The rhythm and types of English poetry are written for the needs of teaching.
The biggest feature of poetry is rhythm. To appreciate English poetry, we must first make clear the rhythm of English poetry. The first eight chapters of this book discuss the rhythm of English poetry from various aspects. However, it is not comprehensive. For example, there is no mention of heavy rhyme, and some unusual rhymes such as broken rhyme and omitted rhyme are also omitted.
There are various types of English poetry, and according to different standards, the types are also different. According to the forms of expression, there are metrical poems, free poems, prose poems and imitation poems. According to artistic forms, there are misty poems, satirical poems and recitation poems. The second part of this book divides the types of English poetry according to the content, namely narrative poetry, lyric poetry, drama poetry, philosophical poetry and religious poetry. Because a large part of dramatic poems belong to narrative dramas, such as Shakespeare's plays, they are classified as narrative poems in this book. Philosophical poems and religious poems are few in number and have great lyric elements, which are classified as lyric poems in this book.
This book always quotes 120 poems (or fragments of poems) from more than 60 British and American poets, most of which are selected from Norton Selected Works of English Literature and Norton Selected Works of American Literature, among which Chaucer and Spencer's poems retain the original spelling of modern English. All quoted poems are accompanied by Chinese translations, which are as famous as possible, with some slight changes. The author of this book provided his own clumsy translation on the premise that he could not find a famous translation or even a general translation.
From content to structure, this book absorbs the essence of Burton's Analysis of Poetry, Wang Zuoliang's History of English Poetry, Nie's Introduction to English Poetry Forms and Qi Xiaoyan's Aesthetic Exploration of English Poetry. The quotations in the book are not directly indicated. Without these monographs as reference, this book is difficult to take shape.
The translation of this book mainly comes from famous translators in China, such as Cao Minglun, Fu Hao, Hu Jialuan, Huang Gao, Jiang Feng, Liu Xinmin, Qiu Xiaolong, Sun Liang, Tu An, Cha, Zhong Ling and Zhu. Without their translation, beginners of English poetry, including the author of this book, should understand some quoted poems.
This book is suitable for English majors as an introductory textbook for English poetry, and is also suitable for English poetry lovers to have a basic understanding of the rhythm and types of English poetry. This book is also a valuable reference book for graduate students who study the rhythm of English poetry.