The use of poetry. The double value of poetry – romantic and realistic.

“Good poets more often than not speak the language of their time and reflect something of the changing nature of their society.”

We will discuss the double value of poetry – romantic and realistic. The main focus is studying realistic reasons for reading and learning poems.

We will tackle the following questions and issues:
• if poetry today is still in demand
• if we really need poetry. It may be desirable or even excellent, but is it of any practical use? “Being the highest form of human expression, poetry is not only the most concise, but also the most condensed way of conveying human experience.” J.Brodsky
• if we doubt this let us examine some of the abundant evidence that everywhere surrounds us
• famous poetic images that have become part and parcel of language
• a few ways of using English language poetry in English language learning: moving from cultural to linguistic competence: examples from official sources and from students’ works.