Table of Contents
Preface to the second edition viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 The key words of poetry 7
1.1 What is poetry? 8
1.2 The key words of English poetic history 13
1.3 Exercises 20
2 The shape of poetry 23
2.1 The aesthetics of print 23
2.2 Pictograms and concrete poems 24
2.3 Visible but unreadable 28
2.4 Layout and punctuation 30
2.5 The poetic stanza and stanzaic form 33
2.6 Exercises 44
3 The sound of poetry 47
3.1 Poetic sound effects: an overview 47
3.2 Onomatopoeia 51
3.3 Sound-patterning 54
3.4 Rhyme 56
3.5 The 'orthodox' rhyme 59
3.6 Some 'unorthodox' rhymes 60
3.7 Some indeterminacies of rhyme 65
3.8 Rhyme and meaning 67
3.9 Exercises 69
4 Metre and rhythm 72
4.1 Complexities in the study of metre 73
4.2 The key metrical units 74
4.3 Metrical regularity and variance 77
4.4 'Missing' and 'extra' syllables 79
4.5 Feet 80
4.6 Iambic metre 80
4.7 Trochaic metre 88
4.8 Dactylic metre 92
4.9 Anapaestic metre 94
4.10 Occasional feet 95
4.11 Metrical verse lines 97
4.12 Free verse 104
4.13 Exercises 108
5 Comparisons and associations 111
5.1 Literal v. figurative 111
5.2 Metaphor and simile 112
5.3 Metonymy and synecdoche 115
5.4 Tenor, vehicle and ground 118
5.5 Conceits and extended similes 123
5.6 Dead and dying metaphors 127
5.7 Riddle poems 132
5.8 Exercises 134
6 The words of poetry 137
6.1 Linguistic diversity 137
6.2 Poetic diction 140
6.3 Poetry of the everyday language 145
6.4 Creating your own language 147
6.5 Diction and argots 149
6.6 Poems about language 153
6.7 Poetic intertextuality 156
6.8 Forms of allusion 159
6.9 Creative quotation and poetic imitation 164
6.10 The Queen's (and other people's) English 168
6.11 Exercises 172
7 Writing poetry 174
7.1 Why write poetry? 175
7.2 Write a poem 180
7.3 Feedback on your poetry: creative writing classes, poetry workshops and writers' groups 183
7.4 Publishing your poetry 186
7.5 Poets on poetry 189
7.6 Forty practical tips on writing poetry 194
7.7 Exercises 198
A glossary of poetical terms 201
Metre exercise: answers 227
Further reading 232
Index 236
