Poetry is one of the major forms of literature. Definitions: Poetry is one of the major forms of literature. Dr. Johnson, the 18th century literary critic and scholar defines poetry as “metrical composition” and added that it is “the art of uniting pleasure with truth by calling imagination to the help of reason.” According to Macaulay, poetry is “the art of doing by means of words what the painter does by means of colour.” William Wordsworth defines poetry as “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility.” He further called it “ the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge.”

S.T.Coleridge calls poetry “ the antithesis of science, having for its immediate object pleasure, not truth.” Matthew Arnold defines poetry as simply “the most delightful and perfect form of utterence that human words can reach.”

Content of poetry Poetry has its emotional and imaginative contents. It is often called “imaginative and emotional interpretation of life. Poetry deals with the facts, experiences and problems of life but first it relate them to our emotions and then transforms and transfigures them by the exercise of imagination. Poetry treats reality imaginatively and colors it with emotion.. Imagination and emotion predominate in poetry.

However, imagination and emotion may characterize prose also (poetic- prose), but can such prose be called poetry? *Hudson says, “ there is much poetry which is purely prosaic and there is much prose which is markedly poetical. *Poetry, specifically so termed , is particular kind of art that arises only when the poetic qualities of imagination and feelings are embodied in a certain form of expression. That form is regularly rhythmical language or meter. *The emotional and imaginative content of poetry must be clothed in systemically rhythmical language. *Meter is an essential part of perfection of poetry and its use modifies the language.. Coleridge says, “Meter medicates the whole atmosphere “ and makes the diction of poetry different from the language of prose.

*However, in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth claims, “ There is no essential difference between the language of prose and the language of poetry.” *Figures of speech also play a significant role in making the diction of poetry different from every day speech.

Kinds of Poetry Broadly speaking, poetry may divided into two kinds– Kinds of Poetry Broadly speaking, poetry may divided into two kinds– *(1) Personal or Subjective poetry or the poetry of self-expression . Such poetry is further subdivided into the elegy, the Ode, the Sonnet. *(2) Impersonal or Objective Poetry where the poet finds his inspiration and his subjects in the actions and passions of the world without. The Ballad, the Epic, Metrical romance, the Idyll are some of the examples of narrative poetry..