Poetry's irresistible appeal to humanity

by Nafeela Mukthar

Poetry, no doubt, is an artistic form that is beautiful. Why one may ask. Poetry appeals to the mind and by its very musical qualities goes right into the heart. It is retained in your memory than words of prose.

Poetry by its very form and charm has more to give you than material prospects, though there may be many who do not admit it. The poetic form of writing which has existed since time immemorial retains to hold on people's spirits, feelings and mind. Poetry gives you a wise understanding of personal experiences. Different poets may use or have used different techniques.

Khalil Gibran	William Shakespeare

We need to understand whatever the mode the poet uses. He is of the kind who is more alive to situations than the ordinary man, not only with the private world of emotions, the sadness and excitement of life, but also with the outside social, political and upheavals too.

He develops his poetic faculty through understanding, contemplation and by keenly looking at the world outside him and by feeling in his senses that are alive to the wonder and sadness of life. As a result the reader is exposed to a nature at peace and harmony even sympathy. That is why we can definitely say that poetry is beautiful.

Poetry does not stop only with invoking such a medley of emotions, light and dark. It has its simple but valuable uses too. Poetry by its tuneful, colourful verse and imagery helps us to remember and recall the truths explained. It's not exactly so with prose where you have to grope and struggle to recall; even though some greatest prose is poetic!

Techniques

There are different techniques used by different poets in keeping with the atmosphere and period they lived in. Think of the ballads. They relate a story in strongly rhythmical verse often using a chorus or refrain. What about the folk songs? They were just gossip webbed into fantastic poetry. The ballad being a long story, moves fast like the movies do. So, the listener does not get bored. The ballad' style had the advantage of creating an impact on the audience. Moreover, it was a period of hardship and the ballad poets evoked the common man suffering in poverty against authority.

Truths

The medieval community oppressed by the feudal system was fodder to the ballad poet. Such ballads usually sung was musical; the use of refrain too was an aid to memory. But as social, political changes took place, the form of poetry too changed. Whatever the form we say, that poetry is beautiful because it is the truth that comes straight from the heart of a humane poet.

Thus, we realise that a poet through the exercise of his inner compassionate self reaches out to the reader. Poetry teaches us truths that no other science or prose can do. In a few lilting lines he can express a world of inspiring truths.

Just consider Khalil Gibran's thoughts on marriage: "Give your hearts but not into each other's keeping, for only the hand of life can contain your heart, and stand together, yet not too near together, for the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and Cyprus grow not in each other's shadow".

When the same poet was asked of prayer, listen to what he said; 'For what is prayer but the expression of yourself into the living ether? When you pray you rise to meet in the air those who are praying at that very hour: And whom save in prayer you may not meet.

Therefore, let your visit to that temple be invisible. Be for naught but. Ecstasy to sweet communion; for if you should enter the temple for no other purpose than asking you shall not receive".

Morals

After centuries of ballad and other forms of poetry there came a great advance in poetry. Leaving behind story telling, morals, describing the material earth they delver into the inner world of emotions, thoughts and fears. For this they used the rhythmic verse - mat was appealing and haunting too.

The story of Macbeth or Hamlet, or the love story of Cleopatra could have been written as powerful prose. But we needed the poetry of Shakespeare, to reveal to us Macbeth and Hamlet the men they were. Came too the all consuming love of Cleopatra and the Brazen truth. This is why I say poetry is a form that beautifully portrays the truth.

Why go further, the Bible the Quraan the Bagavath Geethas 'are they all' in the finest of literature that speak of truth?

All men like to create something for pleasure or for material gain - as ornaments - call it whatever you like. If it is beautiful it gives pleasure to the maker and the user. A poem too is a lovely creation of words and music that can make us wince, shudder, laugh, cry and show us as pictures made of shapes, colours and shades do.

Escapism

Poetry so created, helps us to share our experience - painful or joyful. By reading the best of poems of past eras, we make them part of our lives - richer and full of guidance. Don't we sometimes quote the wisdom of even the remotest of poems? Aren't Shakespeare's plays written in spoken language of that time still alive and aren't they for all times? And such truth is universal!

We know some poetry of the early part of the 20th century was aimed at escapism-more imagery, and cut off from the real world. But we see poets such as Eliot, Pope, Walt Whitman and Blake breaking away from such escapist kind of romanticism.Their poems portray how deeply concerned were they with the wasteful life of man of the modern world. T.S. Eliot and D.H. Lawrence are a few of them to mention.

Eliot in most of his poems e.g. 'Love Song' deviates from the traditional style of poetry; his use of the spoken style is interwoven with other mixed styles. Such 'speech rhythm' can be heard even in the free verse of D.H. Lawrence - Listen to the use of spoken style in his poem 'Talk' in free verse "I wish people, when you sit near they would not think it necessary to make conversation and send their drafts of words."

Then you have poetry which attacks people, political, social, religious ideas called 'satire'. Alexander Pope was a great satirical poet. The great age of English satire began with Dryden and ended with Byron, it is said.

Writing about the beauty, unforgettable morals that get imprinted in our minds, the musical style, can be endless and beyond my 'scope' - as such I would like to share with any interested reader some reflections articulated by famous intellectuals which I have been collecting for years: "Poetry is verbal collage. One can make poetry from material that appears to be distinctly non-poetic. Poetry begins in freedom but moves onwards through discipline" - Robin Skelton.

Definitions

"The creation of poetry demands that one observes continually and minutely" - Pinder and Horace.

"Poetry is a vocation as priesthood is ... Poetry is evocative.

Poetry is what Bernard Shaw said - one of the most dazzling, most eloquent, most versatile, masters of modern English - could not write."

"Though people can learn to write verse, I think that poetry is a condition which cannot be acquired. A person discovers whether he is a poet or not" - John Smith.In contrast let's read how L. Hammond encourages writers of any genre:- "The craft of writing can be learned only by doing it".

Poetry is the best words in the best order.No man was ever yet a great poet, without being at the same time a profound philosopher - S.T. Coleridge.

The mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence like an inconsistent wind awakens to transitory brightness' - Shelly.

'A poet is a nightingale who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds' - Shelly.

Let's see what the great poet - T.S. Eliot has to say on' what he calls the three poetic' 'voices' - The voice of the poet talking to himself or to nobody. The voice of the poet addressing the audience.When he attempts to create a dramatic character speaking in verse.

"In a poet there is an inert" embryo or creative germ and ..." on the other hand the Language resources of the word's at the poet's command". He is oppressed by a burden which he most bring to birth in order to obtain relief" - Eliot-

'There is a pleasure in poetic pains, which only poets know' - William Cowper. The contents of poetry is life itself.' As such poetry is of different-" kinds, rhythm and pathos as lie, that is infinitely varied. Tins' wealth of artistic legacy cannot be enjoyed unless you-take the trouble.

It is such self-effort that helps you to appreciate poetry, than any teacher could do. No craft can be done theoretically alone. You have to practise. In writing poetry, one may not be successful, but most not loose heart.

As William Faulkner says, "Teach yourself by your own mistakes. People learn only by error", Most good poetry has to be studied and interpreted with effort to bring enjoyment which sure you will relish. If our young students are trained to appreciate, imagine and feel, that study will be a training for life.

So, let's read poetry and prose written by great masters and enrich our knowledge and stature. Let me quote B. Michelangelo to sum up, "The hand that follows intellect can achieve."