MISSING MEASURES, MODERN POETRY AND THE REVOLT AGAINST METER [Paperback]

STEELE (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Free verse, contends poet Steele, has become a sort of Frankenstein's monster: the instigators of the modern, nonmetrical revolution in poetry expected free verse to be a "temporary expedient," a salutary but transient antidote to the florid idiom of late Victorian poetry. Instead, "having claimed special liberties for themselves, they found it difficult to persuade their followers to adopt a more restrained approach," and free verse has been the poetic orthodoxy for over a century. From Aristotle to Eliot, Steele surveys in a forthright and limpid style the history of the distinction between poetry and prose. He shows how the Modernists misconstrued the dicta of earlier poetic revolutionaries, identified Victorian diction with meter, and deposed them simultaneously. This is a judicious and intelligent appeal for a revival of metrical verse.
- Jeffrey R. Luttrell, Youngstown State Univ., Ohio
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: University of Arkansas Press (March 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557281262
• ISBN-13: 978-1557281265
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #939,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dense but effective, March 2, 2004

By 

J. Ott "John Ott" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MISSING MEASURES, MODERN POETRY AND THE REVOLT AGAINST METER (Paperback)

I checked this one out from my school library because I so greatly enjoyed Steele's ALL THE FUN'S IN HOW YOU SAY A THING. To be certain, this book is a whole lot denser and than FUN'S. I wouldn't go so far as to say more scholarly, but it is less accessible.

Which is fine. As long as you know your poetry, and your history of poetry, you will find Steele's arguments well-reasoned and balanced. Steele posits that the Modernist movement did not mean to overthrow meter and rhyme, or at least meant to replace it with another formal system. He quotes William Carlos Williams and Eliot and Pound in effect saying, "We failed."

Steele brings in a lot of background about ancient quantitative metrical systems and why they don't work in English to show why the one that has developed, accentual-syllabic, does work. If I've lost you here, the book is perhaps not for you. If you haven't read Steele's ALL THE FUN'S, I recommend it to read first. This book is great, just not as accessible. 5/5 stars

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Defense of Formal Poetry, January 17, 2002

By 

"scroobious2" (Montclair, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MISSING MEASURES, MODERN POETRY AND THE REVOLT AGAINST METER (Paperback)

Absolutely tremendous work of scholarship. This book is not a denunciation of "free verse," but a defense of formal poetry against irresponsible charges made by the practitioners of free verse--most remarkably Pound and Eliot. In lively and engaging prose, Steele traces the history of metrical writing from the Ancient Greeks to the moderns, following the rise of metrical poetry to its status as "the superior art"--and its critical decline in the post-Victorian era when influential writers began to feel that "verse must be at least as well written as prose if it is to be poetry." (Ford) Steele's knowledge of his topic is astonishing, and the breadth of his research impressive. His points are generously illustrated and footnoted. His argument, which the dust jacket blurbs describe as "controversial," is, to say the least, persuasive. A must-read for students or devotees of verse (formal or free), and simply a marvelous read for anyone else.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a phenomenal book, June 1, 2003

By 

[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: MISSING MEASURES, MODERN POETRY AND THE REVOLT AGAINST METER (Hardcover)

Missing Measures is a great book. Steele is a remarkable scholar. The book is well researched and written in a style that is easy to understand as well as being a very enjoyable book. It's of interest to anyone who enjoys poetry, formal or not. This is a great text in literary history/criticism. And it is important for those who want to understand the Modernist movement.