Originating from the Greek word ‘poiesis’, poetry has been, perhaps arguably, the pinnacle of human literary creativity. There have been various attempts at defining poetry, but at its very essence, poetry is merely literary art that utilizes language for its aesthetic and evocative qualities, along with, and sometimes even in the absence of, it’s literal meaning. It has been often considered the fundamental creative act that employs language, and almost all famous writers and authors in human history, be them from any language, have tried their hand at it.
Poetry is generally idiosyncratic, and it makes use of those to play with emotions, causing the readers to, usually, come to a different interpretation than the one that would have been taken otherwise from the same words. Not only that, but poetry has also had a significant rhythm and rhyming involved – even music, as some would put it – in all its forms. Poetic incantations have long been known to man, and in almost all cultures, there have been poetic synergies used for a variety of purposes, by a variety of people. Even religions, both divine and otherwise, come with traces of poetry, or poetic rhythms, to say the least. Religious scriptures are often referred to as containing verse rather than prose, and are often riddled with poetic elements such as meters, alliteration, assonance, rhyming schemes etc, just to name a few.
To discuss the benefits of poetry is such a short space is a daunting task, because people have written thousands of thousands of words on the subject. However, there are always generalizations possible, and while the benefits of reading or writing poetry vary from person to person (it does play with emotions and human psyche), there are some that may be applicable to all.
First, poetry broadens ones’ perspective on almost everything. To understand something said in verse, you often have to look at it from a different angle than you would perhaps bother to otherwise, and in doing so, you tend to approach things differently. Smaller events start appearing with deeper meaning than you would otherwise give them credit for. In a poet’s eyes, the coming and passing of seasons may have an entirely different meaning than what it would appear to someone else.
Poetry commands attention to detail. You cannot even begin to understand the underlying message until you pay attention to every word – and not just the words, but their balance and positioning, too. Consequently, you develop a habit of looking at everything more closely, observe otherwise-insignificant happenings around you, and generally develop a sharper observation.
For another benefit of poetry, you get more room for yourself within verse. Consider this: you read a novel, and you play by the scenario that the writer has created for you. However, in poetry, thanks to its double entendres and broader implication to meaning, one can find more room for personal relation, both from context of delivery and experience, and hence, gives you more room to come up with a more personal interpretation than you would get with prose.
Finally, poetry develops better language ability. Owing to the fact that you have to express your emotions and feelings within limited words, while retaining the poetic elements, rhyming, meters etc., you explore the language even more to suit your needs. Naturally, your command over language benefits from such a practice.