The Place of Poetry

The decline of poetry's cultural significance since the late eighteenth century is a central theme, as Christopher Clausen argues that poetry has lost its status as a truth-bearer to the sciences. Despite a Romantic revival, audience interest waned by the late nineteenth century, exacerbated by societal changes favoring materialism over artistic expression. Clausen suggests that modernist poets abandoned essential principles, leading to poetry's niche existence within academia. He contends that the need for poetry remains strong, urging poets to seize contemporary opportunities for revitalization.