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Poetry in emotion... inspiration behind the lines of public grief
It was Shelley who once claimed "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world".
The meaning behind his famous remark has been widely debated by academics and scholars since it was published in 1821.
Some say he was implying that poets provide the moral compass in society; others believe he was alluding to something more profound, the idea that poetry expresses our deepest needs and emotions.
Poetry is often seen as high-brow, something eccentric that you might associate with old ladies or bow-tie wearing professors. Yet it can provide comfort to many of us during our darkest hours.
The heartbroken father of murdered 11-year-old schoolboy Rhys Jones penned an emotional poem to his son, in which he which described him playing football in heaven with George Best.
Mr Jones may or may not regularly write poems, but this was how he chose to pay tribute to his adored child:
...So Rhys plays now so happily
To the angels in the crowd
And every time he hits the net
They roar his name so loud.
Have fun my little blue boy
You're safe and in God's care
Til it's time for me to get my boots
And join with you up there
Similarly, when the Princess of Wales died, there was an immense outpouring of grief. Instead of sending flowers, many mourners wrote poems to express their sense of despair.
Less than a year after her death a book of amateur verse, Poems for a Princess, an anthology of grief, was published containing more than 1,500 offerings.
One critic described it as "possibly the worst book of poetry ever published". But it's unlikely those contributing aspired to be the next TS Eliot. Anyway, such comment misses the point.
Fiona Sampson, editor of Poetry Review, believes people turn to poetry at important moments in their lives.
"I think people want some sort of heightened language to express more heightened emotions, where everyday language is not enough.
"We have a history of this in our culture. We know phrases like 'till death us do part' and 'ashes to ashes' and this kind of ceremonial language is in the back of our minds."
Dr Sampson believes a heartfelt tribute from someone who doesn't normally read poetry is just as important as a well-executed piece of verse written by a professional poet.
"A lot of people will say poetry is not for them, but nearly all of them will know what they want read at their funeral, or will have memorised lyrics from a pop song when they were younger," she says.
"Poetry speaks to you – it can be an address to a son or a partner, or a fellow mourner. Whereas a picture can be difficult to interpret, we all have words, and poetry is the closest form for us to step into.
"I think it's perfectly right
that someone should write a
poem in homage to a loved one. There is something salutary about it that brings poetry to the people."
Linda Baxter, a former teacher from Pembrokeshire, turned to poetry following the murder of her son, Timo Baxter, who was beaten unconscious and thrown into the River Thames by a gang of youths in 1999.
Mrs Baxter began writing poetry after her son's death, and says it helped her to confront her emotions.
It culminated in a book of prose and poetry, called Losing Timo, published three years ago.
"I've actually stopped writing poetry now, but it was what I needed to do at the time," she says. "These were real feelings that I had to put down on paper. I had to explain all the different emotions and put them in some sort of order."
A volume of poetry rarely, if ever, makes the best-seller list, and in an age when communication has become faster and more ephemeral, poetry can sometimes find itself drowned out amid the clamour.
Poets themselves – perhaps not surprisingly – believe the more hectic our lives become the more we appreciate it.
"I think it's made poetry more important," says Simon Armitage. "I don't know whether it's made it any more popular, but I think it's do with being surrounded by noise and colour and information. Poetry is an alternative to those things.
"It's one person saying something they mean in a quiet and considered way, and I think a lot of people have found something in poetry in these contemporary times that they can't really get elsewhere."
In an interview with the Yorkshire Post earlier this year, Leeds-born poet Tony Harrison spoke of his belief that poetry was more relevant to our lives than ever before.
"Despite all the multifarious distractions, I think there are people rediscovering a need for it and for the kind of stillness and concentration required to read poetry.
"When somebody loses a person they love through death, or the break-up of a relationship, suddenly they want poetry in their lives. And if you haven't got any religion, then art, for me, is the deepest expression of all."
Poetry has never been widely popular and probably never will be, but this doesn't diminish its power.
And as long as people put pen to paper it will continue to inspire us – even if it does often go unacknowledged.
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