| Poetry,
form of literature, spoken or written, that emphasizes
rhythm, other intricate patterns of sound and imagery, and
the many possible ways that words can suggest meaning. The
word itself derives from a Greek word, poesis,
meaning "making" or "creating."
Whereas
ordinary speech and writing, called prose, are
organized in sentences and paragraphs, poetry in its
simplest definition is organized in units called lines as
well as in sentences, and often in stanzas, which are the
paragraphs of poetry. The way a line of poetry is
structured can be considered a kind of garment that shapes
and clothes the thought within it. The oldest and most
longstanding genres for classifying poetry are epic, a
long narrative poem centered around a national hero, and
lyric, a short poem expressing intense emotion.
"Poetry
is the purification of the language of the tribe,"
wrote French poet Stéphane Mallarmé at the end of the
19th century. But 20th-century American poet William
Carlos Williams, just 50 years later, would call for poems
written in a language so natural "that cats and dogs
can understand."
|