The Pleasure of Poetry: Reading and Enjoying British Poetry from Donne to BurnsThe poetry produced by the British poets of the 17th and 18th centuries is considered to be among the best ever written. But many general readers feel intimidated by the language or structure of the poetry, and so tend to shy away from enjoying these poets and their works. Nelson takes readers on a tour of the major works and figures of 17th- and 18th-century British poetry, explaining major themes, devices, styles, language, rhythm, sound, tone, imagery, form, and meaning. Beginning each chapter with a sketch of the poet's life and career, the author then looks at five or six representative works, helping readers understand and appreciate the beauty of poetry itself. |
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... line ( or in successive lines ) of verse . A few lines from John Dryden's " Alexander's Feast " ( 1697 ) in which Alexander the Great's musi- cian , Timotheus , proves he can evoke practically any emotion he wants in his audience ...
... lines that follow . With the eight syllable lines and their four stressed syllables the poem is in iambic tetrameter . It also is made up of couplets ( two successive lines that rhyme ) in mainly end - stopped lines ( where the sense of ...
... lines each with alternating long and short lines , yet it is one of the most spiritually powerful of Herbert's poems . We know from the first word , however , that it is a kind of allegory . The first stanza runs as follows : Love bade ...
Contents
Introduction to Reading Poetry | 1 |
Poet of Secular and Sacred Love | 19 |
Elegist Satirist and Moralist | 37 |
Copyright | |
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The Pleasure of Poetry: Reading and Enjoying British Poetry from Donne to Burns Nicolas H. Nelson No preview available - 2006 |