Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction [Hardcover]

Derek Attridge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 1995

This is the first introduction to rhythm and meter that begins where students are: as speakers of English familiar with the rhythms of the spoken word, nursery rhymes, song and rap. Poetic Rhythm builds on this knowledge and experience, moving from basic questions about the rhythms of spoken English to the elaborate achievements of past and present poets. Terminology is straightforward and there are frequent practical exercises. Poetic Rhythm will help readers of English poetry experience and enjoy its power, subtlety and diversity, and will serve as an invaluable tool for those who write or discuss poetry in English.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'At long, long last here is the text that may well revolutionise our perception and analysis of poetry and shift attention from image-play and patterning to the rightful primacy of speech rhythms and metricality ... Derek Attridge propounds invaluable theoretical concepts as well as applied techniques ... Bliss!' Richard Taylor, Modern Language Review

' ... an exceptional introduction to the rhythmic aspects of poetry which manages to be a the same time insightful and perfectly readable.' Buchbesprechungen

Book Description

This is the first introduction to rhythm and meter that students can relate to as speakers of English familiar with the rhythms of the spoken word, nursery rhymes, song and rap. The text will help readers of English poetry experience and enjoy its power, subtlety and diversity.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521413028
• ISBN-13: 978-0521413022
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,551,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the single best book on reading poetry I have found., March 10, 1999

By 

[e-mail] Kenneth Hope (Northbrook, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction (Paperback)

Attridge is a careful and helpful reader of English poetry. This book, one of several he has written on the subject, is both elementary and profound. The field is fraught with difficulties and ambiguities, but Attridge sensibly avoids the silly stuff. He provides a helpful summary with each chapter, and numerous exercises that are both instructive and enjoyable. This is the kind of book one feels ought to mark a turning point in the study of prosody. If others may be persuaded to adopt his system of scansion, the field will be enormously rejuvenated. Having read it, one returns to earlier work by Fussell, Gross, Hartman and others wishing they might revise their books accordingly. In any case, the book is spirited, wide-ranging, and important.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love poetry, you MUST own this book!!, March 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction (Paperback)

This is absolutely the best book on poetic rhythm I have ever read. You must posess this book if you are, as I am, a student of poetry who wishes to get a feel for how rhythm actually works in English verse. Attridge makes it clear from the start that if you speak English, then you have all the tools you need to understand how rhythm works because you already use those tools whenever you speak. Through numerous examples and exercises you will learn to focus on what you natually do when you read a poem and how it affects the way you understand it. You will find (as I did) that Attridge's distinction between stress verse and sylable stress verse clears up a lot of confusion. There's even a chapter on the rudiments of phrasal anaylsis that will, in my opnion, have you thinking like an expert in no time. I've read the book twice in three weeks I enjoyed it so much. Get the book!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Rhythm: an Introduction, August 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction (Paperback)

Derek Attridge radically changed my thinking about poetry and prosody. I have been reading, writing and teaching poetry for many decades and have always felt intuitively that the ideas expressed in this book were correct though unfortunately I lacked the vocabulary to describe them. Speaking as both poet and teacher, I found this book a liberation. Anyone interested in the art of poetry should inhale this book.