For anyone who has ever wanted to become fluent in the language of poetry, Invitation to Poetry will prove an essential guide. This book:

* Teaches the serious student how to 'speak poetry' through an in-depth examination of the traditional features and technical vocabulary of poetic language;

* Examines British and American materials from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries in order to give students a sense of a range of different period styles, poetic projects, and strategies;

* Explicitly examines, questions and challenges the relationship of poetry to literary periods and canons;

* Offers the technical tools essential for close reading and interpretation across a broad chronological spectrum.