Customer Reviews

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

5 star:		(9)
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3 star:		(2)
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I love huge, exhaustive books like this. I hate not being able to find the answer to a question in under five minutes, and my library has dozens of books like this that make such searches easy (the internet is another fast tool, but very few websites have more than the most basic knowledge.) If you want to learn how to write poetry and learn prosody by hands-on examples, go read John Hollander's little masterpiece, "Rhyme's Reason." If you want fast biographical and literary references, go check out "Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia." But if you want the absolute last word on poetic forms and meters, with absolutely thorough histories of each subject, use this book. It's saved my critic's keister more than once in the classroom. As one of my professors said, a scholar is not somebody who knows all the answers: a scholar is somebody who knows how to find all the answers. This book is an indispensable reference tool for anybody seriously interested in poetry.

Want to know what a 'priamel' is? Look it up here, "The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics." Not only will you see 'priamel' defined, but a short history of the use of the concept, examples of priamelic poetry, and a other resources to learn more.

How about Hungarian poetry, what makes a hymn (as opposed to a carol), a discussion on line usage and techniques? It is all here. Exemplum? Septenarius? Metalepsis? What's an iambe? It isn't an iamb, and from their respective entries, you'll see why.

Every student of poetry, whether in college, teaching or writing, needs this book. All the major terms and styles are covered here, but also every country producing poetry.

This is useful to the poet who wants to learn more about what has been done through the years, and how and why a particular style was used. The book is certainly for the intelligent reader, but won't be bogged down with overblown, hard to understand explanations. This an encyclopedia, not a dissertation.

Professors and students can use this book as a reference point as they research poetry. Ever read a literary critique and not have a clue what term Dr. Iam Smart just referred to? I sure have. This book helps me know what I am reading.

The entries are well-structured, and give plenty to get started, and then point you where you can learn more.

I fully recommed "The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics" by Alex Preminger.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

This stunningly comprehensive volume truly merits the title "encyclopedia." Nearly 1,400 pages, two columns to a page, with small print (the size of the print being one of the few shortcomings of the book). Over 700 entries, each including a brief bibliography. Detailed discussions of 106 national poetries. Entries on all varieties of poetic schools and movements, including Dada, Surrealism, Beat Poets, and . . . Fyrtiotalisterna (a group of Swedish modernist poets). Definitions of every imaginable poetic term, from anacoluthon to chiasmus to vers libre. Entries written by recognized authorities, from A. B. Lord writing on "Oral Poetry" to M. H. Abrams discussing "Theories of Poetry" to Elaine Showalter on "Feminist Poetics." "The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics" is simply the best single volume on poetry and poetics available, an indispensable reference for anyone seriously interested in poetry, as well as anyone interested in literature, literary history and prosody.

This stunningly comprehensive volume truly merits the title "encyclopedia". Nearly 1,400 pages, two columns to a page, with small print (the size of the print being one of the few shortcomings of the book). Over 700 entries, each including a brief bibliography. Detailed discussions of 106 national poetries. Entries on all varieties of poetic schools and movements, including Dada, Surrealism, Beat Poets, and . . . Fyrtiotalisterna (a group of Swedish modernist poets). Definitions of every imaginable poetic term, from anacoluthon to chiasmus to vers libre. Entries written by recognized authorities, from A. B. Lord writing on "Oral Poetry" to M. H. Abrams discussing "Theories of Poetry" to Elaine Showalter on "Feminist Poetics". "The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics" is simply the best single volume on poetry and poetics available, an indispensable reference for anyone seriously interested in poetry, as well as anyone interested in literature, literary history and prosody.

This book is comprehensive and probably essential for the study of poetry. But there are several serious problems. First, there is only a completely useless Table of Contents and no index. Yes, it is an encyclopedia and the entries are in alphabetical order but the subjects are very broad (Symbol, Twentieth-Century Poetics) making it necessary to scan several pages in several different subject areas without knowing if you have missed the poem or poet you are looking for. How will you know to look for comments on The Illiad under the heading of Simile or that the subject heading Intuition contains a discussion of the Neo-Platonists? Scanning pages for a specific piece of information is difficult because the print is tiny. The Preface and Acknowledgments are in big print and then they switch to very small print for the remainder of the book. You will need lots of time and a magnifying glass to take full advantage of this book.

Basically, it has abstracts that touch on just about any topic you would conceivably want to look up in the course of doing any analysis of poetry. Not only does it provide fully adequate, concise definitions, but it includes a bibliography for each entry, providing loads of sources for further inquiry if you aren't satisfied with the book's definitions.

I have very little to add to the laudatory reviews. Some found the print too small, but for me it was not a problem - I am used to using reference works with smallish print.

I just got my copy and found a lot of fascinating information on the ode which I didn't know. From what I've read so far, the topical discussions are excellent, and there are ample biographical references for the major and some of the minor entries. All in all, it is a great resource for student, poet, poetry lover, and critic.

At present I'm researching the way poets use structure as meaning in poetry. This excellent book not only explains the different poetic forms from poetic traditions from around the world, it also gives details of their history. The book is organised so information can be found quickly. The only drawback I found is the small font it uses.

Good and detailed book providing the advanced reader/poet with many information. As the title says a real encyclopaedia. One problem is that it is suitable only for very advanced readers and professional poets. Common readers will find difficulties. One more disadvantage is that the book is printed with very small font, making it difficult and tiring while reading. Good as a reference but difficult to use otherwise. It is recommended for experienced readers with poetry and poetics. Other people will be able to find everything but they will end up to find nothing. They should try something simpler.

This is the most comprehensive and informative encylopedia of poetry and poetics that I know. It at times seems so comprehensive and detailed as to make understanding of its entries possible. It is in fact so overwhelming sometimes that it confuses by telling much more than I, at least, need or want to know. It seems to me in a way a very academic work, wonderful for critics but probably of very little use in inspiring to poetry. So much knowledge about poetry is not necessarily what poetry is.