Image via WikipediaEarlier civilizations used poetry in one form or another to understand the mysteries of the universe through the art of story telling, rain dances,and singing. It was used as a way to recall history and a distant past. Before the development of literacy, poetry was orally recited for religious purposes and thus related to musical traditions. Most religious stories are parables to convey the meaning behind the story or plot. Through story telling, myths have been created by what is know as epic poetry- heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.
The poetic oral tradition basically was the first attempt to explain the origins of the world and to record the events of a specific time period like the struggles and victories of war. 
