Physically as if the Top

¶ … physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry," wrote Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson was a poet whose poetic language, metaphors, and structure challenged many of the conventions of her era. Her poems were short, pithy observations that were intensely personal and revealing. However, this ideal of the poet writing in isolation was particularly popular during the Romantic period, so Dickinson's innovations did not come out of nowhere -- rather, the diverse ways of conceptualizing poetry during Dickinson's and other literary epochs show how hard it is to create a singular definition for this important literary term.

The question of 'what is poetry' seems to vary from age to age, culture to culture. In many ancient cultures such as Greece and Rome, epic poetry told the story of a people. It used heightened language and verse to give an added significance to heroic and national exploits, and also to make it easier for individuals to remember the oral traditions of their ancestors, and pass on these great memories. A similar use of rhyme and meter is deployed in ballads and other traditional poetic forms. Poetry's advantage in heightening language but also revealing character as well as creating plots and dramas is shown in the theater, such as the Greek, Roman, and Elizabethian theater.