How To Read A Poem Book

Reading poetry can often feel like visiting a modern art gallery: I look at a few pieces, trying to understand and, losing interest, move on to something else. For both I am sorely in need of a guide. While art galleries have these in abundance if you're willing to wait for a tour - I never am - there's a lack of such guides for poetry. Thankfully, Eagleton has stepped into fill the void. In this short work he takes the reader on a tour of the history, theory and mechanics of poetry, pausing occasionally to spend two or three pages on a close reading of a masterwork. Such a book has the potential to be a tedious rehash of high school English, but Eagleton's charm and his insights into the chosen poems are so captivating that I was sorry to leave his company. This book works well as a guide to the uninitiated, like myself, but I suspect the more experienced would find much to profit from as well.