Short Poems

Our Short Poems Collection highlights the power of poetry through titles that make an impact in few words. These bite-sized selections offer a convenient starting place for readers new to analyzing poetry or anyone who appreciates short-form verse and its ability to move and inspire.

To Autumn

by John Keats

Publication year 1820

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Death

Tags Science & Nature, Romanticism, Education, Education, British Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

... Read To Autumn Summary

Today

by Billy Collins

Publication year 2000

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Beauty, Order & Chaos, Hope, Love, Perseverance, Appearance & Reality

Tags Lyric Poem, Science & Nature

... Read Today Summary

To His Coy Mistress

by Andrew Marvell

Publication year 1681

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, Death

Tags Lyric Poem, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death, British Literature, Restoration, Education, Education, World History, Romance, Classic Fiction

“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell was posthumously published in 1681 as part of the collection Miscellaneous Poems. Marvell, a metaphysical poet, wrote this piece in Restoration England, probably after the English Civil War. Marvell’s canonical lyric works are well-known today but were unheard of during his lifetime. Like Emily Dickinson, none of Marvell's poems were published until after his death. However, some of his satirical and other prose works were published during his... Read To His Coy Mistress Summary

To His Excellency General Washington

by Phillis Wheatley

Publication year 1773

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Equality, Justice

Tags Classic Fiction, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Race & Racism, African American Literature

“To His Excellency General Washington'' was written in 1775 by Phillis Wheatley. The poem addresses George Washington following the commencement of the American Revolutionary War that year. At the time, Wheatley was writing in popular convention with a Victorian form praising poetry’s inherited forms. A striking dimension of the poem is its fealty to a slave owner, George Washington, by a woman who was still a slave at her time of writing and would remain... Read To His Excellency General Washington Summary