Bernard O'Donoghue
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Oxford University Press
Poetry: A Very Short Introduction
Pages
168Format
PaperbackRelease date
2019Publisher
Oxford University PressWeight
4 ozSize
6.7 x 0.4 x 4.3 "
Poetry, arguably, has a greater range of conceptual meaning than perhaps any other term in English. At the most basic level everyone can recognize it—it is a kind of literature that uses special linguistic devices of organization and expression for aesthetic effect. However, far grander claims have been made for poetry. Poetry: A Very Short Introduction looks at the many different forms of writing that have been called ‘poetry’—from the Greeks to the present day. As well as questioning what poetry is, it asks what poetry is for, and considers contemporary debates on its value. Is there a universality to poetry? Does it have a duty of public utility and responsibility?
