The Definition of Poetry

In elementary and middle school I was always taught the definition of poetry is anything that is in a poem. The Trinity High website (#32) created a similar definition to the one I learned; "Poetry is basically anything that calls itself a poem". Well then, what is the definition of a poem?

Dylan Thomas believes "A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him". In this definition, Thomas gives an abstract overview of what a poem is and mainly how it affects the reader. I don't mind this definition, but I am a concrete thinker and would like a more straight forward answer.

Another definition is given by Robert Penn Warren who says that "the poem is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful. And in the end, the poem is not a thing we see -- it is, rather, a light by which we may see -- and what we see is life". This is, again, a very airy and abstract concept. I feel that Warren's definition cannot be applied to all poetry though. Sometimes, I strongly dislike specific poems and they are not "a light by which [I] may see".

The Chambers Student Dictionary defines a poem as "a composition in metre; a composition of high beauty of thought or language and artistic form, in verse or prose; a creation, achievement, etc., marked by beauty or artistry". This is a more textbook definition than the two I mentioned above, which my concrete mind likes, but I still think that something is missing from this definition. The use of the words beauty, language, and artistry make is too general of a definition.

Even though there are multiple adequate definitions of poetry, there may never be a perfect definition that encompasses the full spectrum of poetry without being too broad or too narrow.