Includes bibliographical references and index.

This ingenious guide provides students with the essential intellectual and practical tools necessary to read, understand, and write poetry. The elements of this important literary form - from story, character, idea, and sentiment to diction, prosody, and graphic layout - are presented in an accessible and student-friendly manner, and readers and writers of all levels will benefit from the thoughtful insights and commonsense guidance provided by the author, who is both an accomplished scholar and practicing poet. The Toolkit draws on examples from a range of poets from more than 1,500 years of English literature to encourage students and general readers to think critically about poetic writing. The Poetry Toolkit: For Readers and Writers provides the confidence to read, write, and gain a richer appreciation of the artistry and pleasures of the poetic form.--back cover.