What role did poetry play in Johann Gottfried von Herder's understanding of reality?

For Johann Gottfried von Herder, poetry was not merely a form of amusement or a product of academic learning; rather, it served as a vital mode of engaging with and coming to terms with reality. He viewed poetry as an involuntary reaction to the stimuli of one's natural and historical environment, expressed through the "voice of feeling"—the sounds, rhythms, and stresses of speech—which he considered the organ of a dynamic relationship between humanity and the world.1

Herder believed that in genuine poetic utterance, the creative function of language reveals previously hidden aspects of human life. Because he saw language as the "mother tongue of mankind," he argued that poetic ability is most powerful in the "uncivilized" or early periods of a nation, as seen in the Old Testament, the Edda, and the works of Homer. By retrieving and studying folk literature, Herder sought to capture the Volksseele (ethnic soul), which defined the collective identity of a people. Ultimately, he viewed the poet as a creator who gives a nation a world to see, shaping their souls and leading them toward that reality.23