I Hate Poetry

"I hate poetry."

I have heard this and similar comments from classmates, friends, and family members for about as long as I have been aware of the existence of poetic writing. There was probably a time when I, too, made the same declaration. Why do so many people hate poetry?

The first poetic problem is verse. "Verse," in writing terms, refers to words written in meter. "Meter" comes from the Greek μ?τρον (metron), meaning "measure," and refers to the rhythym used to "measure out" syllables in written or spoken verse. Back in the ancient world, it was common to hear travelling bards perform epic poetry (such as the Iliad or the Odyssey) in sung verse. In fact, meter was used in such epic ballads so that the bards were able to remember the lines by the stress of the syllables. Nowadays, however, we rarely hear anyone speak in verse. Popular music is perhaps the closest we come to this ancient tradition, though this is a weak comparison.

Because poetry is written in verse, the words that make up poetry are required to fit the specified meter. This causes lines to occasionally fall out of order, at least according to our prose-oriented minds. One line of poetry doesn't always make up a complete thought, and sometimes it takes several lines to even reach the main verb of a sentence. This is one of the reasons we frequently find poetry so hard to understand. Often one has to read the entirety of a poem to grasp the poet's line of thought, but sometimes several readings of a poem will still leave one in utter confusion.

The second poetic problem is language. Poets like to speak in metaphor. They like descriptive language that is often far beyond what we find in everyday speech. Poems can often be read both literally and figuratively, and if the reader misses one of these, he will never fully understand what he has read. Many poets, such as T.S. Eliot, have an affinity for symbolic language and references. They will refer to ancient mythology, Christian or cultic symbolism, and historical events. If the reader has no knowledge of such things, how is he to understand the poem?

The last poetic problem is beauty. Aquinas has three criteria for beauty: integrity, proper proportion, and splendor/clarity of form. Many people find it difficult to call poetry "beautiful." Why? Perhaps it is hard for us to see poetry as fitting these three criteria. Some poems do not seem to fit together, with varying meters throughout and shifting themes that don't seem coherent. These seem to lack any sort of visible integrity. If the verses vary enough in meter, the proportions of the poem can also seem to be incoherent and unintelligible. Both of these problems lead to the issue of clarity or splendor of form. Can such a poem truly reveal its form to us if we are unable to find any sort of integrity or proportion?

If poetry is so difficult to understand and perhaps not even truly beautiful, why has it lasted so long as an art form? What is the answer?

Poetry is a skill. It must be learned. Whether one seeks to read or to write poetry, this skill must be honed and tested until it is sharp enough to cut through the obscurity so that the true form of poetic art might be revealed. 

I was unable to appreciate poetry until I was taught the skill of poetic analysis. The analysis of poetry is not sterile or scientific. It involves a search for truth, beauty, and goodness in the work of the poet. One must learn how to understand the language of meter and metaphor, to do the necessary literary or historical research, and to have the patience to read over a piece of written verse over and over until the true beauty of the work is revealed. Once one is able to do this, even with one little poem, a whole new world of literature is opened. 

Poetry will always be difficult. It is not meant to be easy. As one finds reading Aquinas, other renowned philosophers and theologians, and even Scripture, sometimes the most beautiful truths are the hardest to understand. However, the reward is a great one indeed. To learn poetry is to learn a new language with which to speak truth and to describe the world. 

(For more on poetry and art in general, I highly recommend Aristotle's Poetics.)