Poetry: An Introduction - Softcover

Strachan, John; Terry, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814797970 ISBN 13: 9780814797976

Publisher: NYU Press, 2001

Synopsis

Poetry: An Introduction is an accessible and clearly written introduction to the structural and methodological principles underpinning poetry and its study. It aims to equip the student, researcher, and general reader with a body of technical information that will sharpen and deepen their engagement with individual poems.

Strachan and Terry provide a lively map through what might on first experience seem the most daunting aspects of poetry: poetic sound effects, rhythm and meter, the typographic display of poems on the page, the language of poetry, and the use made by poets of techniques of comparison and association. The book's discussion of poetic terminology is allied throughout to illustrative readings that show the usefulness of the terminology in approaching particular poems; its emphasis is always a practical one, demonstrating how poems actually work.

Beginning with an historical overview of the development of English poetry from its earliest origins and finishing with an authoritative dictionary of poetical terms, Poetry: An Introduction is an indispensable guide to the understanding of poetry.

About this title

About the Author:

John Strachan is principal Lecturer in English at the University of Sunderland.

From Library Journal:

For anyone who has ever wondered about the differences between metaphor and metonym or a trochee and a dactyl, this compact, well-organized handbook promises to be useful. Written by two prominent British educators, the volume serves as a basic guide to the technical structure of Western verse. Unlike books of poetry explication that emphasize the content and meaning of poems, this work deals with all the technical aspects of poetry: rhyme, rhythm, meter, diction, figurative language, and the visual appearance of verse on the printed page. The authors also include a concise historical overview of changing poetic styles and a helpful glossary of literary terms. Very accessible to beginning students of poetry, this handbook will help demystify a subject that many find daunting. Recommended for undergraduate and public library collections. Ellen Sullivan, Ferguson Lib., Stamford, CT
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0814797970
• ISBN 13: 9780814797976
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200