The Poetry Book

An accessible guide to the most important poems ever written- from the Epic of Gilgamesh to The Waste Land-and the poets behind them Discover the key themes and ideas behind the most important poems ever written, and the poetic geniuses who wrote them. The perfect introduction to poetry, The Poetry Book takes you on a fascinating journey through time to explore more than 90 of the world's greatest poetic works. Discover poems in all their many guises and from all over the world, from the epics of the ancient world through Japanese haikus and Renaissance sonnets to modernist masterpieces such as The Waste Land, and the key works of the last 50 years-from And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou to Derek Walcott's Omeros. Using the Big Ideas series' trademark combination of clear explanation, witty infographics, and inspirational quotes, The Poetry Book unlocks the key ideas, themes, imagery, and structural techniques behind even the most complex of poems, in clear and simple terms, setting each work in its historical, social, cultural, and literary context.