The Poetry Handbook

by Lennard, John

• ISBN13: 9780199265381
• ISBN10: 0199265380
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This volume is a lucid and entertaining guide to the poet's craft, and an invaluable introduction to practical criticism for students. Chapters on each element of poetry offer a wide-ranging general account and end by looking at different poems, to build up sustained analytical readings. The second edition--fully revised, expanded, updated, and supported by a new companion website--confirm The Poetry Handbook as the best guide to poetry available in English.

Author Biography

John Lennard has taught at the universities of London and Cambridge, and for the Open University. He has published three books: But I Digress (1991), the best-selling Poetry Handbook (1996) and The Drama Handbook (2002). He is presently Dean of the Shakespeare Programme at the British-American Drama Academy in London; on the Global Virtual Faculty of Fairleigh Dickinson University; and teaches for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition	xiii
Abbreviations	xx
Introduction	xxi
Metre	1	(32)
Form	33	(48)
Layout	81	(24)
Punctuation	105	(48)
Lineation	153	(36)
Rhyme	189	(33)
Diction	222	(41)
Syntax	263	(27)
History	290	(25)
Biography	315	(22)
Gender	337	(15)
Exams and Written Work	352	(8)
Glossary and Index of Technical Terms	360	(31)
Select Bibliography and Further Reading	391	(12)
Index of Poems and Poets Quoted and Cited	403