Contrary to the widespread agreement among scientists and those who believe in the power of intellect (even I do), poets are not useless creatures or, in any way, inferior to the men and women engaged in any other walk of life. Poets, unlike what Plato once (mistakenly) believed, have an excellent grounding in any civilised human society. They are the ones who annunciate vision, pave the way for thought upliftment, and provide intellect the necessary imagination to fuel the craft of scientific discoveries. Yes, poets imagine if one could land on the moon; if one could fly in the vast open sky; if one could get to the depth of the ocean; if one could explore the vast galaxy… and so on. There is no end to a poet’s imagination. Science, for the benefit of the masses, catches up and tries its best to bring down every possible imagination to the ground of reality. You see, poets assist the brilliant scientists by taking up the responsibility to imagine the unthinkable, and scientists brilliantly make possible the impossible.

The intertwined destinies of poetry and science remain among the least discussed yet most vital areas of cultural symbiosis. In a world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, algorithms, and mathematical precision, it is ironic that we seldom acknowledge the raw creative impulse from which all human advancement stems. Before any great invention is drawn on paper, it flickers in the mind as a mere fantasy. And that space of possibility, of ephemeral existence, of emotive vision, is where the poet thrives. The poet dares to give form to the formless and lends language to the unknowable. When that imaginative force finds a grounding in rational pursuit, scientific breakthroughs often follow.

Only a poet can witness one of the rarest happy marriages in the world, suffering from incompatibilities of many kinds. Poetry is the result of a successful marriage between imagination and intellect. It happens rarely, however. Moreover, those rarest marriages that are anointed in the mind of the poet witness the birth of some of the finest poetry the world marvels at for centuries to come.

Poetry is not opposed to science. Rather, poetry often paves the conceptual terrain that science eventually traverses with rigorous footsteps. The idea of flight was once a poetic fantasy. Da Vinci’s sketches were as much an exercise in artistic imagination as they were in physics. Jules Verne imagined voyages to the moon long before Apollo missions ever took shape. H. G. Wells wrote of invisible men and time machines, not with an engineer’s precision but with a poet’s courage to believe in the impossible. These prophetic visions, couched in poetic sensibility, expand the mental maps of human aspiration.

Ancient Indian literature, particularly the Vedas, the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana, contains many such fantastical and poetic imaginations that intriguingly parallel modern scientific ideas. The concept of flying machines or Vimanas, described in the Vaimanika Shastra, evokes the same wonder we associate with contemporary aviation and aerospace engineering. These texts do not merely represent mythological fancy but poetic projections of technological potential. The notion that King Ravana flew across continents in his Pushpaka Vimana or that the sage Bharadwaja had outlined aerial engineering in precise detail suggests that poetic minds from ancient times were envisioning technologies that science is still attempting to decipher.

Even more fascinating is the tale involving Balarama, the elder brother of Sri Krishna, often regarded as an embodiment of strength and wisdom. His wife, Revati, and her father, Kakudmi, are believed to have travelled to the Brahmaloka, the realm of Bhagwan Brahma, to seek his counsel in finding a suitable husband for Revati. Upon their return, and after experiencing a form of time dilation, they discovered that time had passed differently and much had changed on Earth. Whether interpreted as metaphor or myth, such poetic storytelling curiously aligns with modern concepts of time travel and relativity. Lord Brahma even described the issue of different concepts of time on various planes of existence.

Even the most productive scientific minds who led the field of critical thinking often admired poetry. Charles Darwin, the person who gallantly led the ideological war against orthodox Christianity in the West, wished he could read more poetry and listen to more music in the next life.

Poetry does not merely ornament scientific facts; it enriches them with meaning. When scientists speak of the cosmos expanding or of particles behaving as both wave and matter, the language itself begs for metaphor. These are not easy ideas to grasp. They require not only mathematical understanding but a leap of the imagination. Here, the poet walks hand in hand with the physicist, both peering into the abyss of the unknown and attempting to name it.

You may always expect that an accomplished poet must do much scientific reading. Otherwise, how can those metaphors and imagery reach the heights of alchemy, perfectly blending that complex imagery germinating from the womb of science and matching their perfect and competent reflection in the imagery created with words? Isn’t poetry just like the perfection that water reaches when Hydrogen reacts with Oxygen infallibly? Think!

Scientific literacy among poets enriches poetry in unprecedented ways. The Neptune image by William Shakespeare, voyaging the world on his beloved’s back by John Donne (and never forget his compass too), and above all, Sri Aurobindo’s blend of concepts like cell, plasma, gene, engines, optics, electric energy, time-loop and many others, enrich the imaginative depth of poetry by bringing in hardcore scientific imagery. Moreover, all these poets and their works, undoubtedly, are highly accomplished and appreciated in the literary fraternity.

Through the alchemical fusion of scientific understanding and poetic intuition, something extraordinary occurs. Metaphors become more than aesthetic tools; they become cognitive bridges, carrying meaning from one domain to another. The use of scientific terminology and imagery in poetry not only broadens the reader’s cognitive field but also challenges the poet to seek precision. The metaphor of a neuron firing like a telegram message or of black holes as metaphors for psychological despair brings fresh perspectives to both realms.

Poets have also been keen observers of the limits of scientific discourse. They remind the world that not everything quantifiable holds value, and not all that holds value can be quantified. Poetry resists the reductionism that science sometimes embraces out of methodological necessity. The emotional residue left behind by a breakup or the quiet ache of existential dread cannot be measured, yet they drive some of the finest verse ever written. In these immeasurable domains, poetry flourishes and thrives.

While science may not directly credit poetry for its success (and it should neither be forced), poetry makes use of science to enrich its ambit. In other words, poetry is not bereft of a scientific temper. Yes, imagination is there in abundance; science does find its space when poets need to make a compelling case.

From classical to contemporary times, we see an enduring dialogue between scientific visionaries and literary poets. Goethe dabbled in colour theory. Primo Levi brought the insights of a chemist to his memoirs. Carl Sagan quoted Blake and Whitman while speaking of stars and galaxies. Rabindranath Tagore wrote of atoms and cosmic energy long before such ideas entered public consciousness. The result is a literature that is not only more rooted but also elevated by the epistemic presence of science.

Indian traditions, too, have spoken of scientific concepts in poetic language. The idea of latent energy lying dormant in the chakras or energy centres of the human body finds parallels in neurological and physiological discussions. The ancient concept of Agni as both physical fire and internal metabolic energy anticipates modern biochemistry. The Rigvedic hymns addressing Soma as both plant and divine elixir could be interpreted as poetic explorations of pharmacology or even consciousness studies.

Today, as we face complex challenges like climate change, genetic manipulation, and artificial intelligence, there is a renewed need for this conversation between poetry and science. The ethical dilemmas that science raises often find more resonance in poetry than in peer-reviewed journals. A poem can ask whether we should do something simply because we can. It can articulate the human cost of progress. It can remind us that beauty, wonder, and fear are as integral to scientific inquiry as logic and proof.

In educational settings, too, there is a growing argument for integrating arts and sciences. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) advocates recognise that future innovators will need not just technical skills but emotional intelligence and creative vision. Poetry, in this configuration, becomes a training ground for empathy, metaphorical thinking, and conceptual audacity. It fosters a mindset where one not only asks how but also why.

Let us not forget, finally, that both poets and scientists share a fundamental restlessness. They are seekers, always discontented with easy answers, perpetually reaching beyond the visible. Their tools may differ, language for the poet and apparatus for the scientist, but their impulse is the same: to uncover, to reveal, to transform. If science is the body, poetry is the soul. If science builds the engine, poetry maps the destination.

In conclusion, it is high time we shed the illusion that poetry is a passive or ornamental pursuit. It is an active agent of intellectual and imaginative evolution. Poets, contrary to the belief of many who dwell in the concrete corridors of empiricism, provide the blueprint for dreams that science later constructs with bricks of fact. The dialogue between poetry and science is not merely desirable; it is essential. For when the equations fail to comfort and the theories fall short of awe, it is the poet who will still have the words to say what the universe means. And that, my friend, is the most enduring science of all.

Dr Alok Mishra
Poet and Literary Critic
Founder of the English Literature Education platform