Introduction
PART 1: WHAT IS POETRY?
The Basics
A Definition of Poetry: The Double Pattern
PART 2: HISTORY: THE RENAISSANCE TO POSTMODERNISM
The Renaissance
The Restoration and 18th Century
Romanticism
Victorian Poetry
Modernism and After
PART 3: CRITICISM AND CONTEXTS
New Criticism
Formalism and Structuralism
The Role of the Reader and Poststructuralism
New Historicism and Cultural Materialism
Psychoanalysis
Deconstruction
Gender
Nation, Race and Place
Evaluation
Epilogue: Why Do We Write and Read Poetry?
Bibliography.
RICHARD BRADFORD is Professor of Literary History and Theory at the University of Ulster, UK. His publications include The Novel Now, acclaimed biographies such as First Boredom, Then Fear: The Life of Philip Larkin and The Life of a Long Distance Writer: The Authorised Biography of Alan Sillitoe, and introductory student textbooks Introducing Literary Studies and Stylistics (New Critical Idiom).
Richard Bradford's new introduction to poetry begins with and answers the slippery question, 'what is poetry?'. The book provides a compact history of English poetry from the 16th century to the present day and surveys the major critical and theoretical approaches to verse. It tackles the important issues of gender, race and nationality and concludes with a lengthy account of how to recognise good poetry. This engaging and readable book is accessible to all readers, from those who simply enjoy poetry through university first years to graduate students. Poetry: The Ultimate Guide provides the technical and critical tools you need to approach and evaluate poetry, and to articulate your own views.