What Makes a Good Poetry ?

Author : Sneh Vatsa FRSA

Abstract : The objective of this paper is to assess the characteristics that define good poetry, and the impact which a good poem creates upon the mind of a reader. Poets who are engaged in the task of producing such poetry as might enlighten their readers, after they have been sufficiently entertained, have a purpose in their minds which is, amongst other things, to help the reader undergo an elevation of thought in which he might find himself better disposed to comprehend the ordinary emotions and feelings of everyday life, in an extraordinary way. To this end, the paper attempts to explicate the differences separating a good poem from a bad one. The opinions stated throughout the paper are the author’s own, and the imposition of these views on the minds of the readers is not what the author intends. What the paper solely interests itself in is to show that a poem of the classical order—by classical we mean any poetry of such outstanding merit that outlives its generation and continues to invite new interpretations down the ages—is not the product of the poet’s maturity alone, but of the maturity of a whole civilisation, of which the poet himself is a part. A good poet not only influences his own times, but is himself greatly influenced by the period of history in which he lives and writes. In that sense, poetry affects society as much as society prepares the culture medium for the growth and development of poetry

Keywords : Good poetry, reader impact, classical poetry, civilisation, society and culture

Conference Name : International Conference on Literature and Social Change (ICLSC - 26)

Conference Place : Jaipur, India

Conference Date : 16th Aug 2026