A Study of Poetry

The method of studying poetry which I have followed in this book was sketched some years ago in my chapter on “Poetry” in Counsel Upon the Reading of Books. My confidence that the genetic method is the natural way of approaching the subject has been shared by many lovers of poetry. I hope however that I have not allowed my insistence upon the threefold process of “impression transforming imagination and expression” to harden into a set formula. Formulas have a certain dangerous usefulness for critics and teachers but they are a very small part of one’s training in the appreciation of poetry.I have allotted little or no space to the specific discussion of epic and drama as these types are adequately treated in many books. Our own generation is peculiarly attracted by various forms of the lyric and in Part Two I have devoted especial attention to that field.Contents: PART I - POETRY IN GENERAL: Chapter I - A Glance at the Background Chapter II - The Province of Poetry Chapter III - The Poet’s Imagination Chapter IV - The Poet’s Words Chapter V - Rhythm and Metre Chapter VI - Rhyme Stanza and Free Verse. PART II - THE LYRIC IN PARTICULAR: Chapter VII - The Field of Lyric Poetry Chapter VIII - Relationships and Types of the Lyric Chapter IX - Race Epoch and Individual Chapter X - The Present Status of the Lyric.