Berrigan and Shakespeare

Poetry is a very interesting form of literature. I respect its versatility and uniqueness. In The Sonnets, I liked how Berrigan incorporated a couple of different poetry styles. However, since poetry restricts extensive explanation, I can’t quite grasp what Berrigan or Shakespeare is actually trying to say, and in turn I fail to understand their overall purposes. Also, their language is far beyond my vocabulary and I’m confused at least every other line. I believe the purpose of poetry is to allow the reader to perceive these delicately picked words in their own way, but because of the language, I have a hard time doing so.