Poetry has been a foundational element of literature and storytelling throughout history, sharing timeless tales while emphasizing feelings, ideas, and expressions through literary patterns. Catering to verbal and written aesthetics, poetry has no limits to the form it takes or how it is shared. Cultural movements and artistic interpretations of how poetry is created and presented have woven their way through time. Poets and literary composers have explored the power of poetry through the isolation of emotion alone, using language to illustrate everyday woes as momentous world events. Per Writer’s Digest, it calls greater attention to certain issues and connects those who may feel resonation or identity with a certain piece. Poetry, in its raw essence, is a powerful tool for humanity.
The creative industry has been blessed with infinite possibilities and ideas to choose from when looking for inspiration. True-to-life events, novels, music, stage performances, myths, and original concepts have undergone a cinematic transformation that has immortalized themselves on the silver screen. Poetry is another form of inspiration that has served as a backbone for encouraging filmmakers to reimagine time-old work into something greater. While it may not be as insistent or obvious that poetry has overlapped into mainstream movie-making, it has cast a greater influence over popular titles that have long been praised in the public eye. Some movies have incorporated poetry into their storytelling or have positioned themselves around poets as a central protagonist, while others have chosen to use poems as a source of creative energy. They’ve understood the cultural importance — or the potential to be culturally important — of poetry and have provided certain works with a new platform. As poetry continues to influence cinema and appeal to rising filmmakers, here are the best movies based on poems, ranked.
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5 Beowulf
ImageMovers
An Old English epic, Beowulf celebrates the heroism of its titular Scandinavian warrior. The poem has been recognized as one of the oldest poems that fall into the European Epic genre since its emergence in the early 6th Century. Beowulf pits its courageous monster-slayer against unrelenting beasts and tests his strength against each. Crafting a fantasy tale with a deeper message of loyalty and bravery, the original manuscript remains to be preserved today, despite its first printed distribution in 1815. The events of the poem were recreated through an animated film released in 2007. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film follows the outline of the legend, middling modern means of filmmaking with new tactics of sharing age-old lore.
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4 The Nightmare Before Christmas
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
A direct riff on ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Tim Burton first pitched The Nightmare Before Christmas as a poem of his own design. The original work was presented to Disney when Burton was working as an animator and was condensed down to pivot around three characters: Jack Skellington, Santa Claus, and Zero. The poem shared a similar feel to The Nightmare Before Christmas and essentially aligns with what the cinematic adaptation achieved. The holiday-fantasy stop-motion animation blockbuster has outlasted as an eerie holiday classic that is still popularly beloved today. Burton was responsible for producing the film, and the musical score has been since performed by Danny Elfman before live audiences. The Nightmare Before Christmas has been looked to as a groundbreaking entry into the stop-motion medium that harbored a large following long past its initial release date. Without Burton’s original poem, Disney’s gothic cultural phenomenon would not be able to achieve its known cult status held today.
3 Mulan
Walt Disney Pictures
The Ballad of Mulan, or Poem of Mulan, is recognized as the oldest iteration of the heroine’s tale. Its composer remains to be unknown and historians suspect that its first telling dates back to 400 A.D. during the Northern Wei Dynasty era in China. Though The Ballad of Mulan was passed on from generation to generation through word-of-mouth, it was assumed that it was first recorded in writing during the time of the Tang Dynasty. The poem addresses the ongoing war in China and Mulan’s return home to her family after her time away in battle. It reveals that her fellow soldiers are surprised that Mulan is indeed a woman, and had not suspected such after spending a prolonged period of time fighting alongside her. The historical interpretation of The Ballad of Mulan is still debated on whether it reflects reality. Disney animated the poem, and Mulan was brought to new life through a creative vision that honored the tale. The Walt Disney Company attempted to loop The Ballad of Mulan into their catalog of work once again with its live-action Mulan that could not surpass the initial sentimentality of the animated original.
2 Braveheart
Paramount Pictures
The Wallace was a 15th Century romantic biographical poem that dedicated itself to retelling the events of Scottish Freedom Fighter William Wallace’s life. Blind Hary documented Wallace’s crusade as he navigated the Scottish Wars of Independence while tracing back his lineage. The Wallace is written out of great pride for Scotland and hails Wallace as a peacemaker three times over for the nation. Curiously enough, Blind Hary was proven to be blind and relied on John Blair as a scribe to portray Wallace as an honorable Scottish liberator. His patriotism and undying loyalty to Scotland bled through his work as his tales of Wallace revolved around his actions to reclaim the land. The poem was cinematically presented through the historical war drama Braveheart, which depicted Mel Gibson as Wallace. Braveheart aligns with the poem as it reminds audiences that Wallace was to be viewed as an icon and a leader that was instrumental in achieving Scotland’s freedom.
1 O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Coen Brothers took it upon themselves to embrace Homer’s The Odyssey. Homer’s work reflects on the aftermath of the Trojan War and Odysseus’s return home to his family. The Greek hero must make his way back to Ithaca as he fends off both physical and metaphorical foes during his journey. The original poem relates back to Greek mythology as Hermes is sent by Zeus to save Odysseus from Calypso’s imprisonment. Greek deities assist Odysseus in his quest back to Ithaca, and from there, he resumes his role in leadership over the land, and his life is secured once again. O Brother, Where Art Thou’s success as a musical comedy as three convicts escape their sentence and are determined to pursue their freedom. As they flee through the South, they are in search of treasure that is said to be on their path. The trio is faced with both sociopolitical, moral, and farcical challenges as they run from the grasp of the law. A Coen Brothers classic, O Brother, Where Art Thou? traces its beginnings back to Homer’s epic. It’s a bit more off-beat for a poetic adaptation, though refreshing for a comedy that reflects on tropes in American culture.
