Do you have a favorite love poem? My personal favorite is "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes, which is included on this list.
There have been many love poems written in the history of mankind, it's difficult to choose which ones can be considered the best of them. So here are fourteen that I think deserve the honor of being named one of the best love poems ever written in no particular order.
1) Love and Friendship by Emily Bronte
Love and Friendship is a beautiful poem that stirs the imagination and vividly paints a picture in your head. This is one of the many masterpieces of Emily Bronte, like Wuthering Heights. It is lovely yet abstract in a mysterious, entrancing way:
"Love is like the wild rose-briar,
Friendship like the holly-tree
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms
But which will bloom most constantly?
The wild-rose briar is sweet in the spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air;
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-briar fair?
Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now
And deck thee with the holly's sheen,
That when December blights thy brow
He may still leave thy garland green."
2) Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
In this brilliant poem, Shakespeare uses sensory detail and delicate, yet strong and eloquent words. Emotional and well-written, this is sonnet captures Shakespeare's essence well. Perfect for this category and list:
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day
Thou art more lovely and more temperate
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of may
And summer's lease hath all too short a date
Some time too hot the eye in heaven shines
And often is its gold complexion dimmed
And ev'ry fair from fair some time declines
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor loose possession of that fair thou ownst
Nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade
When in eternal lines thou growst
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee"
3) Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare
Another wonderful sonnet by William Shakespeare. This is one of his most famous and well-liked poems. The words are passionate and evoke strong emotions, which is what any good writer should try to do. Love is saturated in the words; it leaves the reader wondering if there was a real person inspiration.
"That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long."
4) A red, red rose by Robert Burns
This is a very romantic poem, and one of my many favorites. There really are no words for this besides romantic and sweet. As skilled writers do, Burns captured the subject completely and well. A lovely poem:
"O, my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my Luve's like a melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair as thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun:
I will love thess till, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run:
And fare thee well, my only luve!
And fare thee weel, a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' it ware ten thousand mile."
5) A divine rapture by Francis Quarles
This poem has to be one of the sweetest and effortless-sounding that I have ever read. That is unique in a poem, because the words are also powerful and mighty. These traits all roll up into one bundle in "A divine rapture."
"E'EN like two little bank-dividing brooks,
That wash the pebbles with their wanton streams,
And having ranged and search'd a thousand nooks,
Meet both at length in silver-breasted Thames,
Where in a greater current they conjoin:
So I my Best-beloved's am; so He is mine.
E'en so we met; and after long pursuit,
E'en so we joined; we both became entire;
No need for either to renew a suit,
For I was flax, and He was flames of fire:
Our firm-united souls did more than twine;
So I my Best-beloved's am; so He is mine.
If all those glittering Monarchs, that command
The servile quarters of this earthly ball,
Should tender in exchange their shares of land,
I would not change my fortunes for them all:
Their wealth is but a counter to my coin:
The world 's but theirs; but my Beloved's mine."
6) I am not yours by Sara Teasdale
"I am not yours" is an interesting poem with its unexpected story and message. It is unique for many reasons, but also because even at the end, you do not completely understand- which leaves the extra room for imagination. Every good poem should inspire imagination and this poem does the job:
"I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.
You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.
Oh plunge me deep in love - put out
My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
A taper in a rushing wind."
7) You left me, sweet, two legacies by Emily Dickinson
This list could not be complete without a poem by Emily Dickinson! Although she was best known for her poem "Because I could not stop for death," "You left me, sweet, two legacies" is still just as captivating and written in the same honest voice. I consider it to still be love song, but more like lost love, or longing or love:
"You left me, sweet, two legacies,-
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content,
Had He the offer of;
You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me."
8) Confession by Frantisek Halas
This is one of the few poems that are simple yet eloquent in its meaning. You can feel what the author must have been feeling and understand. This is a nice poem to read on a lonely day:
"Touched by all that love is
I draw closer toward you
Saddened by all that love is
I run from you
Surprised by all that love is
I remain alert in stillness
Hurt by all that love is
I yearn for tenderness
Defeated by all that love is
at the truthful mouth of the night
Forsaken by all that love is
I will grow toward you."
9) The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes
The Highwayman tells a tragic love story and immediately caught my interest with the use of repetition and excellent wording. When reading, I could feel the atmosphere and mood. The story that the poem tells itself is interesting and displays love in powerful ways, with the faithfulness, the sacrifice, and the unexpected and forbidden relationship between the highwayman and the innkeeper's daughter.
(Because of its length, it will not be posted here.)
10) Night thoughts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
This is a poem that can "understand" you and be a comfort to you when you are feeling down. Although relatively short, Goethe managed to put many thoughts and emotions into it:
"OH, unhappy stars! your fate I mourn,
Ye by whom the sea-toss'd sailor's lighted,
Who with radiant beams the heav'ns adorn,
But by gods and men are unrequited:
For ye love not,-ne'er have learnt to love!
Ceaselessly in endless dance ye move,
In the spacious sky your charms displaying,
What far travels ye have hasten'd through,
Since, within my loved one's arms delaying,
I've forgotten you and midnight too!"
11) A dream within a dream by Edgar Allan Poe
This was surprising to me despite the fact that I love Edgar Allan Poe's works desperately. As the "father of horror stories" and a man who was supposedly mad, this poem's gentler words and softer tone surprised me. However, there is still a touch of Poe that can be felt:
"Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?"
12) The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
This poem of lost love is so famous and liked that I couldn't help but having two of Poe's poems in one list. (The only other poet on this list with two poems is William Shakespeare) Edgar Allan Poe was the master at "forcing" you to experience the narrator's feelings and the atmosphere and tone. A masterpiece, indeed!
(Because of its length, it will not be posted here.)
13) The ragged wood by W.B. Yeats
This poem just about explains Yeats' heart and how he truly feels about things, which is an element that poetry should have: Honesty. This is just one of those poems that make you feel good- I would love for someone to read it to me:
"O hurry where by water among the trees
The delicate-stepping stag and his lady sigh,
When they have but looked upon their images -
Would none had ever loved but you and I!
Or have you heard that sliding silver-shoed
Pale silver-proud queen-woman of the sky,
When the sun looked out of his golden hood? -
O that none ever loved but you and I!
O hurty to the ragged wood, for there
I will drive all those lovers out and cry -
O my share of the world, O yellow hair!
No one has ever loved but you and I."
14) First Love by John Clare
A lovely, lovely poem about love. His emotions of discovering first love is innocent and describes something that you can easily relate to. His language inspires and evokes the confusing feeling of "First Love."
"I ne'er was struck before that hour
With love so sudden and so sweet,
Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower
And stole my heart away complete.
My face turned pale as deadly pale.
My legs refused to walk away,
And when she looked, what could I ail?
My life and all seemed turned to clay.
And then my blood rushed to my face
And took my eyesight quite away,
The trees and bushes round the place
Seemed midnight at noonday.
I could not see a single thing,
Words from my eyes did start -
They spoke as chords do from the string,
And blood burnt round my heart.
Are flowers the winter's choice?
Is love's bed always snow?
She seemed to hear my silent voice,
Not love's appeals to know.
I never saw so sweet a face
As that I stood before.
My heart has left its dwelling-place
And can return no more"
So there are your 14 love poems, all of which are brilliant and joyous to read. I hope that you find your new personal favorite.
Happy Reading!