Essay On The Importance Of Poetry

Literature is one of the most influential tools in history. Within the vast world of literature, there are many different genres of writing that can affect the world in varying ways. There are genres such as non-fiction, mystery, sci-fi, romance, etc. Yet there are great writers in history that would argue that another, much shorter type of literature can be seen as superior to these genres, and most certainly very important. This genre would be poetry, and many great poets such as Marianne Moore and Archibald MacLeish argue the importance of poetry through poetry itself. In poems such as MacLeish’s, Ars Poetica, and Moore’s Poetry, the poets frequently discuss the importance of poetry. While discussing the importance of poetry, the two poets, Moore and MacLeish, in their poems, Poetry, and Ars Poetica, agree and disagree on various ideas about the importance of poetry, such as they both agree that poetry should be, disagree on the intelligence level required in poems, and agree …show more content…
Both poets would strongly agree with the notion that poetry should be held at a much higher standard than that of any other genre. Moore states in her poem, Poetry, “When they become so derivative as to become unintelligible.” This is her way of saying that when poetry begins to be based on something else, such as another type of literary work, the poem loses its intelligence. Similarly, MacLeish agrees that poems are not at an equal level of other literary works. He states in his poem, Ars Poetica, “A poem should be equal to: Not true.” Similar to Moore, this is MacLeish’s way of stating the idea that poems are not equal to that of other types of literary work. The two poets clearly agree on the high standards at which poems should be