What is Poetry?

It is Thursday, August 29th, and I am sitting in Mr. Burge's first period class. I am trying to hide the amusement on my face, per usual, as he delivers one of his school-wide famous lectures on poetry. It has always been very odd to me how people say he yells during his lectures; what they call yelling, I call passion, a passion that invites the class to learn in a casual, intellectual environment. As our teacher asks the class what poetry is, listens to each student’s rebuttal, knowing full well that there is no one right answer, and the topic could be argued from dawn-to-dusk. Seeing no end, the class quickly transitions to a broader discussion, particularly about whether or not poetry is necessary to human existence. A few students answer, Danny presents his clever argument that “we need food and water to survive, poetry is not essential”, or something along those lines. Then it hits me, a non-pessimistic answer to a subject which I have cursed since before I could talk. It seems so obvious now, how could it be that it has seemed as a foreign language all these years? To answer the question that was in discussion, poetry can be seen as essential to human existence, if one looks at it from the right perspective. It is instinct for people to want to express themselves, speaking our mind is just what we as humans do. If we don’t express ourselves, we spend too much time “inside our own head” if you will, driving us to insanity; any fact on suicide can prove this. So it is normal for humans to express themselves, and throughout history, poetry has emerged as one of the most popular ways of doing so. So it can be argued that poetry is essential, because it is a primary mode of expression, and above all else, it makes people feel good. Now, to go back to the beginning; what is poetry? The simplest answer can often be the right one; poetry is a language that people of all backgrounds can understand, which can tell a story of love, war, despair, happiness, beauty, tragedy and many other things, that brings emotion to the audience.