Does poetry count as art?

Does poetry count as art


  • Total voters
    18
Poetry is not art.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, art is

A) a skill acquired by experience, study, or observation
Poetry is not a skill.
It most certainly is! Who says it is not? Ever try to write one?

B) a branch of learning
Poetry is not a branch of learning.
Indeed it is! We had to study it in school. Define iambic pentameter. How many poems have you memorized and had to stand and deliver in public? I have, and still remember many of them to this day, and quite fondly. A school that does not require the study of poetry is lacking in it goals.

C) an occupation requiring knowledge or skill
Poetry is not an occupation.
Again, says who? Go to a library and have the librarian show you books containing poetry. Did you know America has a professional poet? And she is young, she delivered a poem she wrote at Biden's inauguration. Look up Burns, Frost, e.e. cummings. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and do not consider yourself educated until you are familiar with their works. And if that doesn't do it for you, ask yourself this: ever hear of Taylor Swift? Jay-Z. Teddy Swims. Anyone who writes lyrics for music is a POET. And they make a very good living at it.

D) the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects
Poetry is not an aesthetic object.
All that is beautiful is an "aesthetic object." A sunset is an aesthetic object, though you can't hold it in your hands. Birdsong is. A baby's smile. The look in your lover's eyes. Anything you can perceive with any of your senses, however fleeting, may be considered an aesthetic object. And poetry most certainly is.

In three of the four definitions, “art” refers to a verb, usually in its gerundive form, and “poetry” is not a verb. Therefore, poetry is not an art. :old



Truth is, I don’t think poetry is art because I always associate art with painting or drawing or clay figurines - like, an actual image. In my mind, poetry is writing, and writing is not art. But I can see why someone would say it is!

But you're entitled to your opinions, as I am to mine.
 
Ever try to write one?
Yes.
I had to take a poetry class in college, and we had to write and study poems. I also write poetry on my own.
Look up Burns, Frost, e.e. cummings. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and do not consider yourself educated until you are familiar with their works.
I am fairly familiar with all the major poets of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, yes.
ever hear of Taylor Swift? Jay-Z. Teddy Swims.
I don’t know who these people are.
But you're entitled to your opinions, as I am to mine.
I agree, poetry can be beautiful - I love Longfellow and Tennyson and can quote several of their poems from memory; also, all the traditional hymns I play are quite simply poems, set to verse - but…I still don’t think poetry is an art.

I’m sorry if I got y’all upset!
 
As someone who dabbles in both visual and literary art, I think poetry can certainly be counted as a form of art! Though, I can understand why some may think it is not... honestly, the question never popped into my mind before!

(A) and (B): Skill is very much needed in order to weave a story within the lines, and many dedicate much time to studying the works of poets past- poetry can be quite hard to write!
(C): As for it not being an occupation, I would beg to differ- my great grandmother who's now in her mid 90s is a professional poet... that's actually how she and my great grandfather courted back in the day! (I'm a romantic at heart 🥰).
(D): When it comes to fiction and poetry, the author must carefully and consciously select and order his words, just like a painter does his brushes and colors, in order to paint the literary landscape.

And since writing is as much of an action as painting, drawing or molding, I'm quite sure it can be referred to as an action and thus a verb! 😋

But anyway, I think poetry is an art form in it's own respect, though still very different from other sorts of artwork. Now it's probably time for me to go to bed, its 3am.... :caf

Thank you so much for sharing!!
As an amateur poet myself, I completely agree with you that poetry is art. ❤️
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom