You’ve just read a brilliant poem. The language sparkled, the images lingered, the last line knocked the breath out of you. But 10 minutes later, you’re trying to tell someone about it and you’ve forgotten the title, or maybe it didn’t have one to start off with.

Why?

Because a title isn’t just a label. A title is the poem’s introduction, first impression, framing device, handshake or trapdoor. A title is more important than the first and final lines.

 

A title frames the poem

Think of a title as a lens through which we read the lines that follow. A title can provide emotional tone, thematic context, or narrative grounding — sometimes all three. TS Eliot didn’t call his 1922 poem Sad Feelings or April Rain. He called it ‘The Waste Land’ — a phrase that invokes ruin, cultural desolation, and biblical echo. That title becomes the scaffolding the poem builds on. Without it, the opening line (“April is the cruellest month”) still intrigues, but the full landscape feels unanchored.

 

A title can create contrast or tension

Sometimes, the best titles pull in the opposite direction from the poem itself. Derek Walcott’s ‘Love After Love’ sounds romantic. But the poem is about reconnecting with the self after heartbreak, about pouring a drink for your own soul and saying, “Sit. Feast on your life.” The dissonance between title and subject matter deepens the reader’s experience.

Another example: ‘This Be the Verse’ by Philip Larkin. It sounds archaic and biblical, until the first line (“They fuck you up, your mum and dad”) pulls the rug from under you. The title works because it sets up a tension the poem exploits.

 

A title anchors the reader

Without a title, the reader may float unmoored through even the strongest imagery. A title gives the poem a name to live under. It becomes the poem’s calling card, or its slogan.

Think of how many poems are remembered by their titles: ‘The Road Not Taken’, ‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night’, ‘Still I Rise’, ‘Howl’. The title isn’t just packaging, it becomes the poem’s public identity.

 

A title can add a second voice

Some titles work almost like another character or narrator. They set up an expectation the poem fulfils or resists. In Tracy K Smith’s ‘The Universe as Primal Scream’, the poem contains no actual scream. Instead, the title creates a mood — existential, absurd, a little cosmic — and invites us to interpret the imagery through that lens. Done well, the title becomes a kind of ghost that haunts the rest of the poem.

 

What makes a great poem title?

Here are a few qualities that strong poem titles often share:

 

Memorability: They stick in your mind like a melody.

Tension or mystery: They hint at something deeper.

Specificity: They use concrete images or unusual phrasing.

Resonance: They do more than restate the poem—they amplify it.

Compare: ‘Love’ (flat and generic) with ‘How to Love a Dying Dog’ (immediately gripping and layered)

 

Avoiding common pitfalls

Some titles simply don’t pull their weight. Watch out for these:

Vague abstractions: Reflections, Thoughts, Time — these could be anything.

Redundancy: Don’t just repeat the first line unless it works as a separate idea. Overt explanations: If your title gives away the poem’s only surprise, rethink it.

 

How to find the right title

There’s no formula, but here are some strategies to try:

Literal description: Describes exactly what the poem is “about” on the surface. Example: ‘The Thought-Fox’ – Ted Hughes. A poem literally about a fox entering the mind, but also about inspiration and the act of writing. Effect: Grounds the reader in a concrete image that unfolds symbolically.

Metaphorical title: Uses metaphor to hint at emotional or thematic territory. Example: ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ – Philip Larkin. Refers to real weddings witnessed on a train ride, but also gestures at post-war British life, conformity, and fleeting happiness. Effect: Sets up a mood before the first line.

 

Title taken from the poem itself

Lifts a memorable or significant phrase from the poem. Example: ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ – Stevie Smith. A haunting phrase from the final line; gains power through repetition. Effect: Highlights the poem’s key metaphor and emotional punch.

Single word: Focuses sharply on one theme, object, or idea. Example: ‘Prayer’ – Carol Ann Duffy. The entire poem orbits this word, examining how small things offer grace. Effect: Bold, distilled—lets the poem do the heavy lifting.

 

A question

Poses a query that the poem will explore, evade, or deepen. Example: ‘Who’s for the Game?’ – Jessie Pope. A recruitment poem disguised as sport: it asks a question designed to provoke a response. Effect: Engages immediately; often rhetorical or ironic.

 

A statement or declaration

Asserts a tone or idea up front. Example: ‘They Flee From Me’ – Sir Thomas Wyatt. Sounds like gossip or complaint. Draws us into the speaker’s private world. Effect: Sets up voice and emotional perspective straight away.

 

An instruction or command

Tells the reader — or someone else — what to do. Example: ‘Remember’ – Christina Rossetti. A command full of pleading, resignation, and layered meaning. Effect: Creates intimacy or tension; may feel like a monologue.

 

A list or juxtaposition

Combines contrasting or paired ideas. Example: ‘Fire and Ice’ – While Robert Frost is American, British poets like Thom Gunn use this too: ‘My Sad Captains’. The tension between the elements in the title becomes the poem’s core. Effect: Suggests opposition, theme, or ambiguity.

 

Borrowed or allusive title

Quotes or references another work, time, or tradition. Example: ‘Jerusalem’ – William Blake. The title refers to a mythic idea of England’s spiritual potential, lifted from Blake’s own longer work. Effect: Adds weight, irony, or historical resonance.

 

Misdirection or irony

A title that deliberately misleads or softens a blow. Example: ‘A Minor Role’ – UA Fanthorpe. Sounds theatrical, even modest. The poem is about illness and social invisibility. Effect: Undercuts tone, adds poignancy.

 

Time or place

A setting becomes the frame.

 

When to title a poem

Some poets start with the title and write towards it. Others don’t name the poem until long after it’s done. There’s no right time but giving it space to emerge often leads to better results. Keep going till you find the right one.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

A title doesn’t have to be clever, poetic, or punchy — but it should be deliberate. It’s the invitation, the signpost, the spell. It’s the first poem the reader reads, even before the first line. So give your poems the names they deserve.

 

You might also find the following references helpful:

 

https://loft.org/writers-block-blog/beyond-placeholders-writing-poem-titles

https://www.thepoetrylab.com/resourcecenter/bridget-kriner/five-jobs-for-poem-titles

https://robinhoughtonpoetry.co.uk/2022/01/16/thinking-about-poem-and-book-titles/

https://ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk/features/matthew-sweeney-finding-a-title/

https://poetryschool.com/assets/uploads/2016/01/Tamar-Yoseloff-Titles.pdf

 

 

Rodney Wood lives in Farnborough and helps run Write Out Loud Woking, an open-mic poetry night he’s co-hosted for over a decade. In 2024, he went on a world cruise and wrote one short poem a day for 101 days. Since returning, he’s been revising the sequence and sending the poems out to magazines. His work often explores travel, memory, and the quiet strangeness of daily life. He’s the author of two pamphlets: Dante Called You Beatrice and When Listening Isn’t Enough