In the end, what is poetry? That seems like a difficult question to answer, doesn't it? This is because poetry is an element of subjectivity, so it is difficult to conceptualize it. What seems poetic for one person is not always for another, given that each one of us is endowed with different levels of perception: while some are more sensitive, others have difficulties to abstract and understand the strength of poetry.
Poetry, in addition to not being exclusive to literature, differs from poem, although many people confuse these two elements. The poem is a textual genre from the literary universe that presents formal and thematic characteristics that allow its identification among other genres. Poetry, on the other hand, can be associated with various artistic manifestations, whether in literature, plastic arts, photography, music or cinema.
For poetry to be perceived – and felt – it is necessary that the receiver (that is, the one who receives it) is open to different sensory experiences. Poetry resides in the field of emotions and can manifest itself through words, colors, images and sounds, especially when these elements are loaded with sentimentality. Let's see if you can understand the poetry? How about taking a test?
Poetry can be present in a beautiful painting...
The canvas Starry nigh (Starry Night) is one of the best known paintings by the Dutch post-impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh
The Kiss (original in German: Der Kuss) is a painting by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt
In the circle songs...
What beautiful eyes, what beautiful eyes you have
That even today, that I still noticed today
If I noticed, if I noticed longer ago
I didn't love, I didn't love who I loved
(What beautiful eyes – Folk song)
How can a live fish
live out of cold water
how can i live
how can i live
Without yours, without yours,
sin your company
the shepherds of this village
pray night and day
how can i live
how can i live
Without yours, without yours,
without your company
(Live Fish – Folk Song)
And also in the literature:
the poems
The poems are birds that arrive
no one knows where and land
in the book you read.
When you close the book, they take flight
like a trapdoor.
they have no landing
no port
feed for a moment on each pair of hands
and depart. And look, then, at these empty hands of yours,
in the amazed amazement of knowing
that their food was already in you…
Mario Quintana
If you were able to perceive all the beauty and lyricism present in the paintings, in the folk songs and in the poem by Mario Quintana, congratulations, you are capable of feeling the poetry. Remember that poetry only exists when it is fully understood. To understand it, it takes a lot of sensitivity!
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson related to the subject:
