The best examples of examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry

Before we talk craft terms, let’s walk into a story.

A sailor wanders into an old wedding feast and stops a guest with a wild look in his eye. He starts talking about a cursed ship, a dead crew, and a nightmare journey through ice and fog. By the end, the wedding guest walks away “a sadder and a wiser man.”

That’s Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” in a nutshell, and it’s one of the best examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry working together: character, plot, conflict, setting, theme, and a haunting narrative voice.

Narrative poetry is built on those same elements you’d find in a short story or novel, just compressed into lines and stanzas. The magic happens in how those elements are woven into rhythm, imagery, and sound. Let’s walk through concrete, real examples of how poets actually do this.

Plot and structure: examples of how narrative poems move like stories

If you’re looking for examples of examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry, plot is the easiest place to start. Narrative poems don’t just describe; they move.

Take “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. The poem follows a classic story arc:

• A dashing highwayman rides to the inn to see Bess.
• Soldiers arrive, set a trap, and tie Bess up with a gun at her breast.
• Bess sacrifices herself to warn him, firing the gun to alert him.
• The highwayman, driven by grief and rage, rides back and is shot down.

There’s a clear beginning, middle, and end. Rising tension. A tragic climax. You could almost storyboard it like a film. That’s a textbook example of narrative structure inside a poem.

Another strong example: “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. On the surface, it’s a funny baseball poem. Underneath, it’s a tightly controlled plot:

• The team is losing; hope is almost gone.
• The crowd dreams of Casey, the star, coming to bat.
• Two weaker players somehow get on base.
• Casey steps up, full of swagger… and strikes out.

The plot twist at the end is pure storytelling. The poem sets up expectations, then flips them.

Modern poets still rely on plot. Spoken word pieces you hear at poetry slams often follow a narrative arc: setup, conflict, emotional peak, and resolution. The Poetry Foundation notes that performance poetry frequently uses narrative to connect with audiences who might be new to poetry (poetryfoundation.org). That arc is one of the best examples of how storytelling elements keep people listening.

Character: real examples of people you remember after the poem ends

Character is another place where you can see clear examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry.

Think about “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. The speaker is alone in his room, grieving. The raven appears and perches above the door, repeating one word: “Nevermore.” We never get a full backstory, but the character is vivid: lonely, obsessive, spiraling into despair.

In “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, the Duke is technically just talking about a painting, but every line reveals something about him: jealous, controlling, dangerously calm. That’s dramatic monologue as narrative poetry, giving you character through voice and subtext.

More contemporary examples include:

• Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen” (often categorized as lyric essay/poetry hybrid). Many sections follow recurring “you” and “I” figures in everyday racist encounters. Each vignette builds character through reaction and silence.
• Rudy Francisco’s spoken word poem “Scars/To the New Boyfriend” (widely shared on YouTube). The speaker becomes a full character through his mix of vulnerability, humor, and protective love.

These are real examples of how character in narrative poetry doesn’t need long descriptions. A few key actions, a handful of revealing lines, and suddenly you know this person.

Setting and atmosphere: examples of worlds built in a few lines

Strong narrative poems drop you into a place fast.

In “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the ocean is almost a character itself. Coleridge gives us ice “as green as emerald,” a “silent sea,” and a ship stuck in a windless hell. The setting isn’t just background; it shapes the plot and the mariner’s mental collapse.

In “The Highwayman,” Noyes repeats “the road was a ribbon of moonlight” and “the ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas” to turn a simple inn yard into a cinematic, almost supernatural landscape. The setting amplifies the romance and the danger.

For a modern example, look at Warsan Shire’s work (her poems were heavily featured in Beyoncé’s Lemonade). In pieces like “Home,” the setting of war-torn cities and refugee journeys is sketched in sharp, unforgettable images—enough to support a whole narrative in a few stanzas.

These are some of the best examples of examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry where setting isn’t filler; it’s a force that pushes the story forward.

Conflict and stakes: examples include love, war, identity, and injustice

No story lives without conflict, and narrative poetry is no exception.

Classic examples include:

• “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: The conflict is literal war. The poem follows a doomed cavalry charge, capturing both the external battle and the internal tension between duty and survival.
• “The Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall: A mother forbids her daughter from marching in the Civil Rights Movement, sending her to church instead. The conflict between safety and activism ends in tragedy when the church is bombed (based on the real 1963 Birmingham church bombing). This poem is a powerful example of narrative poetry intersecting with U.S. history.

More recent narrative poems often center conflict around identity, race, gender, and mental health. For instance:

• Ocean Vuong’s work in Night Sky with Exit Wounds frequently tells stories of family, war, and queerness in Vietnam and the U.S. The conflicts are layered: cultural, generational, personal.
• Andrea Gibson’s spoken word pieces often tell first-person stories of queer love, illness, and trauma. The stakes are emotional but feel physical.

These real examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry show how conflict can be political, personal, or both at once.

Theme and message: examples of what narrative poems are really about

Underneath all the plot and character, narrative poetry usually carries a theme—the deeper “aboutness.”

Take “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson. It reads like a small, eerie story: the speaker rides in a carriage with Death and Immortality, passing through scenes of life. The theme is mortality, but the treatment is oddly calm, almost polite. The story structure makes the abstract idea of death feel like a quiet journey.

In “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, the narrative is tiny but sharp: a group of pool players bragging about skipping school, staying out late, and living fast. The last line, “We / Die soon,” slams the theme into place. It’s a micro-narrative about youth, risk, and consequence.

Modern narrative poems often tackle themes like:

• Migration and displacement (Warsan Shire, Ilya Kaminsky)
• Climate anxiety and environmental collapse
• Digital life, loneliness, and social media

For instance, contemporary poets in journals like Poetry and The Kenyon Review increasingly use narrative poems to explore climate change through specific stories—families losing homes to wildfires, communities facing drought, kids growing up under constant climate warnings. Narrative makes the abstract data feel human.

If you’re collecting examples of examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry for teaching or study, tracking how theme shows up through story is one of the most revealing angles.

Voice and point of view: example of how perspective shapes the story

Voice is where narrative poetry gets personal. Who’s telling the story, and how do they sound?

In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot, the speaker is anxious, self-conscious, and constantly second-guessing himself. The poem doesn’t follow a straight plot, but it’s still narrative: a psychological journey through one man’s evening and his inability to act. The first-person voice is the engine.

Another classic example of point of view is “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” which uses a frame narrative: an outside narrator introduces the wedding guest, then the mariner himself takes over the storytelling. That layered POV makes the tale feel like a legend passed down.

In modern spoken word, first-person voice dominates. Performers like Sarah Kay and George Watsky often use “I” and “you” to pull listeners into very specific stories—childhood memories, awkward first loves, messy family dynamics. The intimacy of voice is one of the best examples of how storytelling in narrative poetry connects with live audiences.

We’re also seeing more second-person narratives (“you”) in contemporary poetry, especially in work about trauma or systemic injustice. That choice can make the reader feel implicated or invited in, depending on the tone.

Form, rhythm, and repetition: when structure becomes part of the story

Even though we’re talking storytelling, form still matters.

Ballads like “The Highwayman” use a strong, regular rhythm and repeated phrases to mimic oral storytelling traditions. You can almost hear someone reciting it by a fire. The repeated refrains (“The highwayman came riding—riding—riding—”) create suspense and musicality.

In “The Raven,” the repeated word “Nevermore” isn’t just a spooky catchphrase. It structures the whole poem, marking each emotional beat in the speaker’s breakdown. That’s a clear example of an element of storytelling in narrative poetry where repetition functions like a chorus in a song, anchoring the narrative.

Contemporary narrative poems sometimes break traditional forms but still use structure as storytelling:

• Long, breathless lines to mimic a rant or panic attack.
• Short, clipped lines to suggest shock or numbness.
• Stanza breaks that jump across time, like jump cuts in a film.

Online and social media poetry trends (Instagram, TikTok, Substack newsletters) have also encouraged shorter narrative pieces—micro-stories in verse. Many 2024–2025 poets are experimenting with serial narrative poems released in parts, like episodic TV, keeping readers hooked over time.

These are modern examples of examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry evolving with new platforms while still relying on timeless story instincts.

Real examples: classic to contemporary narrative poems to study

If you want concrete, real examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry, here’s a set of poems worth reading closely:

• “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge – long-form adventure, supernatural elements, frame narrative.
• “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes – romance, sacrifice, cinematic setting.
• “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer – humor, irony, crowd psychology.
• “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe – psychological horror, repetition, atmosphere.
• “The Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall – historical event, mother–child relationship, moral conflict.
• “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks – ultra-short narrative with massive impact.
• “Home” by Warsan Shire – migration, war, and belonging through narrative images.
• Selections from Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen” – everyday racial narratives in hybrid poetic form.

Reading these as stories—not just as poems—gives you some of the best examples of how plot, character, conflict, and theme show up in verse.

If you teach, you can pair narrative poems with short stories or even news articles about the same topics. For instance, pairing “Ballad of Birmingham” with historical accounts of the 1963 bombing from sources like the National Archives (archives.gov) helps students see how poetry retells real events.

2024–2025 trends: how narrative poetry is changing

In the last few years, several trends have given us fresh examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry:

• Hybrid forms: More poets are blending memoir, essay, and poetry. Books like these often contain narrative poems that read like flash nonfiction with line breaks.
• Digital storytelling: Poets on TikTok and Instagram share narrative poems as short videos, often telling a story straight to camera while lines appear as text. The storytelling element is front and center.
• Social justice narratives: Narrative poems about Black Lives Matter protests, immigration, climate disasters, and public health crises continue to appear in journals and anthologies. They function almost like emotional archives of recent history, echoing how earlier narrative poems captured wars and civil rights struggles.

Universities and organizations like the Academy of American Poets (poets.org) regularly feature narrative poems responding to current events, showing how this form stays relevant in 2024 and beyond.

FAQ: common questions about examples of storytelling in narrative poetry

Q: What are some good examples of narrative poetry for beginners?
If you’re new to the form, start with “The Highwayman,” “Casey at the Bat,” “The Raven,” and “We Real Cool.” They’re clear, memorable, and packed with examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry—plot, character, conflict, and theme are all easy to spot.

Q: Can free verse still count as an example of narrative poetry?
Yes. The presence of a story matters more than rhyme or meter. Many contemporary free verse poems tell clear narratives—think of Ocean Vuong, Warsan Shire, or Claudia Rankine. If there are characters, events, and some sense of change over time, you’re looking at a narrative, even without formal rhyme.

Q: What’s one example of a short narrative poem I can teach in a single class?
Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool” is a standout example of a short narrative poem. In just eight lines, it sketches characters, hints at setting, builds conflict, and delivers a devastating ending. Another very short option is “Ballad of Birmingham,” which tells a complete, emotionally powerful story in a compact form.

Q: How do I write my own narrative poem using these elements?
Start with a small story: a specific moment, memory, or scene. Identify your character, setting, and conflict. Then draft it as if you’re writing a short paragraph of prose. After that, break it into lines, focusing on vivid images and strong verbs. Read narrative poems on sites like Poetry Foundation (poetryfoundation.org) or Poets.org (poets.org) to see real examples of how other writers handle line breaks and pacing.

Q: Where can I find more real examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry?
Check out online archives from organizations like the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets, and university literature departments (for example, many English departments at U.S. universities host public-access poem collections on their .edu sites). These sources regularly publish narrative poems that respond to current events, giving you up-to-date examples from 2024–2025.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: narrative poetry is just storytelling with a different set of tools. When you look for plot, character, setting, conflict, theme, and voice—the classic story elements—you’ll start seeing them everywhere in poems. And once you can spot those, you’ll have your own growing library of examples of examples of elements of storytelling in narrative poetry to learn from, borrow from, and eventually, to add to with your own work.