"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."
Just as dancing is "the art of moving in accord with a pattern," says Mary Oliver, so is writing metrical verse. "One sorts out the pattern, one relies on it, and relaxes from effort to pleasure." The rules (concerning rhyme, line length, and pattern) are made if not to be deliberately flouted, then at least to be toyed with. Oliver claims to have written this book for both writers and readers of metrical verse, but it is an odd sort of fit for either. A writer might wish for a little more detail; a reader might find too much. The book works best as a kind of refresher course, for those who have forgotten the difference between metaphysical and Petrarchan conceits, between masculine and feminine rhymes, and would like to brush up a bit. Oliver does a wonderful job of explaining why the most common forms of metrical verse came to prevail (for instance, the five-foot line is "the line which is the closest to the breathing capacity of our lungs"), and of nudging us into reading more metrical poetry (nearly half this volume is devoted to works by John Donne, William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Bishop, and others). Blessedly, Oliver reminds us that, though one could get carried away trying new meters and forms, one shouldn't expect to be writing a lot of double ionics anytime soon. "Expect to use one hypersyllabic foot in ten years, perhaps," she says. "Anacrusis, rarely. Catalexis: often. The double ionic: when the next comet flies over." --Jane Steinberg
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Highly recommended:
This is an excellent introduction to formal poetry; not just meter, but rhyme, sonics, and traditional forms. You'll learn about substitution, catalectic feet, slant rhymes, and all the other techniques which go into the making of verse. The last part of the book is an anthology which shows how the greatest poets of the English language have applied these concepts to their own writing. All aspiring poets should learn about formal poetry before they even think about writing so-called "free verse."... more info
Guidelines for structured poetry:
this is a must for beginning and practising poets, looking for the beauty and discipline of structure and meter in poetry. It helps with both the understanding and construction of metrical poetry, and even if you write only free verse, it will increase your appreciation.
Great Resource:
This is an excellent resource for teaching or studying poetry. Clear and easy to use; well-organized; and it includes a nice anthology of metrical poems -- a complete package.
Mary Oliver shines:
Mary Oliver shines in this prose manual on the writing and issues of poetic composition. Her economy of words combines with an easy style to help an utter novice (like me) gain an understanding of the metric and rhyming tools involved. Clarity and suppleness of expression mark this book and I would recommend it to anyone who reads poetry or has an interest in trying their hand at writing. What you may enjoy the most is that Mary does not wander all about the landscape of poetry, but maintains a steady... more info
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