An Introduction to English Poetry Reviews

Instead of An Introduction to English Poetry, this book should have been named An Introduction to Why No One Reads Poetry. The word "introduction" fooled me into thinking the book would be a great guide for people like me who know very little but want to know more about English poetry. I didn't know when I picked up the book, I would be trudging my way through all the obscure technical terms that sucked all the fun out of poetry. My eyes glazed over from words like choriamb, catalectic, dactyle, doggerel, trouchee, tercet and villanelle. I can't pronounce them and don't know what they mean even with the definitions provided. The book bored me as much as it confused me. It was like reading a technical manual on how to assemble a clock, and I admit I skipped a great deal despite it being so short. In the end, I learned nothing at all about poetry, and this book is going back to Chapters.