Abstract
Book contains studies written by the eminent Czech scholars /Král, Petříček, Putna, Kalivoda, etc./ who try to describe the process of the poetic inspiration in a number of European and non-European cultures /Chinese, Indian, Graeco-Roman, Hebraic, in the European Middle-Ages, during the Enlightment, romantism and in the modern era/. The function of a poet and of poetry in society is discussed as well. The book is enclosed with a complex essay to grasp the poetic process and the person of a poet, written by Sylva Fischerová.