Poetry is one of many oldest art forms in the world. For centuries, poets have used their words to evoke emotions, tell stories, and paint pictures. Today, poetry is more popular than ever. In fact, you will find entire movements and communities devoted to this beautiful art form. In this informative article, we'll take a brief go through the Poets of the world and some of the very most famous poets from around the world.
The Origins of Poetry
Poetry is considered to date back to around 2000 BCE. The initial known examples result from ancient Sumerian texts written on clay tablets. These ancient poems were mostly about mythological figures and animals. They certainly were meant to be recited or chanted aloud, not read silently.
One of the very 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 other parts of the world, including China, India, Greece, and Rome. Each culture developed a unique unique style of poetry. For example, Greek poets wrote in a meter called dactylic hexameter while Chinese poets used a form called shi that contained couplets with a collection quantity of syllables per line.
The Middle Ages
Through the Middle Ages, poetry evolved into what we now know as lyric poetry. This kind of poetry was often about courtly love or religion. Many famous medieval poems were written in Latin since that was 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 period, many poets began writing within their native languages instead of 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 from formal poetry toward more personal and emotive expression. This sort 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 because it encompasses this type 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.