By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Love poetry’ is a wide and varied thing, but perhaps of all the loves in the world, the purest and most valuable is unconditional love: love given without expectation of reciprocity, love that will endure no matter what.
But what are the best poems about this unconditional love which age cannot wither? Below, we introduce ten of the greatest poems which embody, pay tribute to, and explore the strong and rare bond which is unconditional love, whether the love given by a parent to a child, or to a beloved who will never return that affection.