POETRY AND ITS DEFINITIONS

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INTRODUCTION

In this article , you will learn the basic considerations in the study of poetry. As indicated in the preceding article , poetry is considered the most ancient among the four major literary genres. Therefore, we must begin by recognizing it as a form of literary expression with defining qualities like imagination, creativity, suggestiveness, or indirection, serving as a mirror reflecting an individual's perception of life experiences. Generally, these qualities apply to both oral and written forms of poetry, but the mediums of expression and transmission differ significantly. Nevertheless, both manifestations of poetry share identical content, form, and effect. In other words, despite the apparent differences between these forms of poetry, their sources and end purposes are rooted in the emotions and imagination of the writer on one hand, and the reader or audience on the other. They convey significant truths about the human condition, employing a language deliberately adorned with figurative expressions. This will become clearer as we define poetry, setting it apart as a distinct genre of literature.

MAIN CONTENT

The impulses responsible for the creation of poetry, whether oral or written, are as varied as individual differences and life situations. However, three main motivations are generally discernible by critics:

• - Imitative (Mimetic): The innate human instinct to imitate, observable even in young children and monkeys.
• - Aesthetic/Emotional: The natural pleasure of recognizing effective mimicry, which led Aristotle to label poetry as "an imitative art."
• - Musical: The instinct for tune, music, and rhythm as means of expressing and giving vent to emotions.

These motivations generally apply to the consideration of other literary and even plastic art forms, but they assume greater significance in the study of poetry, as in the type covered in this course.

To illustrate the workings of these impulses, consider the following scenario encapsulating the three principles listed above, which should be familiar to you. For many, your initial exposure to poetry likely occurred through the imitative sounds in lullabies sung by your mother or elder siblings. Even though you may not have understood the lyrics, the occasional incorporation of common sounds of birds and other animals, along with well-placed repetition of words and sounds, likely had a calming effect on you. As you grew up, you probably applied this method to soothe your younger ones, experiencing the imitative content and their pleasing effects as rudiments of the poetic instinct carried into adulthood.

In lullabies, inherent imitation, music, and beauty/emotions are present. These utilitarian songs and practices demonstrate that poetry has always been with us as human beings.

Nevertheless, this course specifically focuses on written poetry. We shall define poetry as a written form, yet, due to common origins, it shares similar properties with its oral antecedent.

What is Poetry?

Since poetry holds different meanings for various people, we won't provide a single definition at this point. Instead, we'll explore numerous available definitions. The implication is that there isn't one standard definition of poetry that can satisfy all opinions. Instead, an aggregated definition encompassing aspects of popular views or definitions representative of various critical approaches to literature might be the most sensible approach. These perspectives consider fundamental concepts and words such as composition, words and their arrangement, expression, emotion/feeling/passion, perception, thought, rhythm, imagination, etc.

Definitions of Poetry:

1. "Poetry is the language that tells us, through a more or less emotional reaction, something that cannot be said. All poetry, great or small, does this." - Edwin Arlington Robinson.

2. "I would define poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty. Its sole arbiter is taste. With the intellect or with the conscience, it has only collateral relations. Unless incidentally, it has no concern whatever either with duty or with truth." - Edgar Allan Poe.

3. "Poetry is the imaginative expression of strong feeling, usually rhythmical...the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility." - William Wordsworth.

4. "The proper and immediate object of Science is the acquirement or communication of truth; the proper and immediate object of Poetry is the communication of pleasure." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

5. "Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the best and happiest minds." - Percy Bysshe Shelley.

6. "An actual poem is the succession of experiences - sounds, images, thoughts, emotions - through which we pass when we are reading as poetically as we can." - Andrew Bradley.

7. "...the rhythmic, inevitably narrative, movement from an overclothed blindness to a naked vision." - Dylan Thomas.

8. "If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold that no fire can ever warm me, I know that it is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that it is poetry." - Emily Dickinson.

From the above definitions or explanations of what poetry is, as mentioned earlier, it's evident that there cannot be a single comprehensive definition to accommodate the various opinions and schools of thought about the genre. While it's not accurate to judge one definition as superior to another, each has its emphasis, placing it within the broader literary and creative debate over content, style, and effect.

Edgar Allan Poe's conception emphasizes style or form over content and effect, while both William Wordsworth and Edwin Arlington Robinson focus more on content and effect, reflecting their English and American Romantic pedigrees. Emily Dickinson's idea of poetry, with its essential criterion being the effect it has on her and the reader, deserves particular attention. In a final analysis, one cannot fault any of these definitions, considering the special interests and period fascinations that shape them.

Besides the individual emphases noted in the definitions above, it's important to observe the occurrence of common words and phrases such as emotions/feelings, rhythm/rhythmical, truth, pleasure, imaginative expression, language, etc. These highlight the protean nature of poetry, making it susceptible to diverse interpretations, akin to the proverbial blind men defining the elephant.

Finally, we may attempt a definition that distills the various elements of the explanations so far: Poetry is a form of composition in verse, especially one expressing deep feelings or noble thought in rhythmic and generally beautiful or embellished language, written with the aim of communicating an experience. This definition encapsulates the essential elements of the genre of poetry (imagery, rhythm, sound, and diction).

CONCLUSION

Poetry, the oldest of the major literary genres, has been an integral part of human traditions throughout the ages. It has manifested in various human ritual activities and served as a means of entertainment during traditional festivals. Despite its long history, perpetual occurrence, and significant role in human activities, poetry remains challenging to define as it resonates differently with different individuals.

SUMMARY

In this article , you have explored numerous definitions and explanations of poetry as a literary genre. While a common definition has not been established, as evidenced by the diversity of examined samples, we have provided a definition that incorporates the major strands of various explanations common to different traditions and periods of literary history.

REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Holman, C. Hugh (1972). A Handbook to Literature. Indianapolis: Bobbs-

Merrill.

Reeves, James, ed. (1972). The Poets’ World. An Anthology of English Poetry. London: Heinemann.