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A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or written), or they may also
perform PerForm and PerForm PRO were electronic form programs, initially designed to work under GEM in DOS. Later versions were designed to work in Windows 3.1, at which point it was succeeded by FormFlow. The initial version of PerForm was created in 1 ...
their art to an
audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
. The work of a poet is essentially one of communication, expressing ideas either in a literal sense (such as communicating about a specific event or place) or metaphorically. Poets have existed since prehistory, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary greatly in different cultures and periods. Throughout each civilization and language, poets have used various styles that have changed over time, resulting in countless poets as diverse as the literature that (since the advent of writing systems) they have produced.


History

In Ancient Rome, professional poets were generally sponsored by patrons, wealthy supporters including nobility and military officials. For instance,
Gaius Cilnius Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the rei ...
, friend to
Caesar Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, was an important patron for the Augustan poets, including both
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
and Virgil. While Ovid, a well established poet, was banished from Rome by the first Augustus. Poets held an important position in pre-Islamic Arabic society with the poet or ''
sha'ir A ''sha'ir'' was a pre-Islamic Arab poet believed to have magical powers. History The origin of the term ''sha'ir'' is unknown. The ancient Arab culture viewed the ''sha'ir'' as a type of wizard, able to commune with supernatural forces, or '' ...
'' filling the role of historian,
soothsayer Soothsayer may refer to: * One practicing divination, including: ** Fortune-telling ** Haruspex ** Oracle ** Prophet ** Precognition Music * Soothsayers (band), a London-based Afrobeat and reggae group * ''The Soothsayer'', an album by Wayne ...
and propagandist. Words in praise of the tribe (''qit'ah'') and lampoons denigrating other tribes (''hija) seem to have been some of the most popular forms of early poetry. The ''sha'ir'' represented an individual tribe's prestige and importance in the
Arabian peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, and mock battles in poetry or '' zajal'' would stand in lieu of real wars. 'Ukaz, a market town not far from Mecca, would play host to a regular poetry festival where the craft of the ''sha'irs'' would be exhibited. In the High Middle Ages, troubadors were an important class of poets and came from a variety of backgrounds. They lived and travelled in many different places and were looked upon as actors or musicians as much as poets. They were often under patronage, but many travelled extensively. The Renaissance period saw a continuation of patronage of poets by royalty. Many poets, however, had other sources of income, including Italians like Dante Aligheri,
Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...
and Petrarch's works in a pharmacist's guild and William Shakespeare's work in the theater. In the Romantic period and onwards, many poets were independent writers who made their living through their work, often supplemented by income from other occupations or from family. This included poets such as William Wordsworth and Robert Burns. Poets such as Virgil in the Aeneid and
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
in
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
invoked the aid of a Muse.


Education

Poets of earlier times were often well read and highly educated people while others were to a large extent self-educated. A few poets such as John Gower and
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
were able to write poetry in more than one language. Some Portuguese poets, as
Francisco de Sá de Miranda Francisco de Sá de Miranda (28 August 1481 – 17 May 1558; ) was a Portuguese poet of the Renaissance. Life Sá de Miranda was born in Coimbra, the son of a canon Gonçalo Mendes de Sá belonging to the ancient and noble family of Sá an ...
, wrote not only in Portuguese but also in Spanish. Jan Kochanowski wrote in Polish and in Latin, France Prešeren and
Karel Hynek Mácha Karel Hynek Mácha () (16 November 1810 – 5 November 1836) was a Czech romantic poet. Biography Mácha grew up in Prague, the son of a foreman at a mill. He learned Latin and German in school. He went on to study law at Prague University; du ...
wrote some poems in German, although they were poets of Slovenian and Czech respectively. Adam Mickiewicz, the greatest poet of Polish language, wrote a Latin ode for emperor Napoleon III. Another example is Jerzy Pietrkiewicz, a Polish poet. When he moved to Great Britain, he ceased to write poetry in Polish, but started writing novel in English. He also translated poetry from English and into English. Many universities offer degrees in creative writing though these only came into existence in the 20th century. While these courses are not necessary for a career as a poet, they can be helpful as training, and for giving the student several years of time focused on their writing.Nikki Moustaki (2001), ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Poetry'', Penguin.


Poets of sacred verse

Lyrical poets who write sacred poetry (" hymnographers") differ from the usual image of poets in a number of ways. A hymnographer such as Isaac Watts who wrote 700 poems in his lifetime, may have their lyrics sung by millions of people every Sunday morning, but are not always included in anthologies of poetry. Because hymns are perceived of as "
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...
" rather than "poetry," the term "artistic kenosis" is sometimes used to describe the hymnographer's success in "emptying out" the instinct to succeed as a poet. A singer in the pew might have several of Watts's stanzas memorized, without ever knowing his name or thinking of him as a poet.


See also

* List of poets *
Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
* Lyricist *
List of poetry groups and movements A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...


References


Further reading

* Reginald Gibbons (ed), ''The Poet's Work: 29 poets on the origins and practice of their art''. University of Chicago Press (1979).
at Google Books
{{Authority control Occupations in literature