As for the function of poetry, as early as in ancient Greece, Aristotle put forward the "purification theory" in Poetics, that is, poetry (mainly referring to tragedy) purifies emotions by causing pity and fear. At the same time, Aristotle also pointed out that through religious music, excessive emotions can be calmed down by venting, thus restoring the health of the soul.
As early as the pre-Qin period in China, Confucius put forward the function of poetry, that is, "enjoying the scenery and complaining"; Confucian Bai Juyi proposed that poetry can "release human feelings"; Shi Mao Preface, a research work on the Book of Songs in Han Dynasty, puts forward that poetry can be "humane, beautiful and change customs".
Almost all of the above viewpoints talk about the function of poetry from the perspective of individual psychology and perfection. Of course, the fundamental starting point of cultivating perfect individuals in ancient times was political needs.
At present, in the face of the impact of capitalist industrial civilization, the sharp conflicts, contradictions and oppositions between man and society, man and nature, and man and himself are all manifested in the alienation of man's heart, which has led to various psychological diseases. Therefore, in contemporary times, building a perfect individual through the role of poetry is more based on the needs of self-growth.
Based on this demand, poetry therapy can be applied to many scenes, such as couples therapy, family therapy, group therapy, psychological trauma therapy for children and adolescents and so on.
For example, couples therapy, the method is that two couples cooperate to complete a short poem, each writing a line. The best content is to write a poem about the relationship between two people, or to write down your own understanding of the images described in the poem by appreciating the same poem (of course, this way is accepted on the premise that the cultural level of couples is not too different).
For example, Stephen Crane's "Should I Take Off This Ragged Clothes" describes people's nervousness and anxiety in the face of new life situations. In this poem, you can ask, "I feel disillusioned and depressed. What will my world look like? " On this issue, let the couple write down their views and compose poems.
Through the cooperation between husband and wife, we can see that they have completely different perspectives when facing different problems, but it is undeniable that they all intend to maintain their relationship. The purpose of their treatment is to improve the relationship between husband and wife while allowing individuals to grow up. And this method can be used everywhere in life.
Harold, a poet and psychologist, mentioned the role of poetry creation in his book The Effect of Poetry. "These poems have restored me to a state of balance and made me realize the pain carried in my heart. However, I have worked hard to find a way out and decided to face life with an optimistic attitude. Those worrying past events seem to have vanished. "
Aestheticism artists represented by Oscar Wilde believe that art plays a role in saving human nature in modern society. Although many people think that they are "art for art's sake", it is undeniable that this is the "useless use" of art, and poetry therapy is the embodiment of the "useless use" of art.
The progress of industrial civilization is of course important, but taking a car as an analogy, industrial civilization is the engine and art is the steering wheel. The engine determines how fast we can walk and the steering wheel determines where we should go.