Soldiers of Words

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In a time when people lose their soul and languages lack genuine sincerity, poetry stands tall shaping our empty lives with joy and pain. “Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash” (Leonard Cohen). Forgotten and abandoned just like our killed hopes, raped values and unfulfilled dreams, poetry is marooned alone away—far from us—on a deserted island of ignorance. Indeed, nobody would deny the significant role of poetry in our lives. However, there has been an ongoing debate on the importance of poetry as a type of arts in enriching our lives and whether it was useful in children education. Consequently, today, some realists claim that poetry cannot contribute to society and should not be introduced to children whereas other intellectuals believe that arts can improve man’ way of thinking.

Objectors of poetry claim that it would feed unbridled passions and release the uncontrolled emotions; therefore, it would lead man to be driven by his own insatiable lusts. "Poetry feeds and waters the passions instead of drying them up; she lets them rule, although they ought to be controlled, if mankind are ever to increase in happiness and virtue" (Plato, the author of The Republic) stated. Notably, opponents of poetry believe that passions should be controlled to a greater extent. Admission of poetry to society only in the forms of hymns to gods and praises to heroes is deemed to be their only option. In addition, some realists believe that poetry would cause young children to be rebellious, mutinous and ill-mannered since they were taught to judge things by their emotions and inner feelings.

On the other hand, advocates of poetry believe that it was that mirror which makes everythin...

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...ns at all ages. Yet, today there has been a growing and a robust debate over its admission to children at an early age. Critics of poetry insisted that poetry should not be admitted to children as it may feed the passions, spoil their nature and encourage their rebellion. On the contrary, defenders of poetry argued that it should be introduced to children to promote better communication and awareness, boost great values and virtues, feed their imagination as well as stimulate their creativity. However, I believe that children must have some exposure to poetry from an early age as I have personally experienced the benefits and the advantages of learning poetry at an early age. I think that those soldiers of words who fight for our freedom and dignity using poems and verses as weapons can undoubtedly free our thinking and guarantee a better life for us.

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