History of English Poetry

What is poetry

What is poetry? It is very difficult to reach a definition acceptable to all. It is because those, who started it, were not conscious of any theory of poetry.

Here are some of the famous definitions:

Etymology: The word 'poetry' has come from the Greek word  'poieein' or 'poiesis' which means 'to make'.

Plato: Poetry is merely 'inspired madness'.

                                                              (The Republic)

Aristotle: Poetry is 'the art of imitation'. To him all types of poetry are the 'forms of imitation or representation'. By imitation he means representation of truths taken from life. He also says: "... poetry is concerned with universal truths." (Poetics)

Sir Philip Sidney: Poetry is "a speaking picture --- with this end, to teach and delight."(An Apology for Poetry)

Horace: Poetry is 'an art or craft'.

History of English Poetry

like all other literature of the world, English literature began with poetry. It started back in the fifth century. It is believed that the earliest poems in English were written between 450 A.D. and 1066 A.D., the time known as the Anglo-Saxon period. In those days there was no printing press and no system of keeping records. As a result, it is impossible now to trace out who the first poet was. The earliest English poems so far found are anonymous.