Poetry is among the oldest art forms in the world. For centuries, poets have used their words to evoke emotions, tell stories, and paint pictures. Today, poetry is popular than ever. In reality, you can find entire movements and communities devoted to the beautiful art form. In this short article, we'll take a brief look at the Poets of the world and some of the very famous poets from around the world.
The Origins of Poetry
Poetry is considered to date back again to around 2000 BCE. The first known examples originate from ancient Sumerian texts written on clay tablets. These ancient poems were mostly about mythological figures and animals. These were meant to be recited or chanted aloud, not read silently.
One of the very most famous early poems is The Epic of Gilgamesh, which tells the story of a hero's journey. This poem was written in Mesopotamia around 1800 BCE and is recognized as among the oldest surviving works of literature in the world.
From Mesopotamia, poetry spread to the rest of the entire world, including China, India, Greece, and Rome. Each culture developed its unique design of poetry. As an example, Greek poets wrote in a meter called dactylic hexameter while Chinese poets used a form called shi that contained couplets with a collection number of syllables per line.
The Middle Ages
Throughout the Middle Ages, poetry evolved into what we now know as lyric poetry. This type of poetry was often about courtly love or religion. Many famous medieval poems were written in Latin since that has been the language of educated people at the time. One notable exception is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, that has been written in Middle English.
The Renaissance
The Renaissance was a period of great creativity, and poetry was no exception. During this time, many poets began writing within their native languages rather than Latin. This made their work more accessible to average people. Some of the most famous Renaissance poets include William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, and John Milton.
The Romantic Period
The Romantic Period saw a shift away from formal poetry toward more personal and emotive expression. This kind of poetry was often about nature, love, and loss. Famous Romantic poets include William Blake, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Keats.
Modern Poetry
Modern poetry is notoriously difficult to define since it encompasses this kind of wide selection of styles and subjects. However, one defining characteristic of modern poetry is so it often challenges traditional poetic forms and conventions. Some notable modern poets include T.S Eliot, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, E .E Cummings ,and Langston Hughes.