A Little History of Poetry

A vital guide to poetry from ancient times to the presentPoetry is language made special, so that it will be remembered and valued. It does not always work - over the centuries countless thousands of poems have been forgotten. This Little History is about some that have not.John Carey tells the stories behind the world's greatest poems, from the oldest surviving one written nearly 4,000 years ago to those being written today. Carey looks at poets whose works shape our view of the world - such as Shakespeare, Whitman and Yeats - and more recent poets like Sylvia Plath, Seamus Heaney, and Marianne Moore who have started to question what makes a poem 'great' in the first place.Little Histories - Inspiring Guides for Curious Minds

About the author

John Carey

Product details

• Authors: John Carey
• Publisher: Yale University Press Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 29.04.2025
• EAN: 9780300283426
• ISBN: 978-0-300-28342-6
• No. of pages: 320
• Series: Little Histories
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Non-fiction book > Art, literature > Literature: general, reference works; LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry, HISTORY / World, POETRY / Anthologies (multiple authors), Literary studies: poetry & poets, General and world history, Poetry anthologies (various poets), Literary studies: poetry and poets