THE: Lesson - What is Poetry?

What is Poetry?

As mentioned in the introduction, Latin IV will focus on Roman poetry. So, it seems like a good place to start to ask: What is poetry?

The Written Word

There are so many ways to categorize human writing (style, genre, purpose, etc.), but we're going to focus on some of the broadest categories: prose vs. poetry. It is very likely that you have heard these two terms and you most likely also have a basic understanding of what each one comprises. But let's take a look at some formal definitions so that we can have a clear understanding of what we are studying in this course.

Prose

Prose is, essentially, writing that imitates human speech patterns. Prose tends to follow all the rules: grammar, syntax, vocabulary usage, and punctuation rules are all based on what the language uses in natural speech patterns. In prose, ideas tend to be grouped into paragraphs and presented using an internal logical structure.

Examples of prose include most non-fiction writing (essays, biographies, technical papers, magazine articles, etc.) and also a large collection of fiction writing (novels and short stories).

In Latin, we read various prose authors like Caesar, Cicero, Pliny, Suetonius, and many others. We also base our understanding of Latin grammar on these same prose authors - most of what we do when we learn about grammar in Latin class is learning about how grammar works in prose.

Poetry

Poetry is, essentially, writing that utilizes rhythmic patterns and/or musicality. In fact, the word that the Romans used for poems was carmina (carmen, carminis, n. - poem, song), which was also used to describe songs. To the Romans, there was no distinction - poems were songs and songs were poems.

Poetry tends to be more flexible when it comes to following the rules. Conventions of grammar and syntax are often subverted to create or fit into a particular rhythm (called a meter). Poetry, as a whole, also tends to focus more on symbolism. Even so, ancient poetry was the more common platform for telling grand stories: poetry was the writing style of choice for telling epic tales. Prose novels came much later in history!

Examples of poetry can include drama (think: plays), epic poetry (think: fantastic tall tales), lyric poetry (think: love poems), and epigrams (think: witty comebacks). Poetry can be non-fictional, focusing on history or on real relationships, but can also wander into the fictional realm.

In Latin, we will meet several poets in this course, including Ovid, Martial, Horace, Catullus, and the most famous Roman poet of all: Vergil.

What Comes Next?

Even though our course is about Latin poetry, we will be exploring poetry as a whole, comparing it to other ancient cultures, but also to poetry in the modern world. Let's start our journey exploring Latin poetry at the theater!

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