A History of Free VerseThis book examines the most salient and misunderstood aspect of twentieth-century poetry, free verse. Although the form is generally approached as if it were one indissoluble lump, it is actually a group of differing poetic genres proceeding from much different assumptions. Separate chapters on T.S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, H.D., and William Carlos Williams elucidate many of these assumptions and procedures, while other chapters address more general theoretical questions and trace the continuity of Modern poetics in contemporary poetry. Taking a historical and aesthetic approach, this study demonstrates that many of the forms considered to have been invented in the Modern period actually extend underappreciated traditions. Not only does this book examine the classical influence on Modern poetry, it also features discussions of the poetics of John Milton, Abraham Cowley, Matthew Arnold, and a host of lesser-known poets. Throughout it is an investigation of the prosodic issues that free verse foregrounds, particularly those focusing on the reader's part in interpreting poetic rhythm. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 82
Page 2
... things requisite in the renaissance were enthusiasm and propaganda . For America , I would say that the one thing lacking is simply the propaganda . ( Ezra I.140 ) Pound's activities at this time , as well as those of Harriet Monroe and ...
... things requisite in the renaissance were enthusiasm and propaganda . For America , I would say that the one thing lacking is simply the propaganda . ( Ezra I.140 ) Pound's activities at this time , as well as those of Harriet Monroe and ...
Page 4
... judgment , though the only thing the verdicts ever indicate is the predilection of the jury . This book addresses free verse as poetic form is gener- ally addressed , by searching for its roots and paying 4 Introduction.
... judgment , though the only thing the verdicts ever indicate is the predilection of the jury . This book addresses free verse as poetic form is gener- ally addressed , by searching for its roots and paying 4 Introduction.
Page 14
... thing as free verse . It's a contradiction in terms . The verse is measured . No measure can be free . We may say Whitman's verse is a typical example of what is spoken of as free verse . Now Whitman never called it free verse ...
... thing as free verse . It's a contradiction in terms . The verse is measured . No measure can be free . We may say Whitman's verse is a typical example of what is spoken of as free verse . Now Whitman never called it free verse ...
Page 17
... thing ? s My point is not that critics write more sublimely than poets do . However , Sutton's remarks contain a ... things impossible to discuss . Sutton is not the only one who finds something ineffable about the form of free verse ...
... thing ? s My point is not that critics write more sublimely than poets do . However , Sutton's remarks contain a ... things impossible to discuss . Sutton is not the only one who finds something ineffable about the form of free verse ...
Page 19
... thing , to the cadence , as have all good poets since . He is not much inclined to believe that they were much influenced by discus- sions held in Alexandria centuries after their deaths " ( Ezra I. 211 ) . Pound's insist- ence that the ...
... thing , to the cadence , as have all good poets since . He is not much inclined to believe that they were much influenced by discus- sions held in Alexandria centuries after their deaths " ( Ezra I. 211 ) . Pound's insist- ence that the ...
Contents
13 | |
61 | |
The Haunting of Wallace Stevens | 101 |
Straight Talk Straight as the Greeks | 135 |
The Parsing Meter and Beyond | 179 |
Avoiding Prosody? | 223 |
Notes | 237 |
Works Cited | 255 |
Index | 273 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
aesthetic alliteration approach argues Arnold asserted begins Blue Guitar cadence called century chapter claim classical Coleridge Coleridge's consider contemporary couplets Cowley Cowley's create critics decorum describes Dover Beach E. E. Cummings Eliot English enjambment essay example feel free verse free-verse theory genre grammatical Greek Henley iambic pentameter iambs idea Imagist imitate implies insists irregular ode language Letters line breaks lineal form long-line loose lyric means metaphor metrical Milton's natural nineteenth-century notion organic organicism pattern perhaps phrase Pindar poem poem's poet's poets Pope Pound prose Prufrock reader regular rhyme and meter rhythmic rules scansion seems sense short lines short-line sonnet sort sound speaker speech stanza Stevens Stevens's stress suggests syllables tetrameter thing thought tion traditional prosody traditional verse translation triadic line trimeter twentieth-century variable foot vers libre versification visual Wallace Stevens Whitman William Carlos Williams Williams Williams's words writing wrote