Re:Verse

RE:Verse is an introduction to reading poetry. It combines close reading and practical criticism in a series of suggestive master classes that illuminate what poetry can be and, crucially, how it can be better understood. It is suitable for all readers of poetry, from those studying at school or university, to those who simply wish to develop their own personal understanding.

RE:Verse begins with two chapters on poetic form, before going on to look more widely at poetry in its various historical contexts. It is this integration of matter and manner, putting form into context and context into form that makes RE:Verse such an invigorating introduction to the study of poetry.

Of course, poetry can be difficult and RE:Verse does not seek, or claim,  to make it easy. Rather it attempts to show how difficulty should be seen not as a stumbling block, but as an opportunity to pause and reflect on meaning and as a marker of where language overflows its boundaries. In this way, the reader is guided towards a fuller understanding of the different kinds of poetry, and a greater appreciation of its pleasures. The books eight parts are followed up by a section on technical terms in poetry, and by suggestions for further study.

With examples drawn from across the range of English and Irish poetry, and translations from French and German, RE:Verse is written in the belief that poetry is essential and challenging, and the conviction that by immersing ourselves in its undoubted complexities, it can become an essential part of the way in which we live in the world.

Jeremy Tambling is currently Professor of Literature at the University of Manchester, having previously been Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong. He has written widely on many aspects of literature, including most recently Blake's Night Thoughts (2004) and Becoming Posthumous (2001), which The Guardian hailed as 'a delicate dismantling of what we thought the past was for'. He is currently working on a major study of Dickens and London.