Comparative Analysis: Traditional Poetry vs Contemporary Poetry

Poetry has undergone many changes as time goes by. As the world emerges,
poetry also develops and one factor behind this is that poetry reflects the time where it
blooms. Thus, poetries in the past have vast differences compared to the poetries in the
present time. It can be exemplified if we took a closer look on traditional poetry and
contemporary poetry.

Traditional poetry is defined as a strict form of writing poems as it follows

particular structure, strict rhyme schemes, and formal metrical patterns. The restrictive
formats of sonnets, ballads, and odes were used in most traditional poems. An example
of traditional poetry is the haiku, a three-line poem that consists of exactly seventeen
syllables. In addition, the language used in traditional poems are more difficult to
comprehend as the poets before are using the Old English in writing. Some of the most
famous poets during this time are William Shakespeare, Edmund Spencer, T.S. Eliot,
and William Wordsworth. On the other hand, contemporary poetry is construed as
poetry written after the start of the 1920s but some extend it until the 1950s. It is difficult
to find an exact definition of contemporary poetry as it is like a plane that is being built in
flight, changes may happen as more and more poets are contributing to this type of
poetry. However, contemporary poetry has some fundamental characteristics that
distinguish it from traditional poetry. First, it uses language that is accessible and
familiar to today’s readers. Also, the style of writing is not straightforward and it allows
readers to construct their own meaning and interpretation of a certain poem. Another
characteristic of contemporary poetry is that, poets have the absolute freedom to write
in any form they like, including rhymed verse, blank verse, and free verse, as well as to
try out new blended structures.

The kind of poetry that we have today might not be the kind of poetry the future
will practice. Change is constant, development and modification of ways in writing
poetry may happen every single day. But whatever advancement may come, it could
not alter the intention of a poet’s heart. In whatever time a poem will sprout, its
significance and purpose is universal.