Category Archives: Poetry’s function

Guy N. Pocock on the function(s) of poetry (1920)

Posted on March 10, 2018 by

…poets write [poetry] because they have a keener imaginative insight into the real significance of things than most men; and besides they are able to use words in such wonderful fashion as to conjure up for us a sense of … Continue reading →

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W. H. Auden on the function of poetry (1938)

Posted on December 1, 2016 by

The primary function of poetry, as of all the arts, is to make us more aware of ourselves and the world around us. I do not know if such increased awareness makes us more moral or more efficient;I hope not. … Continue reading →

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