All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing
An Explanation of Meter and Versification
Published on 30. April 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-8214-1260-2 (ISBN)
Description
Perfect for the general reader of poetry, students and teachers of literature, and aspiring poets, All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing is a lively and comprehensive study of versification by one of our best contemporary practitioners of traditional poetic forms. Emphasizing both the coherence and the diversity of English metrical practice from Chaucer's time to ours, Timothy Steele explains how poets harmonize the fixed units of meter with the variable flow of idiomatic speech, and examines the ways in which poets have used meter, rhyme, and stanza to communicate and enhance meaning. Steele illuminates as well many practical, theoretical, and historical issues in English prosody, without ever losing sight of the fundamental pleasures, beauties, and insights that fine poems offer us.
Written lucidly, with a generous selection of helpful scansions and explanations of the metrical effects of the great poets of the English language, All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing is not only a valuable handbook on technique; it is also a wide-ranging study of English verse and a mine of entertaining information for anyone wishing more fully to write, enjoy, understand, or teach poetry.
Written lucidly, with a generous selection of helpful scansions and explanations of the metrical effects of the great poets of the English language, All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing is not only a valuable handbook on technique; it is also a wide-ranging study of English verse and a mine of entertaining information for anyone wishing more fully to write, enjoy, understand, or teach poetry.
Reviews / Votes
Steele himself says that a formally experienced poet would not require a book on meter to learn his trade. That is surely true; yet I can testify, as one who has been writing in meter for over fifty years, that Steele's book has been delightful and instructive reading for me. - Richard Wilbur All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing takes its title from a line by Frost, a poet whose commitment to clarity of expression Steele clearly shares in this modest, neatly organized, and lucidly written explanation of English meter. Steele incorporates into his graceful study a wealth of linguistic insight. Steele's sharp and witty book is the perfect Poetry Month selection: an expert guide that speaks to all levels of readers. (Kirkus Reviews) Steele places the many styles of poetry in historical context and clearly explains such elements as rhyme, rhythm, elision, and the use of stanzas. Students of poetry as well as practicing poets who wish to hone their craft will find this new book immensely helpful. (Library Journal)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Athens
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 227 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8214-1260-2 (9780821412602)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
09/2024
2nd Edition
Ohio University Press
€25.50
Available immediately
Person
Timothy Steele's books include Toward the Winter Solstice, a collection of poems published by Ohio University Press. Among Steele's honors are a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Creative Writing from Stanford University; a Peter I. B. Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets; and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a professor emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles, where he taught literature and writing for twenty-five years.