Narratives
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy (in Italian, Divina Commedia, or just La commedia or Comedia) is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri in the first deca…
The Island
Written late in his career, Byron's narrative poem The Island tells the famous story of the mutiny on board the Bounty, and follows the muti…
Venus and Adonis
Venus and Adonis is Shakespeare's narrative poem about the love of the goddess Venus for the mortal youth Adonis, dedicated partly to his pa…
The Rape of the Lock
The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope, first published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellany in May 17…
Evangeline
Evangeline is one of Longfellow’s most popular poems and was once a great favorite with the American people. For many years almost every sch…
The Courtship of Miles Standish
During the late nineteenth century and until the middle of the twentieth, many elementary classrooms in America featured (along with a Gilbe…
The Lays of Ancient Rome
The Lays of Ancient Rome comprise four narrative poems comprised by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay: recalling popular episodes from Roman hi…
Samson Agonistes
“The Sun to me is darkAnd silent as the Moon,When she deserts the nightHid in her vacant interlunar cave.”Milton composes his last extended …
The Lord of the Isles
In stunning narrative poetry, the story begins during the time when Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick has been hunted out of Scotland into exile…
The Wanderings of Oisin
This narrative poem is composed in three parts, and consists of a dialogue between the aged Irish hero Oisín and St. Patrick. Oison r…
The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp
The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp is an autobiography published in 1908 by the Welsh poet and writer W. H. Davies (1871–1940). A large part…
The Raven
Poe’s famous narrative poem and the author’s reflections on its composition. (David Wales)
Balder Dead
The poem begins with the beloved god Balder, thought to be invulnerable, dead at the hands of the inoffensive blind god Hoder, in a game. L…
The Lay of the Last Minstrel
An aging minstrel seeks who hospitality at Newark Castle and in recompense tells a tale of a sixteenth-century Border feud. In the poem, Lad…
Dymer
This is a narrative poem written by C.S. Lewis, begun in his teen years and published when he was a tutor at Oxford. It appeared in print un…
Casey at the Bat
Casey at the Bat is a celebrated poem that captures the spirit of baseball and the drama of a pivotal moment in a game. Set in a small town,…
The Ring and the Book
The Ring and the Book is a masterful narrative poem by Robert Browning that delves into a sensational murder trial in 17th-century Rome. Thr…
Sohrab and Rustum
A young soldier born among Tartars but sired by the mighty Persian lord Rustum, serves in the Tartar army, seeking his great father. To this…
The Bridal of Triermain
Scott's The Bridal of Triermain is a rhymed, romantic, narrative poem which weaves together elements of popular English legend using dramati…
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a lengthy narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. It was published between 1812 and 1818 and is de…