I have an urgent question

Haejin Lee · 2025-07-15T14:12:25+02:00

Explore insights on the use of the word 'poetry' in everyday life in South Korea, and clarify if it refers to a single poem or multiple works.

Haejin Lee Member

Member since 08 November 2024

Haejin LeeMemberYesterday 12:12:25

The poet published her new poetry. Can the word poetry im this sentence means a single poem?

Poetry in the sentence means poems not a poem right?

Bhavna Team

Member since 01 June 2015

BhavnaTeamYesterday 13:24:01

41647

@Haejin Lee

Hello

The word "poetry" is uncountable and generally refers to a body of work or the art form as a whole, not a single poem.

Regards

wondering9 Contributor

Member since 28 August 2023

wondering9ContributorYesterday 13:33:04

126

According to dictionary.com and merriam-webster.com, the word "poetry" does not specify multiple separate works or even whether an individual work is complete or partial. So yes, it could indeed refer to a single poem. Keep in mind, too, that a single "poem" can be 2 lines long or 2,000 lines long, and may have internal divisions or may not -- so whether a piece of work makes up a single "poem" may be a matter of interpretation anyway.

The use of "poetry" to mean one poem may be slightly unusual -- although even this would depend on the context -- but it is definitely not wrong.