Modern day Poetry

When hearing the word "poetry" the first thing that usually pops into someone's mind is some type of written writing that expresses something without saying it directly. Nouns that might first come into a person's mind might be: Shakespeare, rhymes, haiku, stanzas. The first thing that usually comes into a person's mind about poetry is usually something written, if thinking about it some more people will come up with answers such as music, riddles, and anything spoken expressing some type of feeling without saying it directly. Altogether people tend to think of poetry as something that makes them feel a certain way, think deeper into a subject, or open their eyes to a new perspective that they had not thought of before before.

Comparing now to other time periods, people don't tend to see written poetry as much as they use to. They do not broadcast written poetry on the media, nor do many people look into modern poets. If you were to ask a random person to name a current known poet writer, the chances are they would not know. However, people do tend to hear about musicians in the media and most if not all know a musician. Musicians are regarded as celebrities and they are poets. Matter of fact their is a chance that the first poetry ever created was in the form of music, and many historians believe this to be true. The way these musicians today are treated as celebrities is not unlike the times of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was also known as a celebrity and rumors of his life were spread around as town gossip (Same as musicians today). 

So why is it that we tend to see more spoken poetry than written poetry? Is it because all poetry is made to be spoken? or is it because of the technology advancement in man-kind? 

Altogether it is hard to say, and the answer will almost certainly be based more upon opinion than facts.

Modern day poets are highly affected by the social and economical situation they encounter during their lifetime, just like other poets during their lifetimes. Like how in postmodernism, the art was started by the living conditions during WWI. Today artists have created poetry in the form of music based off their living conditions and the problems around them; and depending on the artist, very different messages are displayed.

Now has modern day poetry (music) taken away all the complexity of poetry altogether? Some people will argue yes, and others will argue no. However, I believe the answer is based on the poet themselves and the poem they construct. 

Here is an examples of modern day poetry in the form of music:

(THIS IS UNCENSORED, it may not seem offensive to some but to others it might)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsi8ZT_mCn4

This is a link that breaks down the lyrics and shows what the artist is truly saying.

http://genius.com/152239/Lupe-fiasco-dumb-it-down/How-can-i-get-on-a-song-with-you-dumb-it-down

There are many different messages portrayed in different songs. One artist might have a very deep meaning about living conditions and the struggle of a race in one song, and then have another song about him partying and doing drugs. This does not relate to only one genre of music either, every genre of music has forms of poetry. Yet if their music has affected you in any way, then some people might put up an argument saying that this result is the definition of art. 

-Vishal
ENG 112