Publisher's Synopsis
Through a range of examples - from Shakespeare and Milton to Ashbery and Gluck - Longenbach describes the function of line in metred, rhymed, syllabic, and free-verse poetry. That function is sonic, he argues, and our true experience of it can only be identified in relation to other elements in a poem. Longenbach provides us with a vital new resource for viewing poetry, and in the process proves himself to be one of America's most important critics and most engaging practitioners.
