The dictionary definition of poetry is, according to Princeton literature in metrical form, which essentially means that it is considered in need of some sort of beat or rhythm. The other definition from the same source is any communication resembling beauty or the evocation of feeling. Clinically correct these definitions might be but in the view of the author they fail to capture the one core essence that defines poetry, which is the heart and soul of the poet and the individuals who read their work.

Although a different genre to fiction work, poetry has the same basic distinguishing feature, namely that it is personal opinion that brings out its special unique qualities. For example, if I write a verse and it is read by many people the responses will be diverse. Some will not be moved by it, while others may not even consider it to fall within the category of a poem. However, these same words will reach into the soul of a few readers and create waves within their emotions that could evoke smiles, tears, joy or thoughtfulness.

Nevertheless, it is at this point that the similarity between poetry and a novel end. Whatever our opinion about a novel, even if we do not like its content we will still consider it to be a novel. However, as was explained in the previous paragraph, the response to poetry is not like that. If the words of a verse do not move the reader, to them it is not, nor every will be, a poem. What some may find surprising is that the responses of all the readers mentioned above are right. To those whose souls the words do not touch the verse is not poetry but to those that it does move it will be.

The other major area of divergence between poetry and a novel, apart from the fact that the poem is, to a significant effect autobiographical, is its intimacy. Within a novel the characters and the words, however much of the writer they contain, have a large element of fictional attributes. The poem is different. The poem contains parts of the writer's spiritual being. Thus when you read my verse you are experiencing a deep part of me.

Finally, poetry is an expression of introversion. The words of the verse are from within me and reveal an emotion and depth of feeling that either cannot or will not be allowed to become vocal in any other manner. For example, the words of a love poem will be an outpouring of the soul within my heart, words that I would be unlikely to be able to express in any other format, such as speech or openly in a social gathering.

In conclusion therefore, poetry can only truly be defined as the electric connection that exists between the words, their meaning and the soul of the person. No two people will grasp its meaning, rhythm, flow and spirit in the same way but what they will understand is the, as Princeton suggests, the beauty and feeling behind the words. Additionally, perhaps no reader will every truly grasp the writer's meaning of the words unless they have intimate knowledge of the writer.

Learn more about this author, Paul Lines.
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