10 Short Love Poems: The Power of Brevity in Expressing Love
Discover the beauty of short love poems and how they have evolved over time. Explore tips for writing short love poems, classic and contemporary examples, and the impact of brevity in love poetry.
Love is a feeling that has been explored in various forms of art and literature, and poetry is no exception. Brief love poems are one of the most powerful and enduring types of love poetry, yet it has been produced in many different styles and forms throughout history.
These poems are able to succinctly and effectively express a variety of feelings and sentiments while capturing the essence of love in just a few lines. To show the beauty and significance of this art form, we will examine the history of short love poems, offer advice on how to write them, and share both traditional and modern examples in this article.
The History of Short Love Poems.
Short love poems date back to ancient times when they were written on tablets and scrolls. In Greek literature, Sappho is credited with inventing the short love poem, also known as the “epigram.”
During the Middle Ages, troubadours in France composed short love poems called “chansons” that were set to music and sung to serenade their beloveds. In the Renaissance, Shakespeare popularized the sonnet form, a 14-line poem that often-expressed themes of love and romance.
Tips for Writing Short Love Poems.
Writing short love poems can be challenging; however, with a few pointers, anyone can produce exquisite and profound poetry. Start by concentrating on one particular facet of love, such its beauty, joy, or pain.
Consider using metaphors and similes to portray the feeling you want to convey as well as vivid imagery and sensory elements to help the reader visualize the story. In order to identify the line lengths and structures that work best for you, keep your poem short and basic.
Classic Short Love Poems to Know.
Classical short love poems are timeless masterpieces that have inspired generations of poets. “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a sonnet that expresses the depth and intensity of love, while William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” compares a lover to a summer’s day. Other classic short love poems include “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe and “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron.
Here are ten classic short love poems that are worth reading:
“How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints.
I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
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:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
"Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love,
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea) That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide,
I lie down by the side Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride, In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
“She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron
She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent.
“I Carry Your Heart With Me” by E.E. Cummings
I carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
I go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
I fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
I carry your heart(I carry it in my heart)
“When You Are Old” by W.B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
“A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns
O my Luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O my Luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve 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 luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ ’twere ten thousand mile!
“Love Is Not All” by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Love is not all:it is not meat nor drink
Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain;
Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink
And rise and sink and rise and sink again;
Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath,
Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone;
Yet many a man is making friends with death
Even as I speak, for lack of love alone.
It well may be that in a difficult hour,
Pinned down by pain and moaning for release,
Or nagged by want past resolution’s power
I might be driven to sell your love for peace,
Or trade the memory of this night for food.
It may well be. I do not think I would.
“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell
Had we but world enough and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love’s day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain.
I would Love you ten years before the flood,
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.
But at my back I always hear
Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found;
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long-preserved virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust;
The grave’s a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish in his slow-chapt power.
Let us roll all our strength and all
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Through the iron gates of life:
Thus, though we cannot make our sun Stand still,
yet we will make him run.
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe
Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair-lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.
The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each
May morning: If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.
Conclusion
An effective and impactful approach to convey love and affection is with a short love poem. Short love poems have evolved and inspired readers and writers alike from the earliest examples in ancient Greek literature to modern poets.
The advice and examples provided in this article can assist you in creating a lovely and significant short love poem that conveys the depth and complexity of this strong feeling, regardless of your level of poetry experience. In order to communicate your love in a way that is genuinely significant, use the power of brevity as you explore the beauty of short love poems.
Frequently Asked Questios (FAQs)
What are short love poems?
Short love poems are concise poetic expressions that capture the essence and intensity of love within a few lines. These poems leverage the power of brevity to convey deep emotions and are a popular form among both classical and contemporary poets.
How can I start writing love poems that are short?
To start writing short love poems, focus on a single aspect of love or a specific moment that captures your feelings. Use vivid imagery and concise language to express your emotions. Reading famous short love poems can also provide inspiration and a sense of how to structure your own poetic expressions.
Why are famous short love poems so impactful?
Famous short love poems are impactful because they distill complex feelings into a few poignant lines, making them easy to remember and deeply resonant. Their succinct nature allows for immediate emotional connection, often leaving a lasting impression on the reader.