As liberal arts students, we often face the difficulty of explaining what we study and why it’s relevant. In a world of profit margins, optimization and quantifiable results, humanists stand as the odd ones out. The “profitability” of our education is difficult to translate into numbers and figures, which diminishes its value to some.

This spring I took a course on metaphysical poetry. We’ve met once a week to read out loud verses penned some 400 years ago. We’ve marveled at Donne’s mastery of the witty yet thoughtful conceit, been amused by Jonson’s humorous self-irony, felt Herbert’s religious fervor and generally immersed ourselves in the rich expression of the poetry. One of the central items of our weekly discussions has been to consider whether these verses are relevant to contemporary readers, and if so, how. Why should we read, study and analyze old poetry (or literature, for that matter)? What’s the value?

There are various perspectives to offer. We could talk about the importance of carrying on knowledge about the literary canon, or how reading poetry develops writing skills, or the fact that it has entertainment value. But I want to concentrate on a larger impact, and what I say about poetry here is equally true for every other form of aesthetic or artistic expression.

Poetry reflects the essence of what it means to be human. Poetry verbalizes and, in a way, materializes universal emotions: love, loss, doubt, ecstasy, lust, fear, hate and so forth. In poetry, we can relive the best and worst of experiences. Because emotions are universal we can connect with, be inspired by and find resonance in the rhythm and rhyme of lyric written centuries ago.

Poetry often serves as a tool for understanding abstract notions; for constructing thoughts and discovering new ways of thinking. Analyzing poetry, then, is always to some extend analyzing both the history of the human mind and human societies.

So to answer the question, whether poetry from bygone days is still valuable: hell, yeah! And why? For one, because what was true about the minds of the metaphysical poets or the romantics, is true about us today. Our cognition and our emotions don’t change. Poetry teaches us about the human mind and connects us to core emotions.

Secondly, we can learn about the evolution of thoughts and ideas. Our contemporary societies are the products of centuries past and poetry does its part in opening the curtain to that gone world. We can gain a better understanding of our current values, customs, ideologies and beliefs by analyzing how they’ve been constructed over time. Maybe there’s something to be learned from history.

So, the next time someone asks you why you’re investing time into Shakespeare, Donne and Milton, you can reply: “I’m constructing a comprehensive understanding of humanity. What are you investing in?”

Speaking of poetry, BTSB has a whole category dedicated to verses written by our editors. Go take a look! For our latest issue Elina composed a poem titled “These Words Are Not Mine”, Hanna takes a stab at Marvel films and Petteri provides an interesting commentary on Shakespeare’s “Timon of Athens”. Anthony gifts us with yet another fantastic short story and Teemu reflects on his recent trip to a longboard dancing competition. Jesper admits to being wrong about Game of Thrones and I interview content coordinator Kaisa Leino. On behalf of the whole editorial staff, I wish you enjoyable reading moments!