Question! What is the essence of poetry

What is the essence of poetry? In your opinion, what is the essence of poetry? Many would say, it's what you feel, the heart of the message, while others might say it's its rhythm, diction, flow, artistic value, and such. What do you feel is the essence of poetry???

Definition of Poetry:

Poetry is traditionally a written art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. The increased emphasis on the aesthetics of language and the deliberate use of features such as repetition, meter and rhyme. Some modernists (such as the Surrealists) approach this problem of definition by defining poetry not as a literary genre within a set of genres, but as the very manifestation of human imagination, the substance which all creative acts derive from. Poetry often uses condensed form to convey an emotion or idea to the reader or listener, as well as using devices such as assonance, alliteration and repetition to achieve musical or incantatory effects. Furthermore, poems often make heavy use of imagery, word association, and musical qualities. Needless to say, many poets have given their own definitions.

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The essence of poetry is and will always be the emotion and the art behind it.

No matter how much you change it, there has to be some kind of emotion and artistic creativity to it.