A Brief Introduction

Poetry has evolved much over the last hundred years, changing from the carefully structured sonnets of Shakespeare into the modern spoken word and slam poetry ensembles of upbeat cafes. Not to say that sonnets have ceased to exist within the poetic experience, but freestyle and freeverse poetry styles have taken over the mainstream of poetry.
However, one aspect of poetry and poets shall remain throughout the history of poetry for years to come—emotion. This is the true base of poetry, setting it apart from prose. Sure, prose has conveyed deep feeling, but poetry conveys this feeling with an added rhythm, creating a more overall experience of involvement.
Like music and other forms of writing, poetry can be used by a writer to express their emotions in a time of hardship, or on the other end of the scale--pure joy. This is a very versatile type of expression, and can be used for a variety of topics.

Feel free to explore.

A History

Types of Poetry

Slam Poetry/Spoken Word

You Can Write Too!

Illinois State Standards