Poetic Form: An Introduction

by David Caplan

Poetic Form offers a clear, compact, and entertaining introduction to the history, structure, and practice of the language’s most popular verse forms. Written with humor and wit, this guide aims to convey the pleasures of poetry ― a sestina’s delightful gamesmanship, an epigram’s barbed wit, a haiku's deceptive simplicity ― and the fun of exploring the poetic forms. Each chapter defines a particular verse form, briefly describes its history, and offers examples. Writing exercises challenge students to utilize the forms in creative expression. Covering a wider range of forms in greater detail and with more poetic examples than similar guides on the market, it provides enough material to thoroughly introduce the language’s major forms while allowing flexibility in the classroom.

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2006

Reviews

[Carmen G]

This was actually a text for class, but a seminal work if you want to break down the structure of poetry.

[Mike]

Pretty elementary, but long on examples, which is good.

[AnnaRae Martin]

Dry, very dry :)