The title of this book may suggest that it is designed as a latter-day Gradus ad Parnassum to teach aspiring writers to produce passable verses. It...
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Jun 29, 2010
Troy
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Fussell notes in his forward the “traditional point of view” his book takes, Fussell believing “the great classic majority of English and American poems deserve a fair shake on their own terms.” He defends his approach most convincingly in his final chapter “Conventions and the Individual Talent” (this heading a citation of T.S. Eliot’s essay “Tradition and the individual Talent”);
“Again we see that, far from constraining the individual talent, the conventions have permitted the poeMore...
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May 29, 2008
Andrew
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Split into two main sections, Meter and Form (per the title). The meter section was useful, but, as another reviewer here has stated, suffers from a glut of examples. It drags on a bit.
I found the form section the better of the two: discussions of line, rhyme, stanza, and a selection of standard forms, such as the sonnet (of course).
I found the form section the better of the two: discussions of line, rhyme, stanza, and a selection of standard forms, such as the sonnet (of course).
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Feb 21, 2008
Dawn
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Helpful but no imperative. A good explanation of prosody (without getting too lofty) and decent source for examples. I used the book to help my students scan poems better. *NOTE* The chapter on free verse is garbage.
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Oct 05, 2007
Lisa
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Pretty good on the fixed forms (which I should know MUCH more about considering my profession). Utterly dismissive of anything innovative post-WW2. Sometimes this contempt is valid, sometimes not.
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Sep 03, 2008
Ron
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It would seem from the prevailing ratings for this book that I've overestimated the value of this book, but each rater, I'm sure his his own agenda; nevertheless, rarely have I read a work of reference that enthralled me as much as this one did, and I read it as one would a work of top-notch narrative non-fiction.
The book discusses clearly and thoroughly, but without wearing out its welcome, the principal meters and strucutures used by both traditional and "modern" (usually More...
The book discusses clearly and thoroughly, but without wearing out its welcome, the principal meters and strucutures used by both traditional and "modern" (usually More...
Aug 06, 2008
Leisha
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"What is wanted is the closest possible approximation of absolute density. For the texture of a poem must be dense: when old-fashioned critics assert that in a poem every vein must be rifted with ore, that is what, in their quaint way, they mean."
Urban density is what our exalted elders decided upon for Eugene: establishment of an urban growth boundary to salvage the farmlands, wetlands, wild places beyond. But the Amazon headwaters fall within the urban growth boundary, so More...
Urban density is what our exalted elders decided upon for Eugene: establishment of an urban growth boundary to salvage the farmlands, wetlands, wild places beyond. But the Amazon headwaters fall within the urban growth boundary, so More...
Jun 02, 2011
Joe
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The text is dense and informative and, as an aspiring writer, I found much of its underlying wisdom invaluable: in many ways, prose is lauded for the same reasons as poetry. Figuring out how and why, and working to apply those techniques to my own writing, has been my favorite part of the process. This book was a perfect first step in that direction.
Jan 31, 2011
John
rated it:
a treasure forever. a bit fussy at times, and clearly there's a reason fussell is a theorist and a historian and not an actual critic, as his insights into poetry can often be touchingly facile. however, for anyone looking to write, or read, poetry, it contains a wealth of information in a fairly easy to digest format. rare for prosodic theory!
Dec 03, 2010
Kendall
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As a poet, I did take some notes while reading this, but Fussell's arrogance and verbose approach to the subject was simply insulting.
Dec 17, 2009
The greatest. The most honest. And not a fairly straight forward way of thinking about it.
Aug 01, 2008
Denis
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I don't always agree with some of Fussell's pronouncements, but on the whole he gives a very nice introduction to the principles of prosody. The book's precision is one of it's great strengths, but it can also be a weakness on occasion when it leads to black and white depictions of things that are not so clear-cut. For anyone who is able to occasionally disagree with Fussell without feeling like those points of disagreement invalidate everything else, this book can a wonderful tool for any write
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Mar 26, 2007
Mike
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Fussell has a good grip on basic forms, especially within the world of formal (i.e. metrical and/or rhymed) verse, and if you don't know about the subject, he'll educate you. That said, there are two main problems, to my mind. The lesser one is a glut of examples, which tend to beat a dead horse -- we get it, Paul, enough already. The greater problem is Fussell's obvious distaste for free verse. Sure, he devotes a bit of time to it, but it reads as if it's out of obligation, and as if he rea
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Nov 21, 2011
Michael
rated it:
This book gives me a language to put to several of my natural poetry-reading instincts and heightened my sensitivity to sound. Going through something like this separates poetry scholars from poetry enjoyers--a good thing for an MFA to read, learn, and practice.
Sep 09, 2008
Sherry
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I found this book, which was first published in 1966 I think, pretty conservative, not to say stodgy. Not an easy read, but I did discover some valuable ways to look at formal poetry. I hope I will be able to internalize them.
Jan 21, 2008
J.R.
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Paul is a romantic born in the wrong decade. He presents some compelling arguments for the use of rhyme in modern poetry but understand the movement away from it. A clear and concise read.
Jul 10, 2008
Julie (julie37619)
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I never would have learned how to scan poetry without this book. Intensely boring, but lots of good information on writing and scanning poetry.
Apr 25, 2009
Heather June
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Indispensable. Wish I could find a reasonably priced copy of this-- it's out of print, and the library made me give it back.
Jul 10, 2008
Chuck
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Just a great primer on how to read poetry and the subtleties that (can) go into its construction.
Feb 12, 2008
Michelle
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the tone of this book is annoying at times, but it totally helped me learn how to write in meter.
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 12, 2012
Jan 30, 2012
