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Greatest Poets of All Time
decorulez97The Top Ten
1 William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is the most successful poet I have ever loved and read about. He is of course the best.
Definitely number 1
Obvious
This list is wrong there is one poet in the Sindhi language namely Shah Abdul Lateef bhitai I think he is the number one in the world, and also you didnot mention Allama Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib in this list
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2 Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American ...read more.
Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American ...read more. Very sadly underrated. An outstanding poet of great fascination and great poetry.
I literally laugh out loud'd when I saw Tupac on this list - let alone being at number 1! Edgar Allan Poe's style may be too much for some people to comprehend but if you can understand it, the reward is amazing. He must have put a ton of effort into getting you to sympathize with his characters. He never asked you to feel any sympathy. You just did.
He is so underrated. His poems are dark and mysterious and so interesting - Randomator
Tupac above Poe? What has happened to this world?
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3 Saadi
The greatest of all time!
Saadi is the Great Iranian Poet. His lyrics are the best.
All of persian grammer is made but his hands.
Fantabulous he is...
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4 Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. ...read more.
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. ...read more.
5 Maya Angelou
6 Dante
Durante degli Alighieri, simply called Dante (c. 1265 – 1321), was a major Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature.
Durante degli Alighieri, simply called Dante (c. 1265 – 1321), was a major Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. To suggest that dante singularly stands over and above every other poet in history would be an understatement.
Read Dante,he is the master of us all.
Greatest poet of all times.
He had the ambition to show humanity how to obtain salvation. And he fulfilled it greatly.
The greatest
7 William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).
William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798). He should be number 1. His poems are natural and real
Arguably the best poet that came out of the Romantic Era. Tintern Abbey is fantastic. If you haven't read it, please stop what you're doing and enjoy a masterpiece.
8 Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi is a poet with an epic story called Shahnama which is superior to Homer's Illiad and Odyssey. It's such a pity that such great poets are unknown just because they are not European.
He saved the Persian language. Otherwise, the Iranians would speak Arabic like Egyptians who became Arabic.
What a poet for ever
9 Rumi
He is the greatest of all the time
Rumi is undoubtly the greatest and universal poet of world!
He is best
Without a shadow of a doubt he is far greater than Shakespeare and other poets... I agree.
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10 Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet . Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts . ...read more.
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet . Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts . ...read more. Perhaps the single greatest. only Shakespeare is a near contender.
The Contenders
11 John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), written in ...read more.
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), written in ...read more. Men that see are blind. Blind men do see.
12 E. E. Cummings
Greatest of all time
13 Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was one of the most popular and critically respected American poets of the 20th century, he was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.
Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was one of the most popular and critically respected American poets of the 20th century, he was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. �A poetry is not measure with fine figment of fantasy or cognitive creativity in form of phrases, though a poetry is purely measured with true stature of sympathy and simplicity and this man is the greatest example of it"
14 John Keats
John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his work having been in publication for only four years before his death.
John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his work having been in publication for only four years before his death. The best!
For me he is number1
15 Homer
The Greek poet Homer was born sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BC, possibly somewhere on the coast of Asia Minor. He is famous for the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, which have had an enormous effect on Western culture, but very little is known about their alleged author.
The Greek poet Homer was born sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BC, possibly somewhere on the coast of Asia Minor. He is famous for the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, which have had an enormous effect on Western culture, but very little is known about their alleged author. This list is unbelievable... Not a single French Poet... And Virgile, Byron and Dickinson behind Tupac... COME ON!
16 Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore FRAS, also written Ravīndranātha Thākura, sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Rabindranath Tagore FRAS, also written Ravīndranātha Thākura, sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Superb poet. Being a Bengali I'm proud of myself that I read those stuffs he wrote in Bengali and English also
His spiritual poems are out of the world...
RABINDRANATH TAGORE IS THE WORLD number 1 GREATEST POET OF ALL TIME. HE IS THE FIRST MAN OF ASIA CONTINENT WHO WIN THE NOBEL PRIZE AT 1913 IN BENGALI LITERATURE. SO HE IS THE REGARDED WORLD'S POET AND MULTIPURPOSE KNOWLEDGE. SO HE IS THE number 1 RANKING POET IN THE WORLD.
Tagore certainly deserve the 1-3 spots
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17 Charles Baudelaire
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (April 9, 1821 – August 31, 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. ...read more.
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (April 9, 1821 – August 31, 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. ...read more. Les Fleurs du Mal
And Rimbaud?
18 William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age.
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. He was a great man.
he was a reference to satan in john milton's paradise lost
19 Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was an American rapper and actor born on June 16, 1971 in East Harlem, New York. Tupac sold over 75 million records worldwide and has been referred to in multiple major publications such as Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music artists of all time. 2Pac was ...read more.
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was an American rapper and actor born on June 16, 1971 in East Harlem, New York. Tupac sold over 75 million records worldwide and has been referred to in multiple major publications such as Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music artists of all time. 2Pac was ...read more. What a hopeless list - Ananya
This list is totally ruined, nothing makes sense - Ananya
Ya sure the others on this list may be good, but Tupac did twice the work they did. He wrote eloquent poems, that rhymed better than any actual poets poems, and he made it sound good. He also talked about stuff that reflected on world issues
A VERY GREAT POET AND RAPPER HE WAS
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20 Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet-diplomat and politician Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973), he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet-diplomat and politician Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973), he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.
21 Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (6 June [O.S. 26 May] 1799 – 10 February [O.S. 29 January] 1837) was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature.
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (6 June [O.S. 26 May] 1799 – 10 February [O.S. 29 January] 1837) was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. How is 2Pac surpassed Pushkin? Pushkin should be top 5. Shows that some teenager, who doesn't know anything about literature and poetry, made this list
Best poet of all time. He should be in top 1 - pruvet
22 Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet who is known for his influence on modern literature and arts, which prefigured surrealism.
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet who is known for his influence on modern literature and arts, which prefigured surrealism. At young age opened the world's flowers and scnatched the un-snatched. Mix of words and limitless imagination/fantasy are just speechless.
I will always choose Rimbaud when asked to name the greatest poet of all time.
23 Anatole France
Anatole France, born François-Anatole Thibault (16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924), was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. ...read more.
Anatole France, born François-Anatole Thibault (16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924), was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. ...read more.
24 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and ...read more.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and ...read more. Very underrated!
25 Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron (later Noel), 6th Baron Byron, FRS, (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was an Anglo-Scottish poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement.
George Gordon Byron (later Noel), 6th Baron Byron, FRS, (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was an Anglo-Scottish poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement.
26 Hafez
One of the Greatest Minds of it's time, way ahead of his Era, his beautiful work has been translated in almost ll languages. HAFEZ, the famous lyric poet of Persia in the fourteenth century, is sometimes called the Persian Anacreon.
The poet speaks to you
Hafez is eternal but only if you know Persian
27 Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He is mostly known for being the secondary lead vocalist and bassist of Pink Floyd.
George Roger Waters is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He is mostly known for being the secondary lead vocalist and bassist of Pink Floyd. Best lyricist ever. And music is poetry. Waters needs to be up there - ryanrimmel
28 Fuzuli
29 Till Lindemann
Till Lindemann is a German singer, songwriter, musician, actor, poet, and pyrotechnician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.
Till Lindemann is a German singer, songwriter, musician, actor, poet, and pyrotechnician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.
30 Victor Hugo
Victor Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. Hugo is considered to be one of the greatest and best-known French writers. ...read more.
Victor Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. Hugo is considered to be one of the greatest and best-known French writers. ...read more.
31 Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine (8 July 1621 – 13 April 1695) was a famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French ...read more.
Jean de La Fontaine (8 July 1621 – 13 April 1695) was a famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French ...read more.
32 Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian poet, philosopher, essayist and philologist. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the most radical and challenging thinkers of the 19th century.
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian poet, philosopher, essayist and philologist. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the most radical and challenging thinkers of the 19th century. Amazing! The greatest poet from the greatest country.
My love. Giacomo è il migliore.
33 T.S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM, (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965) was an American-born British essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic, and one of the 20th century's major poets.
Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM, (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965) was an American-born British essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic, and one of the 20th century's major poets. Heavyweight lines.
34 Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley (4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets, and is regarded by some as among the finest lyric, as well as epic, poets in the English language.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets, and is regarded by some as among the finest lyric, as well as epic, poets in the English language.
35 Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, author, and artist who has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, author, and artist who has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.
36 Francesco Petrarca
Francesco Petrarca, commonly anglicized as Petrarch (July 20, 1304 – July 20, 1374) was an Italian scholar and poet in Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Renaissance.
Francesco Petrarca, commonly anglicized as Petrarch (July 20, 1304 – July 20, 1374) was an Italian scholar and poet in Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Renaissance.
37 Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus, usually called Horace (December 8, 65 BC – November 27, 8 BC), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian).
Quintus Horatius Flaccus, usually called Horace (December 8, 65 BC – November 27, 8 BC), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian).
38 Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer.
39 Sergei Yesenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin, sometimes spelled as Esenin (3 October [O.S. 21 September] 1895 – 28 December 1925), was a Russian lyric poet. He is one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century.
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin, sometimes spelled as Esenin (3 October [O.S. 21 September] 1895 – 28 December 1925), was a Russian lyric poet. He is one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century. Best poet ever!
40 Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744) was an 18th-century English poet. He is best known for his satirical verse, his translation of Homer and for his use of the heroic couplet. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare. ...read more.
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744) was an 18th-century English poet. He is best known for his satirical verse, his translation of Homer and for his use of the heroic couplet. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare. ...read more.
41 W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923.
William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923.
42 Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine (30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle (turn of the century) in international and French poetry.
Paul-Marie Verlaine (30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle (turn of the century) in international and French poetry.
43 Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84 – 54 BC) was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote in the neoteric style of poetry, which is about personal life rather than classical heroes. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.
Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84 – 54 BC) was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote in the neoteric style of poetry, which is about personal life rather than classical heroes. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.
44 Lucretius
Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the epic philosophical poem De rerum natura about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which is usually translated into English as On the Nature of Things.
Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the epic philosophical poem De rerum natura about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which is usually translated into English as On the Nature of Things.
45 Callimachus
46 Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright.
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright.
47 Alfred de Musset
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist. Along with his poetry, he is known for writing the autobiographical novel La Confession d'un enfant du siècle (The Confession of a Child of the Century).
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist. Along with his poetry, he is known for writing the autobiographical novel La Confession d'un enfant du siècle (The Confession of a Child of the Century).
48 Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé, whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé (18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Cubism, Futurism, Dadaism, ...read more.
Stéphane Mallarmé, whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé (18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Cubism, Futurism, Dadaism, ...read more.
49 Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician (but mainly keyboardist) and record producer, best known as the founder, leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He also studied jazz and classical styles.
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician (but mainly keyboardist) and record producer, best known as the founder, leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He also studied jazz and classical styles.
50 Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil (October 15, 70 BC – September 21, 19 BC), was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period.
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil (October 15, 70 BC – September 21, 19 BC), was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period.8Load More
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