What are some good Halloween poems?


Quick Answer

Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven," Robert Herrick's 1648 poem "The Hag" and Shakespeare's poem "The Witches' Spell" from his 1606 play "Macbeth" are all classic poems that are strongly associated with Halloween. Robert Burns' 1785 poem "Halloween" is a classic poem that is specifically about the Halloween celebrations of the peasantry in the west of Scotland.

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Full Answer

Poe's "The Raven" is narrative poem about a raven that pays a mysterious visit to a man who is distressed over the death of his beloved, Lenore. To the man's surprise, the raven can speak the one word "Nevermore" and says it seemingly in response to the man's question about whether or not a reunion with Lenore is possible. The man eventually sees this curious raven as an evil presence come to taunt him.

Herrick's "The Hag" describes a witch who is flying through the night with the devil. Shakespeare's "The Witches' Spell" is in Act IV, Scene I of "Macbeth." The three witches of the play contribute lines to the poem listing the foul items they are adding to the brew they are making in their cauldron. Several times, they repeat the now classic lines "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."

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