All the fun's in how you say a thing
Subtitle: an explanation of meter and versification
By: Timothy Steele.
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Athens
Language: eng
Number of pages: 366
Subjects: English language -- Versification; English language -- Rhythm; Poetry -- Authorship; Poetics
Description: Written by one of our best contemporary practitioners of traditional poetic form, All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing is a lively and comprehensive study on the forms and traditions of English poetry. Perfect for the general reader of poetry, students and teachers of literature, and aspiring poets, Steele's book emphasizes both the coherence and the diversity of English metrical practice from Chaucer's time to our own.

He explains how poets harmonize the fixed units of meter and the variable flow of idiomatic speech, and examines the ways in which poets have used meter, rhyme, and stanza to communicate and enhance meaning. Steele illuminates as well many practical, theoretical, and historical issues in English prosody without ever losing sight of the fundamental pleasures, beauties, and insights that fine poems offer us.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 339-348) and index.