World literature overview and major works
The role and importance of the poets has changed throughout the history of mankind. Back in the period, the Romantics believed that the poet represented the spiritual guide of the people, who helped the reader identify their most internal emotions, intuitions and imaginations.
Today, the role of the poet is less certain than during those days and this is the result of numerous changes obvious within the society. During the Romantic period, reading was a primary activity of the population, but today, other distractions exist and make reading less popular. Television for instance, alongside with the internet, computer games and other such distractions make it less tempting for the public to engage in reading poetry. Nowadays then, reading poetry is an activity carefully selected by a niche of the population, such as those interested in spiritual understanding and evolution, or those interested in poetry and literature.