Helen Vendler is een vooraanstaand literair criticus wiens werk zich richt op nauwkeurige lezing en formele analyse van poëzie. Haar wetenschap biedt diepgaande inzichten in de ingewikkelde mechanismen van verzen, waarbij de nadruk ligt op de linguïstische en structurele elementen die poëtische expressie definiëren. Vendlers essays verkennen de essentie van lyrische vorm, op zoek naar de onderliggende disciplines en patronen in de werken van grote dichters. Door haar rigoureuze aanpak verheldert ze de blijvende kracht en evoluerende aard van poëzie voor hedendaagse lezers.
Seamus Heaney, Denis Donoghue, William Pritchard, Harold Bloom, and many others have praised the author as one of the most attentive readers of poetry. In this title, she turns her illuminating skills as a critic to 150 selected poems of Emily Dickinson. She serves as a guide, considering the stylistic and imaginative features of the poems.
Vendler offers a new assessment of the six great odes of Keats and in the process gives us, implicitly, a reading of Keats's whole career. She proposes that these poems are imperfectly seen unless seen together-that they form a sequence in which Keats pursued a strict and profound inquiry into questions of language, philosophy, and aesthetics.
In detailed commentaries on Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, Vendler reveals previously unperceived imaginative and stylistic features of the poems, pointing out not only new levels of import in particular lines, but also the ways in which the four parts of each sonnet work together to enact emotion and create dynamic effect. The commentaries - presented alongside the complete text of each poem, as printed in the 1609 edition and in a modernized version - offer fresh perspectives on the individual poems, and, taken together, provide a full picture of Shakespeare's techniques as a working poet. With the help of Vendler's acute eye, we gain an appreciation of "Shakespeare's elated variety of invention, his ironic capacity, his astonishing refinement of technique, and, above all, the reach of his skeptical imaginative intent." Vendler's understanding of the sonnets informs her readings on an accompanying compact disk, which is bound with the book. This recorded presentation of a selection of the poems, in giving aural form to Shakespeare's words, heightens our awareness of voice in lyric and adds the dimension of sound to poems too often registered merely as written words.
The fundamental difference between rhetoric and poetry, according to Yeats, is that rhetoric is the expression of ones quarrels with others while poetry is the expression of ones quarrel with oneself. Through exquisite attention to outer and inner forms, Vendler explores the most inventive reaches of the poets mind.
One of our foremost commentators examines the work of a broad range of English, Irish, and American poets. Helen Vendler's essays, book reviews, and occasional prose from the past two decades, taken together, are an eloquent plea for the centrality in humanistic study and modern culture of poetry's subversive, sustaining, and demanding legacy.
Exploring the essence of lyric poetry, this book emphasizes its vital role in shaping social and ethical dimensions of life. Helen Vendler argues against viewing lyric merely as decorative, asserting its significance in deeper human experiences. Readers of poetry will find her insights both thought-provoking and enriching, as she delves into the emotional and societal impacts of this art form.
The book explores the works of George Herbert, a prominent 17th-century poet known for his religious themes and innovative use of form. It delves into Herbert's unique style, characterized by intricate metaphors and a deep spiritual exploration, reflecting his personal faith and struggles. The collection highlights the significance of Herbert's contributions to English literature and offers insights into the historical and cultural context of his poetry, making it essential for readers interested in metaphysical poetry and devotional literature.
Discusses the difficult style of Wallace Stevens, looks at his major themes, and analyzes, in detail, several of his poems. číst celé
Exploring the poignant theme of mortality, this collection features contemporary American poets who confront death through their poignant verses. Each poet offers a unique perspective, blending personal experiences with broader existential reflections. The anthology captures a range of emotions, from grief and loss to acceptance and resilience, showcasing how the inevitability of death influences creativity and expression. Through their powerful words, these poets invite readers to contemplate life's fragility and the beauty that can emerge from sorrow.
Join Professor Helen Vendler in her course lecture on the Yeats poem "Among School Children". View her insightful and passionate analysis along with a condensed reading and student comments on the course. The poetry collected in this volume reveals the range and power of the contemporary American imagination. The verve, freedom, and boldness of American English are combined with the new harmonies of modern cadence. Here are distillations of twentieth-century perception, feeling, and thought, and reflections of changing social realities, scientific and psychoanalytic insights, and the strong voices of feminism and black consciousness. This is a book for those who value fresh and original poetry and for readers worldwide who are curious about contemporary American experience. Helen Vendler relies on her own taste and judgment in singling out excellent poems, beginning with the late modernist flowering of Wallace Stevens and continuing to the present. Her wide-ranging Introduction places recent American poetry in its aesthetic and social contexts. The anthology provides an extensive offering of the work of major poets and introduces many writers who are only now beginning to make their reputation. Thirty-five poets are included, with a representative selection from the earlier to later work of each and a significant number of long poems. Brief biographies of the poets are appended.
