Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse
by Professor John Hollander
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Book Summary Information
Author: Professor John HollanderEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-03-01
ISBN: 0300088329
Number of pages: 140
Publisher: Yale University Press
Book Reviews of Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse
Book Review: Wow! I am so glad I have this
Summary: 5 Stars
I can hardly contain myself. After reading through several books about how to write poetry I came to this one. Though I am almost jumping for joy, I have a soupcon of sadness, because I wish I had started here. Hollander's book is like a good poem: concise, entertaining, and ultimately full of wisdom. Just compare Hollander's examples on forms (in the forms!) to the lackluster examples in The Book of Forms by Lewis Turco.Don't be fooled by the title. This book is about all aspects of poetry, including free verse (and even 'concrete' poems). While Rhyme's Reason has a smaller selection of forms than The Book of Forms and a shorter discussion of prosody than All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing, it had more than enough meat for me. And I can unhesitatingly recommend it for first forays into the appreciation and composition of poetry. Make sure to get the Third Edition, of the year 2000, which has a few added goodies. Enjoy!
Summary of Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse
In his classic text Rhyme's Reason the distinguished poet and critic John Hollander surveys the schemes, patterns, and forms of English verse, illustrating each variation with an original and witty self-descriptive example. In this substantially expanded and revised edition, Hollander adds a section of examples taken from centuries of poetry that exhibit the patterns he has described.In the grand tradition of Alexander Pope, John Hollander offers this explication/enactment of poetic form. There are sonnets about how to write sonnets, haiku about how to write haiku, and so on. The writing is clever, entertaining, and instructive, which will surprise no one familiar with Hollander's work. What's even more impressive, though, is how often these poems--which could so easily start to feel like homework--engage you emotionally. The sestina about sestinas is beautiful, and, excepting Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," Hollander's villanelle about villanelles is as captivating an example as one will find of the old French fixed form.
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