336 pages | hardcover |

An accessible guide to the most important poems ever written from theEpic of GilgameshtoThe Waste Landand the poets behind them

Discover the key themes and ideas behind the most important poems ever written, and the poetic geniuses who wrote them.

The perfect introduction to poetry,The Poetry Booktakes you on a fascinating journey through time to explore more than 90 of the worlds greatest poetic works.

Discover poems in all their many guises and from all over the world, from the epics of the ancient world through Japanese haikus and Renaissance sonnets to modernist masterpieces such asThe Waste Land, and the key works of the last 50 yearsfromAnd Still I Riseby Maya Angelou to Derek WalcottsOmeros.

Using theBig Ideasseries’ trademark combination of clear explanation, witty infographics, and inspirational quotes,The Poetry Bookunlocks the key ideas, themes, imagery, and structural techniques behind even the most complex of poems, in clear and simple terms, setting each work in its historical, social, cultural, and literary context.

Delve into the works of Dante, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Dickinson, Eliot, and Neruda with in-depth literary analysis and fascinating biographies. Find out what odes, ballads, and allegories are. Trace recurring motifs, explore imagery, and find out how rhyme and rhythm work.

FromBeowulfto Seamus Heaney’sBogland,The Poetry Bookis essential reading for readers of poetry and aspiring poets alike.

Series Overview:DK’sBig Ideasseries explores and explains a wide range of key subject areas via its innovative graphic and quote-led approach.