“My dreams were born with wings
and all my soul ever sings
are songs of the sky”
― Christy Ann Martine
According to the Cambridge Dictionarypoetry is a form of literature. Oxford Dictionaryfurther explains it as literary work in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm.
Most of us may think that poetry may be restricted to English literature lectures and libraries but in one way or another, we all are surrounded by this beautiful piece of literature. The girl on the bus with earphones pouring music in her soul, or the guy standing on the bus stop with nose in his book. The old man drumming his fingers to an old country song playing in his head, or a child enthusiastically chanting the wheels of the bus go ROUND AND ROUND, ROUND AND ROUND, ROUND AND ROUND.
Thus poetry is everywhere! It allows us to let our bottled emotions out, to understand them in a way we could not have in the absence of this amazing literature. As a well-known American poet, Robert Frost once said, Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.
Poetry opens our mind, helps us explore our emotions making us flow with it like a calm stream of sweet refreshing water through the lush green meadows of peace.
The human brain is hardwired for poetry. Whether it be Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses,or Maya Angelo, Caged Bird, there is always something about the great poems that trigger our mind to ponder and wonder about life from a new perspective.
Nowadays, neuroscientists are trying to explain the reaction of the brain to poetry. In recent years, MRI and other sophisticated tools have studied the brain to explain and record the reaction of neurons and their electrical activity as the subject reads or listens to poetry.
It was discovered that our brain can preserve rhyme and rhythm and the figurative speech used, distinguishing a writer from a poet. Reading poetry stimulates the part of the brain that interprets day-to-day reality. The rhythm and rhyme have been observed to generate a distinctive burst of electrical activity in the brain.
This evidence is enough to prove that poetry can arouse emotions and elevate souls. However, in addition to all this, it also strengthens cognitive health. The linguistic acrobatics push the boundaries of language creating a dramatic response in our brain centers. The understanding of multi-layered words and comprehending their meanings have allowed man to handle the painful emotions and physical movements. Poetry, thus helps people interpret and respond to emotions.
Neurons in our brains not only create a sensation but also cause us to experience the sensation described in the words before us. Almost all people associate some part of their life to particular poetry or music. This encourages self-reflection and introspection.
On the whole, poetry helps people grow and understand who they are and why they think and act in a certain way. Poetry is a form of personal analysis that allows us to bring our lines in alignment with our wishes.
“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and you are the mirror.”
― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet