Poetry, An Introduction: Poems with Essays (review)

One of the aims of this textbook-anthology is to teach the student how to explicate poetry. Therefore it avoids such gimmicks as "discussion questions" and condensed literary history. Instead, it features previously published and original explications by several poet-critics and a sensible "ABC of Prosody" by Karl Shapiro. Professor Lane himself insists that "in every poem there is a dramatic situation"; consequently his introduction and the anthology headings place unusually heavy emphasis on such elements as situation, place, time, and conflict. The lengthy anthology has some imbalances. For example, Milton is represented by three sonnets, Wordsworth by six sonnets and four longer poems. However, there are selections by one hundred twenty poets, including such seldom anthologized figures as Thomas Ingoldsby and William Lisle Bowles. (Professor Lane informs us that he deliberately chose some "bad poems.") The poems are paired and grouped in ways which invite comparison. Marlowe's passionate shepherd is immediately answered by Ralegh, Donne, and Day Lewis. In a less obvious but typically careful arrangement, "Prufrock" follows Hardy's "Neutral Tones." Because of such revealing juxtapositions, and because of the handsome typography and spacing, Ulis volume is a worthy addition to the poetry shelf.