"True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, / As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance," wrote Alexander Pope. "The dance," in the case of Oliver's brief and luminous book, refers to the interwoven pleasures of sound and sense to be found in some of the most celebrated and beautiful poems in the English language, from Shakespeare to Edna St. Vincent Millay to Robert Frost. With a poet's ear and a poet's grace of expression, Oliver shows what makes a metrical poem work - and enables readers, as only she can, to "enter the thudding deeps and the rippling shallows of sound-pleasure and rhythm-pleasure that intensify both the poem's narrative and its ideas."
"True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, / As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance," wrote Alexander Pope. "The dance," in the case of Oliver's brief and luminous book, refers to the interwoven pleasures of sound and sense to be found in some of the most celebrated and beautiful poems in the English language, from Shakespeare to Edna St. Vincent Millay to Robert Frost. With a poet's ear and a poet's grace of expression, Oliver shows what makes a metrical poem work - and enables readers, as only she can, to "enter the thudding deeps and the rippling shallows of sound-pleasure and rhythm-pleasure that intensify both the poem's narrative and its ideas."
Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse
208Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse
208Paperback
Related collections and offers
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780395850862 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
Publication date: | 07/28/1998 |
Pages: | 208 |
Sales rank: | 163,335 |
Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.53(d) |
Age Range: | 14 Years |
About the Author
What People are Saying About This
Customer Reviews
Explore More Items
The Black Unicorn is a collection of poems by a woman who, Adrienne Rich writes, "for the complexity of her vision, for her moral courage and the catalytic passion of her language, has already
"A graceful and moving glimpse into a rare and giving artist's refined poetics, garden aesthetics, and spirituality."Booklist
Throughout his life (1905-2006) Stanley Kunitz created poetry and
From the former U.S. Poet Laureate, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winner, an illuminating dissection of poetic form for students, enthusiasts, and newcomers alike
A Little Book on Form
The classic reference work--an invaluable sourcebook for poets and readers
Comedian and actor Stephen Fry's witty and practical guide, now in paperback, gives the aspiring poet or student the tools and confidence to write and understand poetry.
Stephen Fry believes that if
In The Art of Reading Poetry, Harold Bloom gives us his critical reflections on more than
An introductory text that is both an anthology of over 200 poems and a comprehensive exploration of the form. Over 100 poets featured; those most widely represented include Blake, Byron, cummings,
Before she fell in love with Tuscany, Frances Mayes fell in love with verse.
"Mary Oliver's poetry is fine and deep; it reads like a blessing," wrote Stanley Kunitz many years ago; and recently, Rita Dove described her last volume, The Leaf and the Cloud, as "a brilliant