Glad you asked. In truth, the question itself is interesting; it’s a bit like asking “Why should I listen to music?” or “Why should I eat a steak dinner?” I suppose Because you will like it is the correct answer. But this is perhaps too confident for my liking. Because you may like it could be another response, however this is conversely too soft. Many people will not enjoy a good deal of poetry at the first stab and, thinking that they were supposed to be raptured away into some sort of blissful glory, become understandably disappointed. So, I like to average these two answers:

You should read poetry because you can enjoy it.

Poetry, like all other arts, is something where understanding enhances enjoyment. Many people dislike poetry or, worse yet, don’t find it interesting because they don’t understand what it does or how it works. They may have been told that Poe’s “The Raven” or Byron’s “She walks in Beauty” are masterpieces, but it’s not obvious to them why. Sure, it rhymes, but so what? To them, it’s all a bit pretentious, making castles out of ant hills and expecting you to feel something that you just don’t feel. What are they saying? Why can’t they just say it normally like everyone else? What in the world does it actually mean?

These questions and confusions are understandable. As someone who has a natural draw toward poetry, I am often put on the spot to explain why I find it enjoyable. That is why I decided to write this blog. Here I will discuss, firstly, what poetry is and isn’t and, secondly, why it is that you yourself (sitting in your chair, reading these words) can actually enjoy it. Whether I convince you or not, I hope that you will at least begin to see a sliver of the joy many feel when reading such beautiful lines as “Once upon a midnight dreary…”

What Poetry Is and Is Not

Poetry is the arrangement of words and clauses such that the meaning of what is said is perfectly accentuated by the sound and rhythm of the words used. It is thought clothed in literary form. These two components are mutually dependent; one cannot exist without the other. Without thought there is only gibberish; without form there is only the vague feelings of an inexpressible idea.

More simply, poetry is about the love of words. If painting is about color and music is about sound, then poetry is about words. It is about appreciating the shape and sound of words, how they flow and how they are spelled, what they mean in relation to how they are spoken. Poems are heard, but they are also tasted. That is why the best way to experience a poem is to read it out loud, to voice it with your own tongue.

Poetry rejoices in the little coincidences of our vocabulary, like how the sounds of “low” and “high” match their respective meanings, or how “womb” and “tomb” mark the bookends to our lives.

Perhaps this is provocative but poetry is not about ideas. At least not primarily. You should not need to be a philosopher to enjoy poetry, but you should be able to sound out words. This is one of the reasons why children enjoy poetry. Children aren’t intellectually interested in how the cow could jump over the moon or if the dish and the spoon were eloping as a statement against traditional marriage. No, they quite simply enjoy the rhythm of the words (“Hey diddle diddle / The cat and the fiddle”) and the fun of the imagery. If the expression of ideas were the only goal of the writer, then they would be much better off writing it down in prose. Good ideas do not guarantee good poetry. 

Don’t get me wrong, poetry can capture deep and effectual truths. It can quite literally change a person’s life. But there is no getting away from the fact that the ideas themselves are wholly dependent on the words and the expression of the poem. Only when we revere words as the primary substance of a poem can we consider the thoughts that the poem expresses.

This hits at one of the differences between poetry and prose. Where prose will seek to accurately describe an idea, poetry will help you experience the idea. Good poetry does this quite effectively, often leaving you with a better understanding of the idea than prose could hope to achieve. We sometimes think that complex thoughts require exhaustive explanations. Poetry breaks this assumption by being able to capture our minds and hearts in as minimal amount of words as necessary. Its power is often in its brevity.

Poetry is literary music. Treating it as such, as something to first be enjoyed and then digested, we can be better equipped to read some of the great poetry that we have been fortunate to inherit.

Why you can enjoy Poetry

You already enjoy it

Now this is a plot-twist, isn’t it? What I really mean is that you already enjoy speech and words that behave in poetic ways. How so? As an obvious example, if you have ever been excited or interested in a song based on the lyrics, then you’ve been under the influence of poetry. 

Additionally, poetry can be seen as something of a cousin to jokes and humor. All good jokes contain an element of surprise in them. A joke is crafted ahead of time with a careful emphasis on what words are used and how they are delivered. Two jokes may have the same punchline, but the setup makes or breaks whether the joke has any effect. Comedians are masters of this, most remarkably in the way that they can lead the “conversation” to the joke with what seems like very little effort. This is all a disguise, of course, because all good jokes are the result of hours of effort and testing. 

Poetry mirrors all of this. Many ask why so many poems rhyme; one reason is that it is a mechanism the poet uses to bring about surprise. The rhyme phonetically links back to what you’ve already read, providing a satisfying conclusion to the thought. Additionally, all good poetry must seem natural and effortless. Each word should feel like it was born to be in its place. It is not to be predictable (boring!), nor is it to be too convoluted (confusing!). Indeed, if you’ve ever laughed, you’ve experienced something of what a poem is.

Additionally, I would say that poetry is less foreign than it may seem. A man, sufficiently captivated by a woman, may write her letters professing his love, but there is something in him that thinks that what he has to say is best expressed in a poem. He may not be particularly good at writing lines, but he is acting based on the assumption that beautiful thoughts should be clothed in beautiful words. He compares her to a flower or the milky clouds that always exist in his skies. He may not like poetry himself, but he believes that the woman will enjoy his thoughts more in poetic form than in prose. 

A good thought is a wonderful thing. A good thought expressed with good words is magnitudes better. We apply this assumption whenever we spend time thinking or preparing how we ought to speak or write.

It is Intrinsically Human

I believe that most people consider poetry to be superfluous and unnecessary. This is especially true in our age of modern technology and science, where things are judged based on their usefulness. Why then, when looking back through the bulk of human’s written history, do we find it everywhere?

Wherever written works are to be found, you can find poetry. Much may be lost to history, but the fact that our oldest books and stories present themselves in poetic forms is significant. The Bible, which Christians believe to be the written word of God himself, is full of poetry and poetic language. The Iliad and The Odyssey, arguably the foremost heroic adventure story, was sung and eventually written down in verse. Early Chinese writings appear to be dominated by poetry. Thousands of humans have lived, fought, breathed, died and have still taken breaks from these to sit down and craft beautiful speech with poetic words. They must have considered it worthwhile.

But what about today? Has poetry been slain by technology? As long as humans exist, no. One example of where poetry exists today is in rap. Indeed, rap can be seen as an extension of the development of poetry in our world. It is aggressive, outlandish, rhythmically interesting and stimulating. Is it just the beat? Or is there something about humans speaking emphatically in well-crafted and well-ordered words that is energizing to any listener?

In summary, you are built for poetry. You are prepackaged with all the tools by which you can enjoy it and experience much of its pleasure (and maybe even write it!). Don’t neglect history that has led us to where we are today.

Bonus Reasons To Read Poetry

While I do genuinely believe that enjoyment is one of the primary reasons to approach poetry, there are other reasons which I believe contribute to its desirability.

Poetry is Anti-Cultural Language

Poetry stands quite noticeably against the grain of our modern views of communication. We are trained to speak and write as scientists, as clearly as possible, where each word has a single meaning and purpose in how we use it. While this is good practice when it comes to prose, poetry differs in that, much like good humor, it rejoices in the complexity of words. A single word can generate a host of connotations and a good poet will make use of these to magnify the experience of the poem. Poetry offers a refreshing alternative in a world that seems to only speak with technological, legal, and (worst of all) political tongues.

I alluded to this earlier, but poetry also opposes our modern temperaments by being, all things considered, rather unnecessary. A poem won’t help you change a tire or pay your taxes. In many ways this is part of its power. If your first thought when approaching a poem is “What shall I get out of this?”, then I’d suggest giving up the endeavor altogether. You’ll most likely end up mangling the words and their meaning to support whatever agenda you are wanting to bolster. Again, poetry can offer much in the way of reflection and change, but it must first be approached as something to be enjoyed. This goes for all art. If you want to be a buzzkill, then turn all the art you see into actionable morals, political statements, and self-affirming therapy.

Poetry is the First Short-Form Content

I almost hesitate to make this point, but I think that it’s worthwhile. In a world that is saturated with YouTube Shorts, TikTok reels, and an endless supply of attention-shortening entertainment, poetry stands as a healthy alternative. Poetry is often quite short. Sonnets are, almost by law, restricted to a mere 14 lines of 10 syllables each. In fact, most of our English poetic forms (such as the aforementioned sonnet, the haiku and villanelle) are restricted to low line counts. Compare this with novels and even short stories and you will find how bite-sized poetry can be. It is true, there are long poems and even full books all written in verse (such as Paradise Lost and many other classics), but most of the consumable poetry we have with us today is relatively short.

What this means is that poetry requires less commitment from you. You can sit down and within ten minutes or less you can have read and digested a high quality poem. This is perfect for those of us who have a hard time finishing the books that we start.

And poetry differs from our short-form content by being actually substantial. In other words, you can (and must) consume it multiple times and still find enjoyment in it. Try this with your next video! Can you watch it multiple times? Usually, the enjoyment will take a steep drop-off after the first viewing. However, the enjoyment with poetry will climb with each reading. It will bewilder you by how it ends and entice you to start again from the top. And in so doing, a poem will train your attention to last a bit longer. This is why poetry is healthy. If shorts are Cheetos, then poetry is a Cliff Bar. If you have problems eating a full meal, then at least eat the snacks that are healthy and rich in protein.

Conclusion

There is much more that can be said concerning poetry and much more that has been said by others through the ages. Yet here I will end with some last thoughts and tips. 

The only way that you can truly know whether you will enjoy poetry is to try your mind at reading some. Make sure the try is genuine! Don’t be discouraged if you read a poem and find it not terribly interesting. Just move on to another one. If you find a poet intolerable, confusing, or simply boring, try another one! Don’t lump all poets together; each will differ in style according to their uniqueness as a human. Go to a local bookstore and buy a poetry anthology, of which our world will never have a shortage. Start with the poets that people can’t stop talking about and then move on from there to the obscure ones as you find them.

Finding a poet that you do enjoy is like finding a distant friend, someone you know you can visit at any time and be welcomed with a rejuvenating hospitality. Finding a good poem is like finding a beautiful pearl amid the dull sand of the beach. You can keep it in your pocket and pull it out whenever, reminding yourself of its beauty and what it means for you. There is a deep richness of enjoyment and truth to be found in poetry. It is to our loss to neglect it.