Poetry for Students

88 essential poems spanning 1,200 years of literary brilliance

Poetry distills the human experience into its most concentrated form—a single image, emotion, or truth that lingers long after the final line. This collection brings together the works that have shaped how we think about language, identity, and the world around us, from the 8th-century Chinese poet Li Bai to 20th-century voices like Langston Hughes and T.S. Eliot.

You'll encounter Edgar Allan Poe's haunting "The Raven," Emily Dickinson's radical experiments with form and meaning, and Robert Frost's deceptively simple meditations on choice and consequence in "The Road Not Taken." Walt Whitman celebrates American democracy and the individual self, while Hughes reclaims that vision with "I, Too, Sing America." From Shakespeare's timeless sonnets to Lewis Carroll's playful "Jabberwocky," from Shelley's crumbling "Ozymandias" to Wordsworth's field of daffodils—these poems reward close reading and spark endless conversation.

What makes these poems essential isn't just their literary significance. They tackle questions that matter now: Who am I? What do I believe? How do I live with integrity, loss, love, and injustice? Whether you're analyzing metaphors in a classroom or simply seeking words that capture what you feel, these poems meet you where you are and challenge you to see differently.