The article conducts a scientific analysis of the origin of poetry. On this issue, scientific examinations of opinions were carried out in works published at different times, and general patterns of the emergence of art as a whole were analyzed. Based on the research of scientists, an analysis is carried out of the manifestation of everyday needs and fantasies of man in the early era, which were prerequisites for the birth and formation of arts, including poetry. It is scientifically postulated that collective labor actions during primitive community construction, superstitions committed during the departure of hunters as a result of strong fear from the mysterious forces of nature, actions during the period of expulsion of harmful dark forces caused the rhythm of dance and melody. It is concluded that over time, these rhythms and melodies gave rise to initial samples of poetry. The genesis of the Kazakh heroic epic is associated with the emergence of poems. Poems of praise to hunters, forms of poetry reflecting heroic campaigns, served as the basis for the birth of epic. An analysis of works related to personalities who created early poetic samples and a heroic epic was carried out. In Kazakh folklore, conclusions related to the history of the emergence and formation of types of shaman (bucks) and storyteller (zhyrau) are differentiated. The attitude of bucks and zhyrau to the formation and development of the heroic epic is comprehensively analyzed and generalized scientifically.