Sri Aurobindo considers literature an expression of spiritual experience of a writer and a vehicle of a superior power which helps a poet to open himself to the experience of infinite consciousness. Sri Aurobindo regards poetry as something divine, the function of which is to encapsulate the spiritual truths a poet experiences as a seer. He further says that with a supramental thought leading to a supramental life alone can a poet reveal a poet's 'inner being'. He assigns poetry a spiritual or psychic value and effectiveness of a psychic or spiritual character for he opines that in all ages spiritual seekers have expressed their aspiration or their experiences in poetry or inspired language and it has helped them and others. He has rightly comprehended the ancient Indian poetic tradition that says, kavayah satyasrutah and kavayah satyadrutah, which means the poet is the one who visualizes and experiences the truth. V K Gokak compares Sri Aurobindo to Ved Vyasa. Sri Aurobindo stands unique in connecting himself to the hoary poetic tradition of the Vedic Rishis. The predominant spiritual element of his poetry has kept many a reader at bay. It is very unfortunate that some of the modern critics and poets in India have passed harsh judgments on his poetry. It is due only to their failure to understand and appreciate the poetic tradition in which he was working. Their sensibilities, which are forged in the smithies of western critical traditions, have made them insensitive and incapable of appreciating his contribution to Indian poetry in general and English poetry in particular. The present paper discusses the reasons for their insensitiveness and their incapability of appreciating his poetry by drawing a comparison between Indian poetic tradition and English poetry and the influence of English poetry on Indian poetic tradition. © 2014 IUP. All Rights Reserved.