by Miranda Pierson

Created on: July 16, 2010

Society does need poetry. Poetry enables the written word to have a beautiful and symbolic quality, which prose alone does not always convey. The various forms of poetry help to display this aspect. While the written word states the details of an event, it is more concrete than poetry. Poetry has more of a tendency to be abstract. When an individual reads a poem, he or she may not always understand the exact message of the poem, however, there is usually more than one interpretation. The concrete quality of prose restricts the amount of interpretations. One of the most important components of literature is being able to interpret works in different ways, and to find the underlying theme. Because poetry has many formats and structural variations, people can find different meanings in the poems, and perfect their ability to analyze literature. Appreciating poetry is important, even for those who do not write or prefer to read poetry.

Society needs poets in order to prosper. If every piece of literature was only prose, and lacked the abstract quality of poetry, then it would be boring. Sometimes, when a person wants to convey a message, they do not always desire to word it in a traditional way. Some of the most humorous poems have a rhyme scheme, while other more serious poems are free form. By reading and writing poetry, people will be able to understand situations in other ways. Poetry enables people to be more open minded and accepting of different writing styles. Although poetry may not seem important, especially to those who do not understand it, this is no reason to believe that society does not need poets. Many people love poetry. The more one reads and tries to interpret different poems, the more one will begin to comprehend this truth.

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