The Poetry Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

The perfect introduction to poetry, The Poetry Book offers a fascinating exploration of more than 90 of the world's greatest poetic works.

Discover poems in all their many guises, from the epics of the ancient world through Renaissance sonnets to modernist masterpieces such as The Waste Land, and the key works of the last 50 years, including And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou and Derek Walcott's Omeros.

Using the Big Ideas series' trademark combination of clear explanation, witty infographics, and inspirational quotes, The Poetry Book unlocks the key ideas, themes, imagery, and structural techniques behind even the most complex of poems, in clear and simple terms, setting each work in its historical, social, cultural, and literary context.

Dive into the passionate world of poetry to discover:

COMPREHENSIVE: Brings together a curated selection of the most celebrated and important poems ever written, majoring on English-language poetry
ANALYTICAL: Provides critical analysis of form, structure, and style, exploring the trademark themes and subjects of the poets who wrote them, and using each poem as a route into wider literary trends, poetic movements and schools, and related poets
GRAPHIC APPROACH: Combines creative typography, graphics, and clear text to explore the world's most famous and important poems, and the people behind them, in a unique way
EYE-CATCHING: Thought-provoking graphics and flow-charts explore form and structure, and the central concepts behind each work
QUOTATIONS: Features insightful and inspiring quotes from the featured poems, the poets behind them, and leading writers and critics
REFERENCE: Features a glossary section of poetic terms

Delve into the works of Dante, Baudelaire, Rumi, Dickinson, Eliot, and Li Bai with in-depth literary analysis and fascinating biographies. Find out what odes, ballads, and allegories are. Trace recurring motifs, explore imagery, and discover how rhyme and rhythm work.

From Homer's Odyssey to Seamus Heaney's Casualty, The Poetry Book is essential reading for lovers of poetry and aspiring poets alike.