Poem is a textual genre (form of writing) usually written in verses and stanzas. Its purpose is to express some feeling, emotion or thought. The word "poem" is derived from the Greek verb "poiéo", which means "to make, create, compose".
The poem is quite variable, whether in terms of style, length or theme. It is possible, for example, to find a haiku (only three lines) about a frog jumping or a sonnet (four stanzas) about love. The poem can have meter and rhyme (like the sonnet) or it can give up these stylistic devices (like the modernist poems).
The poem can be defined as a text in which language is explored in its most varied dimensions, from its sound to visual aspects (in the case of concrete poetry). In the poem, more than in other textual genres, language goes beyond its merely communicative function, becoming an artistic object par excellence.
Characteristics of the poem
The poem is usually presented in the form of verses and stanzas. The verse is each of the lines of a poem. The stanza is a set of verses.
Many poems have rime and metric. A rhyme is the repetition of a sound (vocal or consonant) that occurs at regular intervals within the poem. Metric is the measure of the verse, told in poetic syllables.
But these features listed above are not necessary. That is: for whom a text can be called a poem it does not need to have verses, stanzas, rhymes and meter. There are, for example, poems that are not written in verse - so-called prose poems. Likewise, it is possible to write poems without rhyme (white verses) or without meter (free verses).
An important feature of the poem is its musicality. Alliterations, assonances and rhymes are resources responsible for giving the poem a very characteristic rhythm of repetition.
The use of word pictures, such as metaphors and synesthesias, is also quite frequent in poems. The use of figurative language it makes words take on new meanings, new possibilities of combination. Freedom in the use of speech is, without a doubt, an important feature of the poem.
In Ancient Greece, all literary productions - the epic, lyrical and dramatic genres - were considered poems. Homer's poems present in the works Iliad and Odyssey they are considered the first great Western epic texts.
O lyric poem, which was so called because it was sung to the sound of the lyre (musical instrument), originated the genre of art that today is understood as lyrical.
You dramatic poems they were written in verse form to be acted out.
In Brazil, some of the most famous poets are Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Vinicius de Moraes, Cecília Meireles, Manuel Bandeira, Hilda Hilst and Ferreira Gullar. The Portuguese Fernando Pessoa is one of the most recognized poets in the world.
See too:
- Poetry, poem, prose and sonnet
- Poetry
- what are rhymes