Chances are you have probably read a poem or two in school. Perhaps you even had to memorise a poem at some point or even had to write a poem yourself.
But what exactly is poetry ? Poetry refers to literary works written in verse. A poet pays attention to structure, tone, form and choice of words. All of these things together create the effect the poet is trying to achieve.
Poetry serves many purposes. It can be entertaining and moving; it can communicate; it can produce an emotional response in the reader and create an experience. If a poet follows a specific structure of writing a poem – with rhymes and meters (the poem’s rhythm structure), it is considered to be a great poem. The beauty of these literary works is that they may have different meanings, depending on the readers’ understanding. Poetry should make contact with every part of you. You should think of poetry as a creative form of expression. A poet, like an artist, has many tools for crafting a poem - each having a different effect on how the poem sounds, feels, looks and is read.