Rhyme's reason: A guide to English verse - Hardcover

John Hollander

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300027354 ISBN 13: 9780300027358

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1981

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

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.

About the Author

A pre-eminent American poet, John Hollander has written over sixteen volumes of poetry. He has also published several works of literary criticism and has edited numerous anthologies, including the Oxford Anthology of English Literature. His many honours include the Bollingen Prize, the Levinson Prize, and a MacArthur Fellowship. Rhyme's Reason won the Mina P. Suaughnessy Award from the Modern Language Association when it was first published. John Hollander is currently Sterling Professor of English at Yale University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300027354
• ISBN 13: 9780300027358
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 54