The Top 10 Best Poets

Who is the best poet of all time? Well, the answer may differ depending on who you ask. There have been many tremendous poets throughout history, and the best thing of all is that they are still being talked about and read today. While many people have their own opinion on who the best poet is, I have devised my own list. Here are my top 10 best poets:

10. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Known for his transcendentalism and the poem “Nature,” which is an absolute work of pure beauty, Emerson’s soft-spoken yet crisp original words place him at the top of the list.

9. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Aside from being that poet dude with the big beard, Longfellow is also known for his poem, Paul Revere’s Ride, The Song of Hiawatha, and being the first American to translate Dante’s Divine Comedy.

8. Lord Byron

Byron is one of those people whom you’ve probably heard of but have no idea how talented he was. He was during the Romantic movement and wrote many love poems, including “She Walks in Beauty”.

7. John Keats

Keats was also a writer during the Romantic Movement and wrote many love ballads and poems. While he died at age 25 of illness, his poetry would go on to be well-received and popular long after his death.

6. Langston Hughes

A personal favorite of mine, Hughes was one of the best poets of his generation. His sometimes hidden or straightforward way with words or his simple 6-line poems, Hughes was quite a remarkable man and poet.

5. Robert Frost

“The Road Not Taken,” in my opinion, is not only a great poem but a great metaphor and inspiration for life. Frost is one of the best rhyming poets and tells a story in his poems.

4. Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was one of the best modern poets of her generation. She was real, raw, and sometimes controversial with her poems, but they told of her life and others, and they made an impact.

3. Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson may be one of the most popular and well-known poets, but in real life and during her life, she was depressed and a bit of a recluse, spending months upon months in her room. It’s no wonder her words are so strong and still known today.

2. Edgar Allan Poe

I know what you're thinking: how is Poe only number 2 on a list of poets that I made? Well, to be honest, I wasn’t going to include him because of his horror and story writing, but I cannot deny that Poe was a heck of a poet. His stories, which he told in poetic form, and his dark tales are still loved by many.

1. William Shakespeare

A bit surprised, are you? Shakespeare wrote sonnets, ballads, and lyrical poems, but he has to be number one because he created his own words, his language, and his own structure in poetry. To not put him at one would be blasphemous. Shakespeare wrote love poems, told dramatic stories, and could spin even the simplest thing into a thing of beauty.

Have you signed up for my newsletter yet? You’ll receive 3 books free!