Poetry is an indescribable art. Poets themselves struggle to identify what exactly this craft is; from poets like Ben Jonson (a contemporary of Shakespeare) saying that poetry is “the craft of making” to Coleridge defining it as “the best words in the best order” to Gerald Manly Hopkins describing it as “speech framed . . . to be heard for its own sake and interest even over and above its interest of meaning.” The one thing that most can agree on is that poetry is foundational to the human experience. So, without further ado, here are a few noteworthy poets that Catholics, in particular, should be familiar with!

St. Ephrem the Syrian

One of the earliest well-known Catholic poets is St. Ephrem, a deacon who lived in the fourth century. He often wrote his homilies in metered verse and wrote many hymns, as well as beautiful prose works. His poem “On the Resurrection” is particularly relevant today as we continue to celebrate Easter. He writes, in part: 

“Whom have we, Lord, like you –
the Great One who became small, the Wakeful who slept,
the Pure One who was baptized, the Living One who died,
the King who bore disgrace to ensure honor for all!
Blessed is Your honor!”

St. Hildegard von Bingen

A beloved voice still today, St. Hildegard, living in the early 12th century, is known for her mysticism, craft, and scientific knowledge and observation, which set her poetry apart from her contemporaries. For example, in her poem “O Viridissima Virga,” she draws on imagery from the liturgy and nature to depict Mary, in contrast to Eve: 

“Hail, O greenest branch,
sprung forth in the airy breezes
of the prayers of the saints.

So the time has come
that your sprays have flourished:
hail, hail to you,
because the heat of the sun has exuded from you
like the aroma of balm.

For the beautiful flower sprung from you
which gave all parched perfumes
their aroma.”  

Dante

There can be no list of Catholic poets without the inclusion of Dante Alighieri, the famous Italian author of the Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy has been studied and translated and interpreted without end in the intervening centuries since its inception. It is considered by some to be the greatest work of all time and is often compared to a medieval cathedral in its logical and breath-taking beauty, and perhaps because of this reputation, it is also passed over by many as too overwhelming or academic to be read by a mere average person. If you, dear reader, fall into this camp of thinking, allow me to recommend Jason Baxter’s “A Beginner’s Introduction to Dante’s Divine Comedy,” which will lead you through this work, much as Virgil led Dante himself, allowing you to come to the full appreciation of images such as: 

“Those eyes so loved and reverenced God,
now fixed on him who prayed, made clear to us
how precious true devotion is to her;

then she looked into the Eternal Light,
into whose being, we must believe, no eyes
of other creatures pierce with such insight.”

for now my vision as it grew more clear
was penetrating more and more the Ray
of that exalted Light of Truth Itself“ (Paradiso 33)

St. Robert Southwall

St. Robert Southwall, who lived in the late 16th century, lived a life in hiding as a clandestine Jesuit priest during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. After eventually being arrested and tortured, he died a martyr. The dangers and suffering he underwent in his life-long journey towards unity with God alongside his deep and abiding devotion are present in his work:

“  "Alas!" quoth he, "but newly born, in fiery heats I fry,
    Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I!
    My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns,
  Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns;
  The fuel Justice layeth on, and Mercy blows the coals,
  The metal in this furnace wrought are men's defiled souls,
  For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good,
      So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood."
      With this he vanish'd out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
      And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.” (The Burning Babe)

St. John of the Cross and John Donne

In the 16th century, there were two poets who started on similar paths but ultimately diverged. Both shared the name of John and a Catholic upbringing: Spanish poet St. John of the Cross and the English poet John Donne. John Donne was born to a recusant family in England, meaning that his family refused to follow the Church of England after the Reformation and instead remained Catholic. He ultimately became a cleric of the Anglican church as an adult. John Donne is now considered to be one of the most prominent metaphysical poets and much of his work is truly beautiful and profound, but be warned that some of his work does reflect anti-Catholic views. He is best known for his sonnet “Death be not Proud,” but my favorite of his work is from his sonnet “Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay:” 

“That not one hour I can myself sustain;

Thy grace may wing me to prevent his art,

And thou like adamant draw mine iron heart.”

The other John, St. John of the Cross, did not suffer the tragedy of leaving his Faith, but suffered greatly for his love and devotion to the Lord. He entered the Carmelite order as a young man and, after meeting St. Teresa of Avila, devoted himself to the work of reforming the order. For this, he was imprisoned and tortured by his fellow monks, a suffering which led to many of his mystical experiences that overflowed into his works. Perhaps his most famous work is his poem “The Dark Night of the Soul” which includes profound lines such as:

“O, guiding night;

O, night more lovely than the dawn;

O, night that hast united

The lover with His beloved,

And changed her into her love.”

Francis Thompson

A late Victorian English poet, Francis Thompson drew deeply from the Romantic movement. He merged rich imagery and unique use of language as he wrestled to reconcile his own struggles with the hope that his Faith sustained him with. A feeling of almost frantic spiritual searching pervades most of his work and the universality of this experience is what keeps his work relevant today. His most famous work, “The Hound of Heaven,” is firmly in this vein: 

“I fled Him down the nights and down the days; 

I fled Him, down the arches of the years. 

I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways 

Of my own mind.”

Gerard Manly Hopkins

Fr. Gerard Manly Hopkins lived a short life at the end of the 19th century, but the briefness of his life has not prevented him from being remembered as one of the greatest poets of the Victorian era. He influenced the rise of free verse in the modern era by his invention of “sprung rhythm,” which is a metrical system “composed of one- to four-syllable feet that start with a stressed syllable” (Poetry Foundation). It was intended to incorporate dynamic variations and more closely sound like spoken language as opposed to the more formal sound of the popular iambic pentameter. It is used in much of his work, including his most famous poem, “As Kingfishers Catch Fire,” which ends in these lines:

“Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men's faces.”

G. K. Chesterton

Finally, let us end with one of Catholicism’s most prolific writers in recent memory. Although perhaps more famous for his essays and non-fiction rather than his poetry, G.K. Chesterton’s first published books consisted of poetry and he remains a prominent early 20th century poet. He wrote hundreds of poems, including The Ballad of the White Horse, an allegorical epic poem about King Alfred the Great’s victory over the Danish. His poems span the same vast array of topics as his prose essays, all written with his characteristic wit, nimble turn of phrase, deep faithfulness, and clear-headedness. “Gloria in Profundis,” a poem on the Incarnation, brings to life what a shock this great mystery should be for us: 

“Who is proud when the heavens are humble,
Who mounts if the mountains fall,
If the fixed stars topple and tumble
And a deluge of love drowns all-“

This is only a small sampling of these poets' work; hopefully, you have found a new favorite or been reminded of an old favorite and are now savoring the beauty of their language as it elevates your soul!