A hymn can be defined as a poetic statement of a personal religious encounter or insight, universal in its truth, and suitable for corporate expression when sung in stanzas to a hymn tune. Perhaps few forms of poetry are so widely known and used, and so generally misunderstood and unappreciated.

The hymn is one of the most difficult of all poetic forms to master, for its small palate and vast subject matter make demands on technique which give pause to the great poets yet seem to encourage the versifiers–those carefree souls who “have a feel for meter” and “can rhyme,” even though the results are doggerel.

A look at the horizon of hymnody reveals a small number of masters of the art of hymn writing, with Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley towering over all the landscape. Without a doubt, one of the chief reasons for the popularity of Watts and Wesley lies in their ability to express lyrically as well as simply the Christian’s experience. “Both men had a classical education, which meant they knew Greek and Latin (and Hebrew), understood the root meanings of words, and were thoroughly schooled in the meters and niceties of poetic expression.

…The modern horizon of hymnody reveals only an occasional molehill, for the past fifty has not been notable for its contributions to the field of hymnody. It has been said that the chief contribution of the church in latter days has been the mimeograph machine. Perhaps it is true that our concern has been mass media, lifting up emphases and projects, and in general being activists rather than artists.

Yet there are encouraging signs in church architecture which reveal a careful restudy of the relationship of art to theology, of form to meaning, which may indicate that a new day is at hand in the church’s understanding and use of art forms. If a revival of hymnody is to occur, there must be a new study and understanding of the relation of the forms of poetry to the subject matter of hymnody.

from The Anatomy of Hymnody