Biblical Poetry
The ancient Hebrews perceived that there were poetical portions in their sacred texts, as shown by their entitling as songs or chants passages such as Exodus 15:1-19 and Numbers 21:17-20; a song or chant (shir) is, according to the primary meaning of the term, poetry. The question whether the poetical passages of the Old Testament show signs of regular rhythm or meter is yet unsolved.
Read more about Biblical Poetry: Extent of Poetry in The Old Testament
Famous quotes containing the word poetry:
“A poet’s object is not to tell what actually happened but what could or would happen either probably or inevitably.... For this reason poetry is something more scientific and serious than history, because poetry tends to give general truths while history gives particular facts.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)