The birth of poetry

 

 

 

The birth of poetry.

 

Before the advent of the written word.

When all knowledge was passed on orally.

then history relied on memory.

Men had to memorise all that they heard

Perhaps this was the birth of poetry.

The tribal elders found they could recall

in simple rhyming verses best of all.

Easily committed to memory.

Long, long before recorded history.

The elders chose and trained one man to be

The current guardian of their legacy

 of knowledge they had garnered carefully.

When all knowledge was passed on orally

Then history relied on memory.

 

Mythic Sonnet

 devised by Derek Lee

 Iambic pentameter

Rhyme pattern

 abba

cddc

effe

 the first rhyming couplet bb

repeated as the ending

 Poetic piers

http://blog my space.com.poetic piers

12-May-08

Reviews

[Jo Anna Bella]

Thank you for giving poetry 'its start'. I travelled to Hawaii recently and it's refreshing that your poem so eloquently encaptures how humans captured history. I also have friends from the West Coast of Africa, where the people still hold great reference for the 'griots', storytellers who still recite oral history.

This poem reads well and it is concise and I adore the title.

[Helena]

I loved this insightful poem Ivor. What you say is true.....many, many cultures relied on
word of mouth, including our Australian Aborigines and are indeed still teaching
their young people so their "Dream Time" is never forgotten.

Also many ancient cultures boasted of brilliant poets, no doubt as you said, being
borne from remembered stories handed down each generation and thank goodness
they did!

I really loved where you went with this. Well done!

Helena