INTRODUCTION Poetry is often thought of as a genre of literature consisting solely of measured, rhymed, or beautiful words. However, the history of poetry is older than the history of writing. People did not need to invent the alphabet, tablet, or paper to start reciting poetry. The human being who can keep rhythm, repeat sounds, narrate the events they experience, and call upon unseen forces has already established the fundamental conditions of poetry. Therefore, it is not possible to link the beginning of poetry to a specific poet or a single text. There may be a beginning for poetry recorded in writing; however, the first example of oral poetry was most likely recited by a person whose name will never be known in prehistory. What necessitates poetry is not merely the human desire to speak beautifully. Poetry arises from the need for humans to make sense of, remember, share, mourn, believe, protest, and imagine a world that does not yet exist. In other words, poetry serves not only to describe what is but also to grasp what it signifies for what is. The Emergence of Poetry We do not have a single definitive explanation regarding the origins of poetry. The fundamental reason for this is that poetry existed in oral form before writing. We cannot directly observe how the first poems differed from everyday conversations. However, we can say that poetry likely developed intertwined with activities such as music, dance, ritual, magic, lamentation, and collective storytelling. In early human communities, knowledge was largely transmitted orally. In this environment, rhythm, repetition, rhyme, formulaic expressions, and melody were not merely aesthetic elements; they were also memory techniques. Reciting a narrative with a specific rhythm facilitated its remembrance and transmission from generation to generation. Thus, poetry became both the art and the archive of pre-literate societies. How hunting would be carried out, who the ancestors were, what disaster the community experienced, how the gods created the world, or what words would be spoken after the dead could be preserved in poetic forms. In this regard, one of the primary functions of poetry was to carry social memory before expressing individual emotion. Aristotle explains the emergence of poetry through two fundamental tendencies found in human nature: imitation and a liking for rhythm. According to him, humans learn through imitation from childhood and derive pleasure from imitated images, events, or actions. Moreover, even seeing an artistic representation of something painful in real life can provide a sense of pleasure in learning and understanding. Here, "imitation" does not merely mean copying an object exactly. The Greek word mimesis can mean imitation, representation, depiction, and creating a likeness of something. Therefore, poetry does not mechanically reproduce the world; it selects, organizes, and transforms human actions into a meaningful form. The examples given by Aristotle also demonstrate the connection of early poetry with music and movement. The common point of genres such as epic, tragedy, comedy, and dithyrambos is that they are all imitations; however, they achieve this imitation through different means. The fundamental tools used in poetic arts are measure, language, and melody. These are sometimes used separately and sometimes together. Especially, dithyrambos is important for understanding the ritual origins of poetry. In the festivals held in honor of Dionysus, choruses would dance around the altar accompanied by flutes and sing songs. This poetry was not an independent text read silently in the modern sense; it was a combination of body, music, community, and sacred ceremony. Therefore, equating the first form of poetry with today's book poetry is misleading. The first poetry was likely an event that was sung, listened to, performed, and remembered simultaneously. What is the first poem? It is not possible to answer the question of "the world's first poem" with a definitive title of a work. Because the oldest text that has reached us does not have to be the first poem ever written. Additionally, many ancient poems may have lived orally for hundreds of years before being written down. In Mesopotamia, writing was initially used largely for economic and administrative records, and around 2600 BC, original literary texts began to be created. During this period, hymns, mythological narratives, laments, wisdom texts, and epic poems emerged. For this reason, it is necessary to distinguish between "the first poem" and "the poem of the first known poet." The earliest literary author and poet generally accepted as known by name is Enheduanna, who lived in the 23rd century BC. Associated with the Akkadian ruler Sargon, Enheduanna served as a high priestess in the city of Ur; she composed hymns, prayers, and poems dedicated to Inanna. Her association of her works with her own name places her in a special position in the history of literature. Among Enheduanna's known works are The Exaltation of Inanna , The Great Lady of the Heart , and other hymns dedicated to Inanna. These are not merely religious praises. In some of them, the poet's experiences of exile, fear, political conflict, loneliness, and acceptance can also be felt. Thus, poetry transforms from a ceremonial form that calls upon the deity on behalf of the community into a voice that expresses the inner and outer conflicts experienced by a particular individual. Enheduanna is also attributed with numerous temple hymns and prayers. However, rather than absolutely stating that Enheduanna is "the world's first poet," it is more accurate to say that she is one of the earliest poets whose name has survived to this day and one of the oldest known authors . There was poetry before her; we just do not know the names of those who recited those poems. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest poetic narratives, but it was not created in its current form by a single poet at one time. The Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh were compiled, altered over time, and later served as a source for the standard form of the epic. Therefore, Gilgamesh should be regarded not as the "first poem" but as one of the oldest great poetic narrative traditions that have reached us today. Fundamental Components of Poetry's Existence Defining a poem merely as a text divided into verses is insufficient. Poetry arises from the relationship established between various elements. Each of these elements may not create poetry on its own; however, when they work together, they condense ordinary language to create a poetic experience. Language The first material of poetry is language. However, poetry does not use language solely to convey information. It utilizes the sounds, associations, history, and the tensions created between words, in addition to their meanings. The sentence "It was cold at night" states a situation. However, poetry can relate the coldness of the night to a person's loneliness, fear, longing, or memory. Thus, a word gains a broader meaning than its dictionary definition. In the language of poetry, words do not merely denote one thing; they also evoke other things. A door can be not just a physical door but also a symbol of separation or a beginning. A river can transform into an image of time, forgetfulness, or irreversibility. Rhythm and Sound Rhythm is one of the oldest components of poetry. In metrical poetry, there is a specific arrangement of syllables, stresses, or long and short sounds. Even in free verse, although there may not be a traditional meter, the arrangement of words, pauses, repetitions, and sentence lengths create an internal rhythm. Therefore, the rhythm of poetry is not merely a matter of meter, syllable, or rhyme. The poet can even regulate the reader's breath. Short and abrupt lines can create a sense of urgency, fear, or anger, while long lines can facilitate the flow, expansion, or heaviness of thought. The historical closeness of poetry to music continues here. Poetry is not music, but it uses the effect of sounds on meaning. The same word can gain a different emotional value when spoken in a different rhythm. Image An image is the transformation of thought into a sensory form in poetry. An abstract concept is conveyed through a scene that can be seen, heard, or felt. For example, saying that time passes quickly is a thought. Saying "the leaves silently falling from the calendar" transforms time into an image. An image does not eliminate thought; it allows thought to be experienced in a bodily and sensory way. Emotion Poetry is closely related to emotion, but poetry is not an uncontrolled outpouring of emotion. For emotion to be poetry, it must take form. A person's sadness alone is not poetry. The arrangement of sadness through specific words, rhythms, images, and silences creates poetry. Therefore, good poetry is not limited to being "emotional." It must carry emotion and thought together with sincere formal control. Imagination Poetry does not merely record lived events. It can create people, possibilities, and worlds that do not actually exist. The distinction Aristotle made between the poet and the historian is important at this point. The historian narrates what has happened, while the poet narrates what could possibly happen. Therefore, poetry can reach a more general truth about human behavior beyond a singular event. The poet's freedom does not mean arbitrariness. The events they construct must carry an internal necessity or possibility. In successful poetry, the pieces should be arranged in such a way that when an important part is removed, the structure of the whole changes. Form and integrity In poetry, form is not a decoration added later to the content. Meaning often emerges within the form. Where the line is cut, which word is repeated, which sound stands out, or what is left unsaid changes the meaning of the poem. The principle of unity that Aristotle defined especially for tragedy can also be applied to poetry: The parts of a work should not come together randomly; they must necessitate each other. For a poem to be powerful does not mean that every word within it is indispensable; however, the choices in the poem must create a common effect. Poet, work, world, and reader M. H. Abrams draws attention to the relationship between four fundamental elements to understand poetry and art theories: the artist, the work, the external world, and the reader. The theories of different periods have placed one of these elements at the center. Some theories see poetry as an imitation of the world, some as a tool that creates an effect on the reader, some as an expression of the poet's inner world, while others view it as an independent structure in itself. This distinction explains why poetry cannot be reduced to a single definition: Poetry represents the world. It expresses the poet's inner world. It generates feelings and thoughts in the reader. It is also a linguistic structure that has its own rules and integrity. The metaphor of "mirror" and "lamp" in the title of Abrams's book also expresses this transformation. In the mirror understanding, art reflects the external world. In the lamp understanding, poetry is thought of as a light that spreads from the poet's mind and imagination. With the romantic theory of poetry, the creative mind, sensitivity, and imagination of the poet have become more central. Why is poetry necessary? The necessity of poetry does not mean that poetry must necessarily be read by every person. The necessity here refers to the ways in which poetry responds to certain human and social needs that other tools cannot fully meet. Poetry makes experience meaningful Humans do not only experience events; they also try to decipher what those experiences mean. Death is a biological event, but the death of a loved one carries many meanings such as memory, guilt, love, anger, and emptiness for the living person. Science can