Taylor Coleridge	The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan, Christabel, Frost at Midnight, etc.
7.	John Keats	Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, La Belle Dame sans Merci, To Autumn, etc.
8.	John Milton	Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, Lycidas, etc.
9.	Edgar Allan Poe	The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, Annabel Lee, The Fall of the House of Usher, etc.
10.	William Butler Yeats	The Second Coming, Sailing to Byzantium, When You Are Old, Easter 1916, etc.
11.	Christina Rossetti	Goblin Market, Remember, Song of the Three Holy Children, In the Bleak Mid-Winter, etc.
12.	Elizabeth Barrett Browning	Sonnets from the Portuguese, Aurora Leigh, The Cry of the Children, A Woman’s Lot, etc.
13.	Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson	In Memoriam, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Crossing the Bar, Ulysses, etc.
14.	Geoffrey Chaucer	The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, The Parliament of Fowls, The Book of the Duchess, etc.
15.	John Donne	Holy Sonnets, The Flea, Death Be Not Proud, For Whom the Bell Tolls, etc.

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