Does Art Need to Justify Itself?
One of the most common arguments for reading fiction is that it helps develop empathy.
It’s interesting how, in today’s world, art often feels the need to justify its usefulness. And yet, this idea persists.
In my experience, there’s one clear difference between people who read and those who don’t: empathy.
Fiction naturally fosters it, as we imagine what characters go through, how they feel, and sometimes even feel what they feel ourselves.
Why Fiction Builds Empathy—and Poetry Does It Faster
Certain genres, like sci-fi and fantasy, take this further by asking us to step out of our own reality and fully immerse ourselves in an entirely different world.
But if we’re reducing art to “use value,” then poetry—especially lyric poetry—might be the most efficient tool for empathy we have.
Think about it: would you rather sift through a thousand-page novel or engage with a thousand-line poem? Poetry delivers empathy in its most concentrated form.
And lyric poetry, in particular, operates in a way that’s inherently tied to empathy.
When we read fiction, we often connect to characters through the lens of a narrator, making the experience feel mediated. But with lyric poetry, something very different happens. We don’t just observe the speaker’s emotions—we become the speaker.
Their words often feel like our own.
As much as I love poems for their unique power, my training as a critic also compels me to appreciate how great literary criticism can deepen that experience.
For this reason, I’d like to lean on Jonathan Culler’s Theory of the Lyric to show how lyric poetry achieves its unparalleled empathetic impact.
Lyric Poetry: A Ritual of Empathy
In Theory of the Lyric, Culler’s central aim is to show how poets create what he calls a ritualistic present in their work. As he states, “Fiction is about what happened next; lyric is about what happens now.”
This distinction lies at the heart of why lyric poetry feels so different—and so profound.
Culler critiques the popular tendency to treat lyric poems as though they are dramatic monologues.
This approach imposes a fictional structure onto poems, forcing us to imagine a speaker’s context or motives, as we would with a character in a novel. Culler argues that this method flattens what makes lyric poetry extraordinary.
Related Posts:
Why Lyric Poetry Isn’t Fiction
Here’s his concern: when we treat a lyric like a monologue, we reduce it to the logic of fiction.
This pushes us to search for a speaker’s backstory or “motives,” as though the poem is a puzzle to solve.
But lyric poetry is not fiction. It doesn’t unfold through narrative or invite us to reconstruct events. Instead, it offers something entirely unique: the immediacy of the present moment.
To explain this, Culler distinguishes between what he calls the fictive and the ritualistic:
- The Fictive: A story with a plot, characters, and specific context, like you’d expect from a novel.
- The Ritualistic: Lyric poetry’s rhythm, repetition, and symbolic language make it feel performative, designed to be revisited and re-experienced.
Unlike fiction, which we might read once to follow the plot, lyric poetry invites us to engage with its emotional resonance repeatedly.
Stepping Into the Speaker’s World
Culler highlights the performative nature of lyric poetry as central to its power. When we read a lyric poem, we’re not just analyzing it from the outside.
We’re stepping into it, participating in the act of its expression.
One of Culler’s most striking insights is how lyric poetry blurs the line between the speaker and the reader. In fiction, we observe characters from a distance. Even when a narrator speaks directly to us, there’s still a sense of separation.
Lyric poetry erases that boundary.
When we read a lyric poem, the speaker’s voice often becomes indistinguishable from our own.
The poem’s “I” feels like our “I,” dissolving the gap between writer and reader.
This collapse creates an extraordinary intimacy, making the poem’s emotions feel immediate and personal.
If this nudges something beneath the surface—something raw, real, or quietly true—step into Emotional Intelligence / Poetic Intelligence. It’s not just about understanding feelings; it’s about navigating power, presence, and perception with depth. For those ready to lead from within.
Living in the “Now” of the Lyric
Culler describes the lyric as existing in a ritualistic present.
Unlike narrative forms that unfold across time, lyric poetry stays grounded in the “now.”
It immerses us in the immediacy of the speaker’s emotions, thoughts, and sensations.
In this sense, reading a lyric poem is not about reflecting on the past or anticipating the future. Instead, it’s about fully inhabiting the present moment of the poem. This temporal quality is what makes lyric poetry so powerful as a tool for empathy.
Language is the engine that drives lyric poetry’s ability to evoke empathy, and Culler’s insights here are especially compelling. Lyric poetry relies on:
- Sensory Detail: Immersing us in emotions through concrete imagery and sensory experiences.
- Metaphor: Turning abstract emotions into tangible, relatable images.
- Symbolism: Using universal symbols to make emotions accessible, even if the reader’s experiences differ from the speaker’s.
Culler argues that lyric poetry doesn’t simply tell us how the speaker feels.
It shows us in a way that makes emotions real and immediate. This directness allows readers to connect deeply with the speaker’s experience.
Empathy in Action: Why Lyric Poetry Matters
For anyone committed to personal growth and emotional intelligence, lyric poetry offers more than aesthetic pleasure—it’s a practice in empathy.
By immersing us in the ritualistic present, collapsing the boundary between speaker and reader, and using language to evoke visceral emotional experiences, lyric poetry teaches us how to connect with others on a profound level.
Unlike fiction, which engages us through narrative and distance, lyric poetry places us directly in another’s emotional world.
It challenges us to be present, to listen, and to feel. This means more than becoming a better reader.
It’s about becoming a better listener, a more empathetic leader, and a more emotionally intelligent individual.
Through its focus on the “now,” its ritualistic structure, and its immersive use of language, lyric poetry creates a bridge between speaker and reader that no other art form can replicate.
For anyone striving to grow emotionally, lyric poetry offers more than insight—it offers connection.
By stepping into the shared emotional space of a lyric, we practice the very skills that make us better partners, leaders, and people.
Ready to burn your default thinking? Download Dangerous by Design. Discover the 10 books that fracture, interrupt, and rewire the creative mind. Get the guide & read dangerously.
Pingback: How Emotional Regulation Transforms Pain Into Personal Growth - Samuel Gilpin
Pingback: Aristotle on Emotional Intelligence: Guiding Emotion with Reason - Samuel Gilpin
Pingback: The Death of Deep Thought: How Poetry Saves Meditative Thinking - Samuel Gilpin