Marjorie Boulton - The Anatomy of Poetry

Routledge Revivals

The Anatomy of Poetry

It is impossible to appreciate poetry fully without some knowledge of the various aspects of poetic technique. First published in 1953, with a second edition in 1982, this title explains all the usual technical terms in an accessible manner. Marjorie Boulton shows that it is possible to approach a poem from a business-like perspective without losing enjoyment. This reissue will be of particular value to students of English Literature as well as those with a general interest in the specifics of poetry.

The Anatomy of Poetry

Marjorie Boulton

With a Foreword by L. A. G. Strong

First published in 1953
Second edition 1982
by Routledge & Kegan Paul

This edition first published in 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

1953, 1982 Marjorie Boulton

The right of Marjorie Boulton to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Publishers Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.

Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those they have been unable to contact.

A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 82003651

ISBN 13: 978-0-415-72224-7 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-315-85836-4 (ebk)

THE ANATOMY OF POETRY

by

MARJORIE BOULTON

with a foreword by
L. A. G. STRONG

Revised edition

First published in 1953
by Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited
39 Store Street, London WC1E 7DD,
9 Park Street, Boston, Mass. 02108, USA,
296 Beaconsfield Parade, Middle Park
Melbourne, 3206, Australia and
Broadway House, Newtown Road
Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 1EN
Reprinted 1955, 1959, 1962, 1968, 1970,
1974, 1977 and 1979
Second edition revised and reset 1982
Set in Bembo, 10 on 12pt by
Rowland Phototypesetting, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
Printed in Great Britain by
Redwood Burn Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Marjorie Boulton 1953, 1982
No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form without permission from the
publisher, except for the quotation
of brief passages in criticism

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

Boulton, Marjorie.
The anatomy of poetry.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Poetics. I. Title.
PN1042.B61982 808.1 82-3651
ISBN 0-7100-9087-0 AACR2

To

HENRY TREECE

the best teacher I ever had
and a most loyal
and understanding friend

CONTENTS

A book about poetry which can be used in the classroom needs first of all to be honest and sensible. This book is very honest and sensible. It is also practical, and written by someone who has never allowed classroom work to dull her original response to poetry.

I am by nature and from experience suspicious of classroom attempts to explain works of art, since they are so often the work of prosaic minds incapable of appreciating anything but rules. Such teachers can comment upon structure and metre, but are insensitive to rhythm, read badly, and never get beyond a strictly rational account of what they think the poem is about. They are of the kind that asks children to paraphrase a poem, and award marks for the result.

This little book is an excellent corrective to any such malpractice. The author shows that it is possible to approach a poem in a business-like manner without spoiling its magic or losing enjoyment of its music. She shows, in fact, that no other approach is business-like, since no other will get near the reality of the poem. I do not agree with everything she says, but I commend her book most warmly as a sincere and useful introduction to a great subject; clear-headed, realistic, and easy to understand.

L. A. G. STRONG

I have tried to prevent this from becoming an ill-tempered book, but it was written as the result of prolonged irritation. As a student of literature and later as a teacher in school, emergency training college and three-year training college, as a private coach and lecturing for the W.E.A., I have steadily accumulated exasperation at being unable to find and recommend to my pupils a book on the technique and content of poetry which should be what I wanted them to read. The book I required must be fairly small; it must be more than a string of technical terms yet explain all the usual technical terms; it must have plenty of examples to avoid misunderstanding; it must draw its examples from a wide range of English poetry; it must be up to date, explaining such things as pararhyme and free verse; and, since most of my pupils are trying to take examinations, it must be helpful to the examination candidate without killing poetry by an excess of formalism and pedantry. Never having found such a book, and finding that the appendix on poetry at the back of the grammar book is often too dry to be swallowed, the mass of excellent advanced criticism available to-day rather too rich to be digested by the inexperienced, I have tried to write the book myself and to give an outline of the subject which shall begin at the beginning, but be sufficiently comprehensive on its elementary level. I hope it may be useful to students and teachers.

I should have liked to use more contemporary poetry, but have been deterred by the obstacles of copyright; however, I have tried to encourage the student to read contemporary work. I have made no attempt at giving a potted history of literature such as is readily available elsewhere. This is frankly a technical book, but I have tried to bear in mind that the only sound reason for examining poetry technically is that this adds to our enjoyment.

I have to acknowledge the kindness of Faber & Faber Ltd for permission to quote from W. H. Audens As he is (in Collected Shorter Poems, 1950), and from Louis MacNeices Aubade (in Poems, 1935); of Mr George Fraser for permission to quote from one of his sonnets; of Routledge & Kegan Paul for permission to use a quotation from Sidney Keyess The Wilderness (in The Cruel Solstice, 1944); of Chatto & Windus for permission to quote three extracts from poems by Wilfred Owen from The Poems of Wilfred Owen, 1931; and of Mr Robert Penn Warren for permission to quote from his poem Original Sin.

The help I have received in writing this book has really extended over at least the last fifteen years, for all kinds of educational experiences and chance remarks have contributed to it. However, I should like to mention particularly my friends and sometime colleagues, Miss Helen Smith, Miss Freda Sachse, Miss Grace Keenleyside, and Miss Mary Fowler, with all of whom I have had many stimulating discussions on poetry as well as many less bookish pleasures; my pupils of all ages from eleven to forty-five who have asked me difficult questions and sometimes helped me to knowledge by their alert suggestions, sometimes forced me to clarity by their misunderstandings; my mother, Mrs E. M. Boulton, whose fresh and sincere approach to the arts is an inspiration to me; Mr J. F. Danby, who has given me much mental stimulation and personal encouragement; Allan Jacobs, who read the first draft of this textbook and improved it by a number of penetrating criticisms and thoughtful suggestions. A debt I can never hope to pay is acknowledged in my dedication.