Why is Poetry Special?

What is special about Poetry?

What makes a thing special is that it is hoisted up on a pedestal; it means that something is held above the ordinary—a higher line than what is usual or what is plain. The curious matter about holding things with such pronounced regard is that it is purely subjective; although without taking away anything from the fact. It lies solely in the eye of the beholder and that is what makes it unique. Poetry is special because the magic lies in both the poet and the reader. Poetry is, above all, personal.

Poetry Is Special Because It Is a Unique Language

Poetry on its own is a style of writing that is unique in its language and rhythm that positions together words in delightful combination, almost to a fault, in order to communicate an idea or an emotion. This process of communicating through words in a rhythmic flow serves either with particularity and purpose or even without. It wields great power to a poet to be able to construct a piece with an anticipated effect. However, there is just enough freedom to choose for a poem to have no ostensible meaning at all—to him, that is. They may be mere ramblings, a seemingly nonsensical mishmash of words or syllabus. But to the reader, it has the potential become so much more.

Poetry Is a Form of Expressive Communication

Poetry as a form of communication is taken as a passing on of knowledge or of experiences. A poet, more often than not, writes from his own melting pot of emotions or experiences. This may be something he has experienced firsthand or not, it does not really matter. It imbibes wisdom upon all those who read it because it takes a part of the poet’s life and passes it on. It is an embodiment of one’s own experiences and perceptions of the entirety of the cosmos and all those who live in it.

Poetry Creates a Connection To The Soul

Poetry is special because it serves a conduit of one’s soul. In all its beauty and simplicity, it morphs into a vessel of feelings, of thoughts, and of struggle. All this the reader takes in and with only a few lines of verse. The vocabulary used is meant to be more mysterious in its aura, leaving much more to the reader’s imagination and context. In a way, there is so much more to be said when one reads a poem as the lines are much more ambiguous than prose and yet as one goes farther, the more one sees what is there, albeit in subtext.

Poetry Exposes the Untold Mysteries

Mystery is integral to the experience of poetry. It brings an unparalleled depth into a poem, and consequently challenges its audience to visualize, to think, and to situate oneself there. What may be phrased in prose as an immediate image may take so much more time to unveil when written in verse.

The style of writing in prose is very straightforward and direct while poetry is playful in its attempt to dance with the mind. As humans, there is a tendency to dream in pictures, not in text. Our species perceives in picture and makes memories in picture, not in direct prose. That is why the best stories are told in person because it just would not seem quite as exciting talking about that hilarious mishap with the cashier at the grocery store without properly setting up a good visual.

Poetry Exposes The Invisible

What poetry does remarkably well is it takes the invisible, the intangible things and puts up a captivating visual in one’s head when all the eyes see are black-and-white letters on a parchment page. Poets have been touched by the divine with an ability to describe and convey color. What used to be just a sensible combination of words is now a picture in one’s mind—absolutely awe-inspiring. Poets as artists themselves have the gift of utilizing language as a tool to craft paintings or even movies in one’s head. All a reader has to do is be willing enough to read.

Poems usually mimic the effect the atmosphere in that of a night at the orchestra but minus the actual orchestra. The unique rhythmic flow of poems sounds melodic to the ear because it is, by its very nature, alike producing music with the use of words. Credit should be attributed to those who are capable to write well enough to produce a harmonious flow in their poems. This requires accuracy and precision with the choice of syllabic sounds without sacrificing the substance of the whole piece because the latter would evidently defeat the purpose. There are multiple elements that need to be polished and practiced in order to keep an instrumental ensemble running. There are string instruments and percussive instruments. It is the poet’s job to make sure that everything goes smoothly—much like the conductor in an orchestra. If it is well done, then surely it shall be called a success not only for the poet but for the delighted reader as well.

Poems Expose The Mysteries of life 

Poetry is extraordinary in its mystery which may seem detached and unyielding at times, however, it is an acquired taste that only gets better with the passage of time. Because poetry is written by the soul, it is befitting that it be read with the soul. It has always been a divine experience reading a poem. Although it makes use of something as commonplace as words, it manages to remain just a bit out-of-reach most times—as how most incomprehensible things in our lives are.

Poetry is already so special in its technicality as an independent style and form of art, however, it only seems even more beautiful in its absurdity. The fact that it is someway a clandestine rendezvous between the poet and the reader exclusive of essentially exchanging dialogue is a peculiar characteristic on its own. The poet cannot bear this secret with any other being out there at the moment. It is a secret only among us humans, and that is, in itself, beautiful. One can take something completely produced by another person, and in a weird way, make it one’s own. It is a shared experience between two people and can be as intimate as it can be. It is a tin-can-telephone-line conversation from a poet in the 1800s to a random teenager in the year 2020. 

Poetry Explains The Unknown

It does not take a rocket scientist to pronounce that most humans thrive in the absurd. For most of us, we desire for routine in our lives in the everyday, however, it grows harder and harder to sustain because there seems to be always a missing part—an instinctive thirst that refuses to be quenched. Perhaps it is high time that people acknowledge that our nature as a collective is to flourish in the unfamiliar, in the vagueness of life and time. And all our classes, our careers, our cars, and our houses are just things we use as anchors to remain grounded in reality.

Why Is Poetry Special Conclusion

Our hands will perpetually be reaching out for the mystery of getting lost in a book of poems. What is special about poetry is that it transports us to wherever we want to go, to however we want to feel, to whenever we want to exist—all with the magic of a single verse. It takes that one leap of faith to let it consume your soul but the rippling effects will surely last a lifetime.