Poetry

RICHARD BRADFORD is Professor of Literary History and Theory at the University of Ulster, UK. His publications include The Novel Now, acclaimed biographies such as First Boredom, Then Fear: The Life of Philip Larkin and The Life of a Long Distance Writer: The Authorised Biography of Alan Sillitoe, and introductory student textbooks Introducing Literary Studies and Stylistics (New Critical Idiom).

'Bradford has produced a superb, accessible introduction to an impressively sweeping range of poetic techniques and historical contexts. Impressive, useful and affordable, this book will be a boon for any newcomer who wishes to grapple with the daunting challenge of interpreting historical and contemporary poetry - it will work as great revision for experienced readers too.' - Kevin De Ornellas, Ulster University, UK

• IntroductionPART 1: WHAT IS POETRY?The BasicsA Definition of Poetry: The Double PatternPART 2: HISTORY: THE RENAISSANCE TO POSTMODERNISMThe RenaissanceThe Restoration and 18th CenturyRomanticismVictorian PoetryModernism and AfterPART 3: CRITICISM AND CONTEXTSNew CriticismFormalism and StructuralismThe Role of the Reader and PoststructuralismNew Historicism and Cultural MaterialismPsychoanalysisDeconstructionGenderNation, Race and PlaceEvaluationEpilogue: Why Do We Write and Read Poetry?Bibliography.