Vinay Kumar shares an essay that attempts to explore an answer to the question, What is the soul of poetry?
Poetry or verse is a literary form in which a story or emotion is artistically expressed through language. The poet’s emotion evokes joy in the listener only when the poet’s language is artistic. The artistry of language can evoke joy in the listener. The excellence of poetry depends on this joy. A person listens only to what they want to hear. Only that object attracts their attention that is useful to them. No matter how valuable an object is, if it is not useful to them, they ignore it. In the world of commerce, it is said that what is visible sells. Merchants want to bring their goods to the attention of people. Only when the goods are visible will they like or dislike them. The listener absorbs the poet’s emotions or the beauty hidden in the poem only when there is magic in the expression or words. It is through the magic of words that emotions resonate with the listener.