The Art of Adoring Poetry

An introduction on how to understand and adore poetry

“Genuine Poetry can communicate before it is understood”

-T.S.Eliot, Dante

The above said quote is apt and true to the situation. The quote simply means that the topic of a poem can be felt or understood even before understanding the whole poem, which is very true because poetry, usually, makes us empathize with the theme of the poem. From the moment a person starts to read a poem, he can feel a storm of emotions inside him.

As a supporter of poetry and an aspiring poet, I have come across many people in my life who have repeatedly and in an unstinted way asked me the question: “Why do we read and write poetry?”, upon which I would seldom remain silent for a while and then to amuse myself and for the amusement of others I would answer to woo women, but in reality, we read and write poems to bring out the powerful feelings in human beings that have been long suppressed due to the distractions of everyday life. As one of the greatest poet in the history of poetry, William Wordsworth says in his Lyrical Ballads:

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotions recollected in tranquility”

Even though reading poetry brings out the suppressed emotions, there still remains a problem and that is “Why there is a need to bring out these emotions?” Such a difficult question, yet with a simple answer, which is emotions are what that make us human. Emotions make us feel, make us understand that we are living, that every breath we take in makes us every second older, that we are mortal, that one day we are going to taste sand.They make us understand that life is too short to be neglected or to be wasted.

The layman, takes his life for granted and poetry is the tool that reminds him of his existence. He experiences an awakening each time he reads a poem and these awakenings though last for a short period of time cling to his memory for eternity.

“When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

-John.F.Kennedy, speech Oct 16, 1963

There still remains a question “How to adore poetry?” Yet another difficult question but with simple answer. If you had followed me till here, on this stone trodden, rough road then you might have, by now understood that poetry is neither about Keats, Yeats, Pope and Byron nor is it about metaphors, similies or any other literary devices. Poetry is mainly about how you feel when you read a poem. Poetry is mainly about emotions, passion, beauty and all the other things that make us human. As well put by Percy Bysshe Shelly in A Defence of Poetry:

“Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.”

 

Now as I am nearing to the end of this article I would only like to say to all the budding poets in the country that however simple your poetry maybe, let it not be ordinary, because when the song of life plays on we all have to contribute a verse and it is up to us to think what our verse might be.

 

“Like a rose in the garden of Eden,

As it finds its path, as it finds its direction,

Thou’d lived, to wake up one day,

To find that the rose had withered away.”

-Rohin Vijayakumar

Reviews

[Kleio13]

I will share this quote for those who merely DO NOT understand poetry, when it's very simple: chrystallizing thought