History of poetry
The account of how poetic forms, practices, and traditions developed across periods, cultures, and languages.
Ancient Greek poetry: Poetry composed in ancient Greek, including epic, lyric, and dramatic forms. Its epic and lyric traditions shaped later European accounts of poetic origins.
Oral poetry: Poetry composed, performed, and transmitted primarily through speech rather than writing. Oral transmission shaped poetic memory before and alongside written traditions.
Epic of Gilgamesh: An ancient Mesopotamian poem about the king Gilgamesh and his search for lasting life. It is among the oldest surviving works commonly classified as poetry.
Printing press: A machine for reproducing text in multiple copies through printing. Print expanded the circulation and standardization of poems.
Nationalism: A political idea that treats a people with shared identity as entitled to collective self-government. Poems have helped construct national languages, memories, and political identities.
Classical Chinese poetry: Chinese poetry written before the end of the imperial period, with forms shaped by tonal patterns and literary conventions. Its long, distinct tradition complicates histories centered on Europe.
Prosody: The study of rhythm, meter, and sound patterns in language, especially poetry. Changing rhythmic conventions help distinguish poetic periods and traditions.
Rigveda: A collection of Sanskrit hymns composed and transmitted orally in ancient South Asia. Its preservation demonstrates the antiquity and precision of oral poetic transmission.
Romanticism: A movement in literature and the arts emphasizing imagination, emotion, and individual experience. Romantic poets recast poetic authority around the individual voice and imagination.
Protest poetry: Poetry that challenges political, social, or economic injustice. It shows verse acting directly within movements for social and political change.