Poet

A Poet is a creative writer who composes poetry.

• AKA: Bard, Versifier, Rhymester.
• Context:
  • It can (typically) employ Poetic Devices such as metaphors, similes, and alliteration.
  • It can (typically) explore Human Emotion through lyrical expression.
  • It can (typically) contribute to Literary Tradition by creating original verse.
  • It can (typically) perform Poetry Readings to share poetic works.
  • ...
  • It can (often) draw inspiration from Personal Experience or historical events.
  • It can (often) collaborate with Musicians to create song lyrics.
  • It can (often) participate in Poetry Competitions or literary festivals.
  • ...
  • It can range from being an Amateur Poet to being a Professional Poet, depending on its publication history.
  • It can range from being a Traditional Poet to being an Experimental Poet, depending on its stylistic approach.
  • It can range from being an Ancient Poet to being a Contemporary Poet, depending on its historical era.
  • It can range from being a Lyrical Poet to being an Epic Poet, depending on its poetic form.
  • It can range from being a Formal Verse Poet to being a Free Verse Poet, depending on its structural preference.
  • ...
  • It can be associated with Literary Movements such as Romanticism or Modernism.
  • It can influence Cultural Discourse through social commentary in verse.
  • It can receive Literary Awards such as the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Ancient Poets, such as:
    • Homer (~750BC), known for epic poems like the Iliad and Odyssey.
    • Sappho (~630-570BC), celebrated for lyrical poetry about love and passion.
    • Pindar (~518-438BC), renowned for victory odes.
    • Virgil (70-19BC), author of the Aeneid.
  • Medieval and Renaissance Poets, such as:
    • Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), creator of the Divine Comedy.
    • William Shakespeare (1564-1616), famous for sonnets and plays in verse.
  • Romantic and Modern Poets, such as:
    • William Wordsworth (1770-1850), key figure in Romantic poetry.
    • Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), co-author of Lyrical Ballads.
    • William Blake (1757-1827), visionary poet and artist.
    • Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805), German poet and philosopher.
    • William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), Nobel laureate known for mystical themes.
    • Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), author of Duino Elegies.
    • Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923), noted for modernist poetry and short stories.
    • T. S. Eliot (1888-1965), modernist poet of The Waste Land.
    • Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), Welsh poet famous for "Do not go gentle into that good night."
  • Contemporary Poets (as of 2025), such as:
    • Amanda Gorman (1998-), inaugural poet known for "The Hill We Climb."
    • Ocean Vuong (1988-), author of Night Sky with Exit Wounds.
  • Regional Poets, such as:
    • African Poets, such as:
      • Wole Soyinka (1934-), Nigerian Nobel laureate known for dramatic poetry.
      • Chinua Achebe (1930-2013), Nigerian poet and novelist addressing colonialism.
    • Asian Poets, such as:
      • Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Indian Nobel laureate for Gitanjali.
      • Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694), Japanese haiku master.
    • Latin American Poets, such as:
      • Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), Chilean Nobel laureate known for love poems.
      • Octavio Paz (1914-1998), Mexican Nobel laureate exploring surrealism.
    • Middle Eastern Poets, such as:
      • Rumi (1207-1273), Persian mystical poet.
      • Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), Lebanese-American poet of The Prophet.
    • European Poets (beyond previously listed), such as:
      • Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966), Russian modernist poet.
      • Federico García Lorca (1898-1936), Spanish surrealist poet.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Playwright, who primarily writes dramatic scripts for performance rather than standalone verse.
  • a Novelist, who focuses on prose narratives rather than poetic forms.
  • a Composer, who creates musical scores rather than written verse.
  • a Journalist, who reports factual news rather than creative poetry.
• See: Poem, Lyrical Poet, Artist, Literary Artist, Epic Poetry, Sonnet, Haiku, Poetry Slam.

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References

2014

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poet Retrieved:2014-9-10.
  • A poet is a person who writes poetry.

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