Poetic Meter and Poetic Form Author:Paul Fussell A cultivated, graceful, and wonderfully lucid introduction to the many subtle varieties of meter and stanzaic forms exploited in English poetry across the centuries. Mr. Fusssell writes with a sort of witty tough-mindedness. The definitions and distinctions are precise and never entangled in jargon. Mr. Fussell commands the enture range of poetr... more »y in English, the major and the minor, the successful and the fraudulent; and illustrative poetic passages are drawn with unerring taste from all the great periods. But the attentive reader will also find, buried in these pages, a powerful essay in the limited achievements and uncertain tendencies of contemporary verse. An invaluable book for its many purposes, and a source of luminous delight both for the teacher and the general reader.« less