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. From Donne and Jonson, to Pope, Swift, and Burns, the book offers excerpts of the poetry these artists crafted, and carefully examines the various attributes that have helped to establish them as some of the greatest of all time. Writing in clear, accessible language, Nelson also introduces general poetry terms to the novice, providing examples and explanations where necessary. Readers will no longer feel intimidated by difficult poetry. Instead, they will walk away with the tools they need to read, understand, and appreciate these titans of British letters. |
From inside the book
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Page vii
... Swift (1667–1745): Satirist, Preacher, and Lover 143 10. Alexander Pope (1688–1744): Satirist and Moralist 161 11. Samuel Johnson (1709–1784): Moralist and Satirist 183 12. Four Eighteenth-Century Poets: Finch, Gray, Goldsmith, and ...
... Swift (1667–1745): Satirist, Preacher, and Lover 143 10. Alexander Pope (1688–1744): Satirist and Moralist 161 11. Samuel Johnson (1709–1784): Moralist and Satirist 183 12. Four Eighteenth-Century Poets: Finch, Gray, Goldsmith, and ...
Page xi
... Swift , ” which are in the Norton Anthology ) , I have relied on Pat Rogers's edition , Jonathan Swift : The Complete Poems ( New Haven , CT : Yale University Press , 1983 ) . For Burns's " John Anderson My Jo " I have used Carol ...
... Swift , ” which are in the Norton Anthology ) , I have relied on Pat Rogers's edition , Jonathan Swift : The Complete Poems ( New Haven , CT : Yale University Press , 1983 ) . For Burns's " John Anderson My Jo " I have used Carol ...
Page 4
... Swift's " Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift , " a poem in which he imagines his own death and the reaction to it among his friends and acquaintances , the poet suggests that he is very jealous of Pope's power as a poet : “ In Pope I ...
... Swift's " Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift , " a poem in which he imagines his own death and the reaction to it among his friends and acquaintances , the poet suggests that he is very jealous of Pope's power as a poet : “ In Pope I ...
Page 12
... Swift shows what can be done with it in the following passage from his “ Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift " ( 1739 ) . Here he imagines some of his friends talking just at the point of his passing away ( he had been dean of St ...
... Swift shows what can be done with it in the following passage from his “ Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift " ( 1739 ) . Here he imagines some of his friends talking just at the point of his passing away ( he had been dean of St ...
Page 13
... Swift , though both are effective satirists . One special example of the pentameter line is worth mentioning . John Milton uses it in Paradise Lost ( 1674 ) , but without the end rhyme . This is called blank verse , or unrhymed iambic ...
... Swift , though both are effective satirists . One special example of the pentameter line is worth mentioning . John Milton uses it in Paradise Lost ( 1674 ) , but without the end rhyme . This is called blank verse , or unrhymed iambic ...
Contents
1 | |
19 | |
37 | |
Poet of Time Love and Delight | 53 |
Poet and Priest | 67 |
Poet of English Puritanism | 81 |
Pastoral Poet of Time and History | 107 |
Poet of the Restoration | 125 |
Satirist and Moralist | 161 |
Moralist and Satirist | 183 |
Finch Gray Goldsmith and Cowper | 201 |
Singer Satirist and Storyteller | 225 |
Epilogue | 247 |
Further Reading | 249 |
Index | 257 |
Satirist Preacher and Lover | 143 |
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Common terms and phrases
Alexander Pope alliteration beauty begins Belinda Ben Jonson Burns caesura called celebrate Charles Church classical clearly contrast Cromwell death delight describes despite divine Donne Donne’s dramatic Dryden Dunciad end-stopped England English English Civil War epic especially evokes faith fate feelings final flowers God's Gray heart heaven Herbert heroic couplet Herrick hope human iambic iambic pentameter iambic tetrameter ideas images imagination John John Donne Jonathan Swift Jonson kind king language lines live Lord Marvell Milton moral Muse nature never night Paradise Lost passage passion play pleasure poem poet poet's poetic poetry political Pope Pope's portrait praise published Puritans quatrain readers religious rhyme Robert Herrick Samson Satan satire says scene seems sense serious sins song sonnet soul sound speaker stanza stressed suggests Swift syllables thee themes thou traditional verse voice words writing wrote young