poetry is a social act rather than an isolated object :: essays research papers

Is poetry a social act rather than an isolated object? Is poetry meant to be shared with others, or meant for the individual? Personally I can think of examples that would justify both of these statements. Poetry itself is almost impossible to define but to describe a poem, as a â€Å"social act† or an â€Å"isolated object† doesn’t necessarily mean that the next poem is. There are however cases that would suggest that poetry does indeed lean more towards the â€Å"social act† description allotted by this particular essay-title. One point that arose during a discussion with a fellow student concerning this question was that poetry itself originated from song: the medium of song itself being a very social form of expression so logically poetry is also a social form of expression. I personally agree with this point and firmly believe that the origins of poetry do lie in the social act of singing. But one of the most unique, fascinating and potent qualities of poetry (of which there are a few) is its state of flux, it is constantly changing and re-inventing itself so to think of poetry as a mere derivative or deviation of song is to miss the point of poetry entirely. One prominent social re-invention of poetry that comes to mind is that of the â€Å"Beat Movement†. The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America in particular but also around the world. Incorporating influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy and religion, the beat writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way a generation of people see/saw the world. One of the most important contributions to contemporary verse was to take poetry out of the classrooms and into non-academic setting coffee houses, jazz clubs, large public auditoriums and even athletic stadiums making it an even more social act/form of expression. Poetry is more popular and more read at this time than anytime in previous history, not only spoken poetry but also sung poetry of a high order, reminiscent of poetries origins. Keeping this further socialisation of poetry in mind I would a lso like to stress the point that although poetry was in its most social environment yet the emphasis was firmly on the individual and their individual poetry, attempting to isolate their poetry from all previously heard. So in the ideal situation although the act would be social, the object would be isolated.