Contemporary Poetry vs Classical: How to Approach Different Eras

Opening a contemporary poetry collection after reading Shakespeare can feel like stepping from a formal garden into a wild meadow—or perhaps a city street. Where are the rhymes? Why is someone writing about Twitter? Is that emoji really part of the poem? Conversely, approaching classical poetry after reading contemporary work might feel like entering a museum where everyone speaks a foreign language and follows mysterious etiquette rules. These jarring transitions between poetic eras can make readers feel like they need entirely different skill sets for different periods. This chapter will show you that while surface differences are real, poetry across all eras shares fundamental concerns and techniques. You'll learn to recognize how historical context shapes poetic expression, understand why contemporary poetry looks and sounds different from classical verse, and develop strategies for appreciating poetry from any era. Most importantly, you'll discover that reading across periods enriches your understanding of both individual poems and poetry's ongoing evolution.

Why Different Eras Matter for Poetry Readers

Poetry doesn't exist in a vacuum—it emerges from specific historical moments, technological conditions, and cultural conversations. Understanding these contexts transforms bewildering differences into meaningful variations.

Consider how technology shapes expression. Before widespread literacy, poetry was primarily oral, hence the emphasis on memory aids like rhyme and meter. Print technology allowed for visual effects impossible in oral tradition. Now, digital technology enables multimedia poetry, erasure poetry using Google searches, and poems that exist only on Instagram. Each technological shift opens new possibilities while potentially closing others.

Cultural values also evolve. Classical poetry often assumed shared cultural knowledge—biblical stories, Greek myths, Latin phrases. Contemporary poetry can't assume such common ground in our globalized, multicultural world. Instead, it might reference pop culture, multiple languages, or explain its cultural contexts within the poem itself.

Moreover, poetry responds to its era's urgent questions. Romantic poets reacted against industrialization by celebrating nature. Modernists fragmented form to capture World War I's psychological aftermath. Contemporary poets grapple with climate change, social media, and identity politics. Understanding these pressures helps readers appreciate why poets make certain choices.

Finally, reading across eras prevents both chronological snobbery (dismissing old poetry as irrelevant) and nostalgic fundamentalism (rejecting new poetry as degraded). Both attitudes impoverish our reading. Each era offers unique gifts.

How to Identify Era Characteristics: Clear Markers

While individual poets always vary, eras share recognizable features:

Classical/Renaissance (Pre-1750)

- Formal structures (sonnets, heroic couplets) - Mythological/biblical references - Public, rhetorical voice - Clear moral positions - Elaborate metaphors (conceits)

Example: "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful" (Donne)

Romantic (1750-1850)

- Nature as spiritual force - Individual emotion emphasized - Imagination valued over reason - Common language championed - Political revolution themes

Example: "I wandered lonely as a cloud / That floats on high o'er vales and hills" (Wordsworth)

Victorian (1850-1900)

- Moral questioning - Industrial age tensions - Longer narrative poems - Science vs. faith debates - Social reform themes

Example: "The sea is calm tonight. / The tide is full, the moon lies fair" (Arnold)

Modernist (1900-1945)

- Fragmented forms - Mythic method (using myth to structure contemporary experience) - Multiple voices/perspectives - Difficulty as aesthetic value - International influences

Example: "April is the cruellest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land" (Eliot)

Contemporary (1945-Present)

- Free verse dominance - Personal/confessional modes - Identity politics - Pop culture references - Hybrid forms

Example: "You are the bread and the knife, / The crystal goblet and the wine" (Collins)

Common Patterns Across Eras

Despite surface differences, poetry across eras shares concerns:

Universal Themes Differently Expressed

Love in different eras: - Renaissance: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (elaborate comparison) - Romantic: "She walks in beauty, like the night" (nature imagery) - Modern: "I have eaten the plums" (domestic intimacy) - Contemporary: "I love you like 20 dollars" (everyday language)

Formal Innovation Within Tradition

Each era modifies inherited forms: - Shakespearean sonnets loosened Petrarchan rules - Romantic odes personalized classical formats - Modernist sonnets abandoned rhyme while keeping 14 lines - Contemporary sonnets might be prose blocks or tweets

Response to Predecessors

Poets always write in dialogue with earlier poetry: - Romantics rejected Augustan formality - Modernists fragmented Romantic wholeness - Confessionals exposed what Modernists concealed - Contemporary poets sample and remix all traditions

Practice Exercises: Comparing Eras

Let's examine how different eras approach similar subjects:

Death Across Eras

Classical (Donne): "Death, be not proud" - Personification of death - Argument structure - Religious certainty - Formal sonnet

Romantic (Keats): "When I have fears that I may cease to be" - Personal anxiety - Nature imagery - Individual vs. universal - Modified sonnet

Modern (Thomas): "Do not go gentle into that good night" - Fierce resistance - Repetitive form (villanelle) - Father-son dynamic - Light/dark imagery

Contemporary (Oliver): "When Death Comes" - Conversational tone - Life celebration - Personal spirituality - Free verse listing

Exercise 1: Track Formal Changes

Notice how death poems move from public argument to private meditation, from religious certainty to personal spirituality, from formal structures to free verse.

Exercise 2: Identify Consistent Elements

Despite differences, all four poems: - Personify death - Assert human dignity - Use imagery to make abstract concrete - Create music through repetition

Exercise 3: Language Evolution

- Classical: "thou," "thee," elevated diction - Romantic: Balance of formal/natural - Modern: Mix of high/low language - Contemporary: Everyday speech patterns

Mistakes When Reading Across Eras

Mistake 1: Applying Wrong Standards

Judging classical poetry by contemporary values ("Why so formal?") or contemporary poetry by classical standards ("Where's the meter?"). Each era has its own aesthetic criteria.

Mistake 2: Missing Historical Context

Reading Phillis Wheatley without knowing she was enslaved, or Wilfred Owen without understanding World War I, impoverishes interpretation. Research context.

Mistake 3: Evolutionary Thinking

Believing poetry "improves" over time. Different doesn't mean better. Homer isn't primitive; Instagram poets aren't degraded. Each era offers distinct excellences.

Mistake 4: Ignoring Continuities

Focusing only on differences misses how contemporary poets use classical techniques or how ancient concerns persist. Poetry is conversation, not revolution.

Mistake 5: Era Stereotyping

Assuming all Romantic poems celebrate nature or all contemporary poems are confessional. Every era contains variety and contradiction.

Quick Reference Guide for Reading Different Eras

Approaching Classical Poetry:

- Expect formal structures - Look up mythological references - Read aloud for full effect - Consider public/rhetorical purpose - Appreciate elaborate craft

Approaching Romantic Poetry:

- Focus on speaker's emotion - Notice nature imagery - Consider political context - Value imagination/vision - Expect personal revelation

Approaching Modernist Poetry:

- Accept difficulty as intentional - Look for fragments/collage - Research allusions - Consider global influences - Embrace multiple meanings

Approaching Contemporary Poetry:

- Expect diverse forms - Consider identity contexts - Notice pop culture references - Value accessibility - Appreciate hybridity

Universal Reading Strategies:

- Start with what you understand - Research what confuses you - Read multiple poems from era - Find era anthologies - Read poets writing about their contemporaries

Try It Yourself: Interactive Activities

Activity 1: Translation Across Eras

Take a contemporary situation and write it in different era styles:

Situation: Checking phone obsessively for messages

Classical: "O Device divine, thou modern Oracle klein..." Romantic: "Like a lover watching the horizon for ships..." Modernist: "ping ping ping / the void answers / nothing" Contemporary: "I refresh gmail like a slot machine"

Activity 2: Find the Contemporary Classic

Match contemporary subjects with classical forms: - Twitter sonnet sequence - Instagram haiku - Text message villanelle - Email epistolary poem

Activity 3: Reverse Engineering

Take a classical poem and contemporize it:

"To be or not to be" becomes: "to post or not to post / that is the question / whether it's better to stay silent / or share and risk the trolls"

Activity 4: Era Anthology

Create a mini-anthology tracking one theme across eras: - City poems from each period - Parent-child poems through time - War poetry evolution - Love poems across centuries

Understanding Historical Pressures

Each era's poetry responds to specific conditions:

Classical Era Pressures:

- Patronage system - Religious authority - Classical education assumed - Manuscript/early print culture - Court/elite audiences

Romantic Era Pressures:

- Democratic revolutions - Industrialization - Nature under threat - Individual rights emerging - Expanded literacy

Modernist Era Pressures:

- World War I trauma - Psychological theories (Freud) - Global communication - Urban acceleration - Traditional authority collapse

Contemporary Era Pressures:

- Digital revolution - Globalization - Identity politics - Environmental crisis - Information overload - Social media dynamics

Understanding these pressures explains aesthetic choices.

Building Cross-Era Reading Skills

Read Chronologically: Occasionally read poetry history forward, seeing how forms and concerns evolve. Read Anthologies: Era-specific anthologies provide context and variety within periods. Study Influences: Learn which earlier poets influenced later ones. Trace lineages. Compare Translations: Read multiple era translations of classics (Homer, Dante) to see how each period reimagines the past. Join Reading Groups: Different members often prefer different eras. Learn from diverse tastes. Write Imitations: Try writing in different era styles. Creation teaches recognition.

The Ongoing Conversation

Poetry is an ongoing conversation across centuries. Contemporary poets respond to classical ones; future poets will respond to today's. Understanding this conversation enriches individual poem readings:

When Terrance Hayes writes American Sonnets, he converses with Shakespeare, questioning who gets to define "American" or "sonnet."

When Rupi Kaur writes minimalist verse on Instagram, she echoes ancient fragment traditions while using new media.

When Caroline Bergvall mixes Middle and Modern English, she shows language's evolution and persistence.

This conversation includes you. Your reading creates new connections between eras, finding relevance in ancient texts and depth in contemporary ones.

Why Read Across Eras?

Reading poetry from multiple eras provides:

Perspective: Contemporary problems feel less unique when you find similar concerns in 500-year-old poems. Technique: Each era develops certain techniques to perfection. Learning from all expands your appreciation. Surprise: Discovering a medieval poet who sounds contemporary or a contemporary who sounds ancient breaks down artificial boundaries. Wholeness: Poetry is one long human project of giving language to experience. Reading across eras connects you to this full tradition. Freedom: Understanding how rules and rebellions cycle frees you from rigid positions about what poetry "should" be.

As you continue your poetry journey, resist the temptation to specialize in one era. While you may develop preferences—perhaps Contemporary speaks most directly to your experience, or Renaissance complexity delights your puzzle-solving mind—remain open to all periods. Each era offers what others cannot. Classical poetry provides cultural memory and formal mastery. Romantic poetry offers emotional authenticity and natural vision. Modernist poetry captures fragmentation and global consciousness. Contemporary poetry reflects current urgencies and diverse voices. Together, they create a complete ecosystem of human expression. Your task isn't to choose but to receive the gifts each era offers, understanding that poetry's differences across time reveal not decline or progress but the endless human creativity in giving form to experience. In reading across eras, you join poetry's timeless present, where all poems exist simultaneously, speaking to and through each other, creating meaning that transcends any single moment while honoring every particular one.