The Human Gift: an Introduction to the History of Poetry

Poetry is thought to be the oldest form of human artistic expression. When asked to describe poetry, the writer Jorge Luis Borges once said, “Poetry is something that cannot be defined without oversimplifying it. It would be like attempting to define the color yellow, love, the fall of leaves in the autumn.”

Perhaps, in an oversimplified way, it can be best described as a deliberate arrangement of language in a way that compels someone to think and reflect. Poetry pre-dates the written word and recorded information, so we cannot really say when it began. It could be as old as mankind. The earliest forms of poetry were rhymes that were used as a mnemonic device, which means they helped assist people in remembering things. In a time before writing, a lot of knowledge was passed down to children through word of mouth, things like people’s family tree, how to hunt, or how to build shelters. This is known as the oral tradition. The first recorded poem, the one we have a written record of, is The Epic of Gilgamesh, the ancient Sumerian tale of creation and heroism. More familiar perhaps are Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, the ancient Greek tales of the Trojan War and its heroes and villains. Poetry, like humanity, has evolved as societies developed and shaped themselves. Once written language was invented, poetry flourished as an artistic expression.

From Homer to Harlem and Beyond

The Greek word poetes means “maker.” The ancient Greeks were fond of poetry, and the most Western poetic traditions can trace their roots back to ancient Greece. The Greeks used poetry to recall their own ancient histories and to catalog their creation myths, the pillars of their religion. Homer was not the original author of The Iliad or The Odyssey, but they are attributed to him since he was the first to write them down. Poets were revered in ancient Greece, and as a symbol of their importance they would be crowned with laurel wreaths, which is where the term “Poet Laureate” comes from, a title that is still given to poets around the world today as a mark of respect. The Romans adopted Greece’s love of poetry, but after the fall of the Roman Empire, poetry in Europe largely declined in favor of religious texts. Meanwhile, poetry flourished in the Middle East and North Africa as well as in India, China, and Japan.

In 16th century England, William Shakespeare began to write his first sonnets. The Bard, as he was popularly known, revived the tradition of poetry in the English language. His sonnets, now known as Shakespearean Sonnets, contained 14 lines comprising three quatrains (four-line stanzas) with one rhyming couplet (two lines of verse). The sonnets were written in iambic pentameter, a type of rhythm, with ten syllables in each line, with the emphasis on the second syllable of each couplet. Shakespeare’s poetry is still read and recited today. His revival of English-language poetry marked a stark departure from the religiously influenced poetry of the Middle Ages, and started a trend that moved towards expressions of love, philosophy, and nature.

After Shakespeare came the Romantics. The Romantics mainly wrote during the late 1700s and the early 1800s. Among them were Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, John Keats, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Coleridge. Romantic poetry was revolutionary for its time. It focused on feeling and emotion, and how the poet saw themselves and their worlds. Its use of flowery, superfluous language is sometimes regarded as uptight and stuffy today, but was a remarkable embrace of human spirit at its height.

American poets redefined the artform throughout the 19th century. The Transcendentalist movement is the name given to a time when poets began to discuss the inherent goodness in human beings in their work. They rejected the old puritanical idealism of the individual in favor of the spirit of community. The themes in their work sought to capture peace and divinity in the everyday, as well as the beauty of nature. This was at a time when the United States was relentlessly pushing West through a series of bloody wars and forced resettlement. Henry David Thoreau, one of the most prominent Transcendentalists, was imprisoned over his refusal to pay taxes that supported the Mexican-American War. Transcendentalism became a defining American poetic tradition, with renowned writers like Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and many others among their ranks.

After the First World War and the Great Migration, creativity and intellectualism flourished in the predominantly-Black neighborhood of Harlem, in New York City. Art, music, philosophy, literature, and poetry exploded during this era, which is now known today as the Harlem Renaissance. Alain Locke, the first African-American Rhodes Scholar and a contemporary of the Harlem Renaissance, called it the “spiritual coming of age” for African-Americans. Genre-defining poets like Langston Hughes, Claude McKay and Georgia Douglas Johnson are closely associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Their work often featured themes of Black pride, community, beauty and resilience among African-Americans. This was all at a time when many African-Americans were only a generation or two removed from slavery. Jean Toomer’s Cane, an experimental book that was part drama, part poetry and part fiction, is considered one of the most important works to emerge from this period.

The destruction of World War Two and the invention of atomic weaponry soured the mood of the new post-war generation of American poets known as “The Beat Generation.” This period is loosely described as lasting from the end of World War Two to the Vietnam War era. The Beats, or “Beatniks,” cloistered themselves mostly in New York City and San Francisco. While they were a small group, their work became some of the most influential poetry in the English language. Influenced by the freeform-style of jazz, the Beats refused the traditional rhyming schemes of English-language poetry. They experimented with words and language, and focused on meaning and understanding over things like rhyming and alliteration. Poets such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Kerouac, and Diane Di Prima focused on free expression and a less conventional attitude redefined what it meant to be a poet in America. However, the most prominent Beat poet was Allen Ginsburg. Ginsburg’s 1955 collection of poetry, Howl, was critical of the consumer and hyper-militant culture of post-war America. Ginsburg and his fellow Beats changed the thinking and attitudes of millions of young Americans who felt equally dissatisfied with the state of the world and their country.

The Digital Fire

Poetry in the 21st century has absorbed and learned from the poetic traditions of thousands of years. Slam poetry, for instance, embraces the rhyming tradition that was foundational to poetry, and uses it to convey messages of importance, just as our ancestors did. Poets like Naomi Shahib Nye, Maggie Nelson, Ocean Vuong, Joy Harjo, Ada Limón, and Claudia Rankine defy the traditional structured forms as the Beats did, but like the Transcendentalists and the Harlem Renaissance writers, they also embrace the spirit of resistance, optimism, and bravery. Their work, focusing on injustice, community, and the failure of the American Dream has spoken to the experiences of millions.

Poetry has never been more accessible than it is today. Many amateur poets have found a voice on social media, and the more established figures have their poems widely accessible online thanks to organizations like The Poetry Foundation. The light of the digital fire burns bright — what stories with ancient lineages will you learn while huddled around it? Whatever you learn, remember it, keep it guarded and sacred – poetry is the most human of gifts.