The Poet's Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices [Paperback]

William Packard (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0062720457 | ISBN-13: 978-0062720450 | Publication Date: July 8, 1994

This handbook defines the tools, terms, and techniques of poetry. Arranged alphabetically from "accent" to "zeugma," The Poets Dictionary is clear, superb, and complete.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Packard's experience as editor of The New York Quarterly and as a professor of poetry is evident in his work. This handbook is for the practicing writer, offering "brief and accurate definitions . . . together with a larger overview." Whatdistinguishes it from such established predecessors as Babette Deutsch's Poetry Handbook (1974) and the Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms (Princeton Univ. Pr., 1986), derived from the larger Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (1974, rev. ed.), is the extensive selection of examples, from ancient Greek to contemporary work. It is also aimed less at the descriptive scholar and more at the working poet. Included is a brief appendix on manuscript submission. Poets, readers, and teachers of poetry will enjoy it.
- Stephen H. Cape, Indiana Univ. Lib., Bloomington
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

William Packard is founder and editor of the New York Quarterly. He has been a professor of poetry at New York University for over twenty years and is a poet, screenwriter and playwright as well. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Collins Reference (July 8, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062720457
• ISBN-13: 978-0062720450
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #784,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for classical study, could use an update, April 28, 2002

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Poet's Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices (Paperback)

This is a greta reference book for poets and lit students/teachers, though its focus is mainly classical styles. It covers great territory when it hits the rarely-used forms (eclogue, epistrophe), but falls short on history. Since it's a bok of devices, however, you're going to want to look for poetry history somewhere else. Has TONS of examples of entries, which is invaluable for the poet wanting to branch into other forms and methods, and a nice launching pad for teachers looking to challenge students outside of ABABAB.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Tool for Students, June 22, 2007

By 

Frederic C Putnam (Hatfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Poet's Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices (Paperback)

William Packard, founder & editor of the New York Quarterly and prof of poetry at NYU, knows his stuff. This is a great little book, perfect if your are beginning to study poetry, whether on your own or in a class.

Packard's definitions are clear and concise; even more helpful are the numerous quotations that illustrate nearly every article. This is *not* a book of poetic theory (i.e., no articles on reader-response theory or structuralism) or history (no articles on, e.g., Eliot, Donne, Sappho), but a book of poetic "devices" (e.g., accent, conceit, epithalamion, rhyme, rhetoric, sonnet) that will help the diligent student of poetry recognize what the poet has done, and (perhaps) figure out why. [For the history, theory, national & ethnic poetry, &c., see, e.g., Preminger (ed.) "The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry & Poetics", or its abridgement, "The New Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms".]


I have been teaching English and biblical poetry for year--this little book is a required text for all students, and deserves a place on their permanent bookshelves. I recommend this most highly.

4.0 out of 5 stars Wide variety of entries with engaging explications, August 19, 2010

By 

J. Edvenson (Asker, Norway) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Poet's Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices (Paperback)

I think one reason I like this book is that the author is such a good instructor: it is personal, professional and succinct. The entries are as easy to engage with as a good lecture, providing some historical notes on specific poetic forms, while usually giving very useful examples and explications. This can give the creative force in a budding poet some tools to guide their own interests. As well, one can begin to appreciate how to discuss poetry from an analytical perspective. Still, several other works beckon the interested: Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms; Poetry: The Basics, by Jeffrey Wainwright; John Lennard's The Poetry Handbook; Burton Raffel's How to Read a Poem; and Terry Eagleton's How to Read a Poem. Each has its strengths. I'll try to review each separately.