Written by one of our best contemporary practitioners of traditional poetic form, All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing is a lively and comprehensive study on the forms and traditions of English poetry. Perfect for the general reader of poetry, students and teachers of literature, and aspiring poets, Steele's book emphasizes both the coherence and the diversity of English metrical practice from Chaucer's time to our own. He explains how poets harmonize the fixed units of meter and the variable flow of idiomatic speech, and examines the ways in which poets have used meter, rhyme, and stanza to communicate and enhance meaning. Steele illuminates as well many practical, theoretical, and historical issues in English prosody without ever losing sight of the fundamental pleasures, beauties, and insights that fine poems offer us.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
The Best Currently Available:
Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to read a variety of handbooks and guides to poetry and by far and away this is the single most comprehensive, educational and well-written work on English prosody currently available. It supercedes the old standbys: Fussell, Beum & Shapiro, Oliver, Baer and Hollander. The book discusses and explains all prosodic systems: accentual-alliterative, accentual-syllabic, syllabic, quantitative and free-verse. Its focus, quite naturally, is on... more info
An excellent description of prosody:
Steele here, unlike in *Missing Measures*, is not engaging in a polemic, but is rather engaging in one of the most thoughtful explorations of accentual-syllabic prosody that I have read. His descriptions of the iambic pentameter line and the variations of that line, relative stress, and indeed the diversity of uses to which "traditional" verse can be put are revelatory and even inspiring. It isn't your old da-DA-da-DA-da-DA-da-DA-da-DA.
All the fun really is in how you say a thing.:
I am currently a student in an undergraduate creative writing program, and I love (and write) free verse. A previous reviewer criticizes Steele for his "rejection" of free verse; this reason is the basis of his/her low rating of the book. Timothy Steele doesn't have a deep admiration of free verse. He even calls it secondary to the main accentual-syllabic tradition. Although I agree with the previous reviewer about Steele's view of free verse, I do not, however, think this book is lessened by Steele's... more info
_THE_ manual of meter and versification:
I would definitely not recommend this book to beginners. Don't get me wrong, it's probably the best book on prosody out there, but it can be difficult reading. The book is loaded with information, and Steele's knowledge on the subject comes through. But it isn't the book I'd start with. But if you have a general idea of form and meter, then there is no better book to strengthen and teach you. Part One, on iambic verse, should be read by any serious poet. The only problem I found with the book is that Steele... more info
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