Horses' gums recede with age, leading to longer teeth. A common way to inspect a horse's worth is to check it's mouth, hence the phrase. Receiving a horse as a gift and immediately inspecting its value was considered offensive, much like inquiring about the worth of a present today is rude.
Poetry is the first major literary genre. All types of poetry share specific characteristics. In fact, poetry is a form of text that follows a meter and rhythm with each lines and syllables. It is further subdivided into different genres such an epic poem, narrative, romantic, dramatic, and lyric.
modernism - genre of art and literature that makes a self-conscious break with previous genres. naive art, outsider art, primitive art, self-taught art, vernacular art - a genre of art and outdoor constructions made by untrained artists who do not recognize themselves as artists.