I remember, quite vividly, when as a young student, I read the poem ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ by Robert Frost in my text book. I fell in love with the poem and couldn’t help but read it over and over till I almost had the words carved into my heart. That is when I realised that I had a strong inclination towards poetry. As I grew up, I ventured deeper into this melodious world where once you enter, you just may lose your way out. Though finding the door to this world is easy, having the key to open the door takes a lot of mental effort.

This world has been created by people just like you and me; however, they had the talent of expressing what they felt in one of the most beautiful ways known to mankind; they wrote poems, and that is what made them special. Their works of art have inspired many and touched the hearts of generations for years.  In this article we will try to discover this world and the people who are a part of it.

William Wordsworth

Known as ‘the poet of nature’, his poems will make you fall in love with nature all over again. He belonged to a picturesque area of Cumberland, the influence of which is evident in his poetry. His famous works include “Daffodils” and “Tintern Abbey”.  His poems elevate you to a celestial level and make you forget everything around you for a while.

Shakespeare

I bet you didn’t see this coming, for I sure didn’t. Though we usually see Shakespeare as a drama writer, he is also an amazing poet.  He  was the avantequard poet of the sonnet genre by giving us his memorable 154 Sonnets. His other famous works include “A Fairy Song” and “A Lover’s Complaint.”  Of course, it is obvious that a man who wrote the heart-wrenching tale of Hamlet would undeniably have great poetic sense, too!

Robert Frost

The poet who sparked the flame in me! Robert Frost’s poems are easily relatable and easy to comprehend. He has won the Pulitzer Prize four times, so no wonder the critics love him, but his work is adored by the laymen, too.  His other famous works include “Fire and Ice” and “Dedication”. Though we find citations of nature in his poems, his poetry is usually about self discovery and self knowledge.

P.B. Shelley

Ah! He is among the most famous poets of the Romantic Movement. I still remember reading his poems and start daydreaming; that’s what his poems do. He is also considered the finest of the lyric poets. Though he is famous for his poems, he was also a dramatist and a novelist. His themes revolved around mythology and the power a human being has. His famous works include “Good-Night” and “Ozymandias”.

Lord Byron

Controversial and beautiful is what this poet is. His work is amongst the finest of the Romantic genre, and he was not afraid to be unconventional. If you want a break from the regularity, go for him. His poems catch attention. His famous works include “She Walks in Beauty” and “When We Two Have Parted”. This poet is definitely for the more adventurous minded people.

William Blake

Another one of our Romantics, this poet has managed to stand out because of his lyrics on innocence and how he has compared childhood to adulthood in his poems. This relationship is appealing and one can relate to his poetry.  A very difficult poet to understand, his famous poems are included in “Songs of Innocence and of Experience”.

John Keats

If you’re looking for a poet whose focus is entirely on all the gloomy incidents in life, then Keats is the poet for you. No wonder he died at 25. His poems are like a journey that helps you discover yourself. His famous works include “Ode to a Nightingale” and “When I Have Fears”.

Edgar Allen Poe

A little too dark for my taste, but an amazing poet, nonetheless. His famous works include “The Raven” and “A Dream within a Dream”. He is generally known for his brilliant short stories. His poem “The Raven” has been made into a movie starring John Cusack. His poetry can be best described as Goth. Definitely a good go with Keats.

T.S. Eliot

A poet whose work is hard to comprehend as it focuses on the complexities of human thought processes. Don’t expect to understand his writings in the first go. His work will make you think and force you to use intellect with emotions. That might be a good thing for some, but that is what makes Eliot special. His famous works include “The Hollow Men” and “The Naming of cats”.

Emily Dickinson

The list would never be complete without the Lady of English Poetry. She is one of the most inspiring poets, ever. Her poems revolve around the ideas of self struggle and individuality. Her poems are short yet evocative and thought provoking. It just makes me wish she had been appreciated in her time when women were not allowed to write publicly. Her work is soulful and beautiful and it should have been out there in her time. Her famous works include “There is Another Sky” and “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”.

Rumi

This philosopher had the ability to reach out to the hearts of eastern as well as the western world. According to a survey, he is the most widely read poet in America. His philosophy and work is universal and appeals to everyone in the world. His most famous work is the six volume poem “Spiritual Couplets”. Being a philosopher, his work has the charm to lure anyone in.

Ghalib

Though criticised for his lifestyle, one cannot deny the fact that the romantic work of Ghalib is a rare gem in this world of poetry. Famous for his ghazals, Ghalib’s work caters to the romantic part of our souls. His work is not easy to understand and can also be interpreted as mystic poetry along with romantic poetry.

Allama Iqbal

He is one of the most read poets of our region. His work is hard to interpret and is considered mystic and spiritual. His poetry has the power to ignite the motivational spark, something that majority of the poets here lack. I admire this quality of Iqbal’s poetry. He is believed to be a trendsetter for the modern sub continental poetry.

The world of poetry doesn’t end here. There are many other poets all around the world who have added different colours to make the world of poetry attractive and beautiful. Though we usually look at all the classic and modern age poets as being a huge part of it, there are many individuals besides them who paint in their ideas to make a beautiful canvas for us to cherish. With the passage of time, lifestyles changed, ideas evolved and in this modern age poetry is now in reach of the masses and strikes them in different ways. One of the famous ways is blogging. The blogosphere is full of beautiful poems just waiting there to be read. It’s like a sea full of insurmountable treasures of meaning, eager to be discovered. And if there is no dearth of poets, we see so many different and fascinating genres of poetry to amuse us like ghazals, haikus, ballads, sonnets, free verse, sijo, ruba’i, etc. Even the songs that we listen to and the rap songs all the hip hop fans love are considered to be a widely famous form of poetry. Thus, poetry is an essential part of our lives, whether we believe it or not. In the words of Charles Baudelaire “Any healthy man can go without food for two days – but not without poetry.”