This study shows that poetry based on “being-in-the-world” internalizes the self’s recognition of the world and configures it linguistically. It is also the result of “interiority,” which is the product of modernity, and “genre consciousness.” However, the relationship between the self and the world is not always harmonious in poetry. This study examines the pathological aspects of poetry by applying Zizek’s concepts of “symptoms” and “fantasy” to the works of Yi Sang and Baek Seok. Both expressed their perception of the process of transitioning from the “the former world” to “the real world.” The idea that pathology is the subject’s response to the world, can be clarified through Badiou’s concept of the “event,” which focuses on the ontological change of the subject resulting from the perception of and response to the world. However, Yi Sang’s poetry expresses obsessions and anxiety as symptoms, whereas Baek Seok’s poetry expresses fantasies that are far from reality so as to make the subject’s intervention forgettable. This difference shows that the way the world complements the nodal point depends on the world-recognition of the poet. This has the following implications for poetry education. First, it provides a specific, recognition-based framework to view the poet's biographical information and work world. Second, it leads us to a new vision of poetry education that comprehends the learner’s reading of poetry in relation to “being-in-the-world” and the world. Follow-up research should be conducted to identify what the poetry genre and the poetry reading activity mean to learners.