The theme of a poem delivers the reader an underlying message that the writer wishes to convey through their work of poetry.
A poem can contain a single or multiple themes based on the story of the poem that it tells. The theme is an important part of any work of poetry or literature as it provides meaning to the story.
Related: Examples of Meters in Poetry
Follow the below list to learn different type of themes found in poetry or use them as poem theme ideas or topics for your next poetry.
Related: Iambic Tri, Tetra, & Pentameter Examples in Poetry
Poetry Themes for Poems-
Most of the themes in poetry are often similar to themes in literature but yet some themes fit well only for poetry. Below are the examples of common themes found in poems.
1. Love
2. War
3. Death
4. Nature
5. Beauty
6. Aging
7. Desire
8. Dreams
9. Coming of age
10. Destiny
11. Depression
12. Courage
13. Spirituality
14. Happiness
15. God
16. Friendship
17. Heartbreak
18. Imagination
19. Loss/tragedy
20. Memories
21. Mortality
22. Immortality
23. Marriage
24. Rebirth
25. Seasons
26. Sexuality
27. Religion
28. Secrets
29. Man and nature
30. Peace
31. Pain
32. Isolation
33. Eternity
34. Earth
35. Emotions
36. Faith
37. Fear
38. Grief
39. Forgiveness
40. Hatred
41. Afterlife
42. Myth
43. Art
44. Anxiety
45. Defeat
46. Heaven
47. Suffering
48. Joy
49. Life
50. Disappointment
51. Stars
52. Trust
53. Gender
54. History
55. Identity
56. Purpose
57. Regret
58 Encouraging
59. Opportunity
60. Music
61. Roses
62. Innocence
63. Moon
64. Mountains
65. Jealousy
66. Duty and responsibility
67. Supernatural
68. Circle of life
69. Man and masculinity
70. Sunshine
71. Change
72. Flowers
Related: Consonance in Poetry (Examples and Definition)
Examples of Themes in Poetry-
Below are examples of themes in poetry from popular poems of all time.
1. The Waste Land
By T. S Eliot
Major themes- Love, death, rebirth, history, lust/sexuality, water, religion, seasons.
Read ”The Waste Land” full poem here
2. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost
Major themes- Beauty, man and nature, desire, obligation, secrets, duty and responsibility, isolation.
Read ”Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” full poem here
3. Daddy
By Sylvia Plath
Major themes- Death, gender, oppression, power, history, myth, hatred.
Read ”Daddy” full poem here
4. The Raven
By Edgar Allan Poe
Major themes- Death, afterlife, memory, loss, supernatural, grief, madness, despair.
Read ”The Raven” full poem here
5. The Second Coming
By W.B Yeats
Major Themes- Violence, prophecy, meaninglessness, Christianity, Cyclicality.
Read ”The Second Coming” full poem here
6. Because I could not Stop for Death
By Emily Dickinson
Major Themes- Life and death, mortality, immortality, eternity.
Read ”Because I Could Not Stop for Death” full poem here
7. The Road not Taken
By Robert Frost
Major Themes- Choices, uncertainty, man and nature, indecision, individualism and nonconformity.
Read ”The Road Not Taken” full poem here
8. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
By T.S Eliot
Major themes- Love, anxiety, indecision, alienation, isolation, desire, modernity, disappointment, manipulation, time, aging, appearances.
Read ”The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” full poem here
9. If-
By Rudyard Kipling
Major Themes- Manhood, courage, man and masculinity, stoicism, defeat.
Read ”If-” full poem here
10. Ode to a Nightingale
By John Keats
Major Themes- Death, immortality, mortality, transience, art, nature, beauty, imagination.
Read ”Ode to the Nightingale” full poem here
