The visual presentation of poetry

From Wikinfo

The visual presentation of poetry

Throughout history the visual impact of written poetry has been significant.

Before printing

Even before the advent of printing, the appearance of written poetry often added significant meaning or depth. Acrostic poems included clues or meanings in the letters beginning lines or in other specific places in a poem. In Arabic, Hebrew, and Chinese poetry, the presentation of the poems in fine calligraphy has always been an important part of the overall artistic and poetic effect for many poems.

Printing

With the advent of printing, poets gained greater control over the mass produced visual presentation of their work. As a result, the use of visual elements became an important part of the poet's toolbox, and many poets have sought to use visual presentation for a wide range of purposes.

Pre-modern and Modern poetry

Some Modernist poetry takes this to an extreme. The placement of individual lines or groups of lines on the page can form an integral part of the poem's composition. Line Placement can complement the poem's rhythm through various lengthed visual caesuras, or audible pauses, which create juxtapositions to accentuate meaning, ambiguity or irony, or can simply to create an aesthetically pleasing form.^[1] In its most extreme form, this can lead to concrete poetry or asemic writing.^[2]