Poetry is often seen as the most personal and mysterious of literary forms. Poetry, in effect, helps us to embrace the mystery of life. We can talk about the “inside” of poetry (ideas, images and feelings) and the “outside” of poetry (appearance and form). Attention to the form, that is, to the very structure of the text, is the starting point for its interpretation. However, when studying the poetic text, care must be taken not to lose sight of the whole, the unity of the poem.
By awakening the imaginative powers, poetry makes life fuller and more radiant. Each poem has an emotional appeal. Without emotion, there is no poetry. Lyricism can sometimes have nothing to do with reasoning. Then it will be like the song of a wounded bird. The poet is not subject to the laws of logical thought. Lyric poetry is emotional and reflective, as it expresses an inner meditation. It expresses feelings of one kind or another, and these feelings are universal. Revealing his understanding of the world, the poet makes a confession transfigured by art.
Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that a great poem is always the account of its author’s spiritual adventure. Personal motives are, then, the lyrical elements of poetry. They constitute the background and framework of lyrical poetry. The manifestations in verse are classified in the following poetic forms: lyrical, epic or tragic (they revolve around a historical fact, presenting, in general, images of superior men) and dramatic.
Poetry is a compact language. Poetry uses words to communicate ideas and emotions. Poetic language is believed to be one of the oldest forms of human expression. When thinking about the written language, it is interesting to note that in some countries, like Italy, the language of poetry was born before the language of prose. There was born in Sicily this poetic language called Sicilian literary, in its written form. It was at the Sicilian court that the sonnet genre arose in the 13th century. The Sicilian sonnet is a type of traditional poem made up of 14 verses divided into four verses: the first two of four verses and the others of three verses each. Its origin is in the poetry of the Provençal troubadours.
The choice of words, images, and sounds affects the atmosphere (general feeling or emotion) and the meaning of the poem. Sound and meaning are combined to express feelings, thoughts, and ideas. When writing, the poet can adopt a neutral, satirical, ironic, melancholic, sentimental, interrogative, allusive, happy, macabre, fanciful tone, etc. Music communicates ideas and affects mood. The melody of the poem can be pleasant or threatening, happy or sad, romantic or inexpressive. It reaches the mind and the heart, intensifying the impact of words and images. The word is something complex and mysterious. Each word is a complex of associations and can have several meanings. Its meaning depends on the human being, that is, on its use.