Which Rodin work was originally titled The Poet?

Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker was originally titled The Poet.

Rodin conceived the figure for The Gates of Hell, a monumental project inspired partly by Dante’s Divine Comedy. In that setting, the seated man was understood as a representation of Dante contemplating the scenes below him. Rodin first called the figure The Poet because of this literary association.

The sculpture later became an independent work and acquired the title The Thinker. Its tense pose—chin resting on the hand, torso leaning forward, and muscles tightly engaged—made it seem less like a passive reader and more like a universal image of intellectual concentration.

The title change is a frequent source of confusion. The Poet describes the figure’s original role within The Gates of Hell, while The Thinker is the name used for the standalone sculpture and its many enlargements and casts.