Poetry has been used in both classical and contemporary civilizations as a tool for different purposes. One of the fundamentals of poetry includes passing information from one generation to the other, a source of entertainment, as well as enhancing literature in general. The following is a comparison between ancient (like the Hymn to the Nile, the poems of Sappho as well as Archilochos, and many others) and modern poetry (such as William Carlos Williams the Red Wheelbarrow ).
Poetry has generally changed in the pattern of its form. Ancient poetry followed a rhyming pattern and was primarily written to be sung (Warner, 2008). For example, every line was created to rhyme with the one before it or was expressed in a flow of continuous thoughts and turn of events. For instance, Pindar’s 1923 poem reads, “She did not wait for her marriage feast, the high cries of Hymen! Hymen! This is, however, not the case in modern poetry as a lot of emphases is given on emotions, feelings, and the message that is being put across by the poet and may include two or more thoughts in the same line or paragraph. For example, Rossetti’s late 19th-century poem directly emphasizes on personal emotions and feelings. He writes, "I wish I could remember that first day, first hour, first moment of your meeting me."
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Besides, ancient poetry has been known for its use of precious words. Classical poetry used ambiguous terms that gave the reader a chance to explore new words and terminologies. However, as time changes, there has been a massive change in the use of words as language keeps on changing with the change in time and now the use of vast vocabulary is not widely used as the use of poetry is gradually being replaced by other forms of literature (Warner, 2008).
Lastly, the purpose of poetry in the ancient era was meant for educating or passing critical. This is not reflected in modern poetry that seems to focus on less important aspects of life. For example, ancient poetry like the poems of Archilochos (625 B.C.) was mainly focused on giving a personal and intimate opinion of society during the 7rh century B.C., including Greek Colonization. This is contradicted by modern poetry like Williams Carlos Williams 1923 poem the Red Wheelbarrow , which is seemingly coined around a rather trivial and straightforward subject.
References
Warner, C. D. (2008). A library of the world’s best literature: Ancient and modern. Cosimo, Inc.
