An introduction to the fundamental characteristics of poetry—line breaks, compression, figurative language, and sound—alongside a survey of the major forms that have shaped the tradition, from sonnets to free verse.
Trace the development of poetry from ancient oral epics through medieval song, Romantic expression, and the radical experiments of modernism. Understand how historical and cultural contexts reshaped what poems could do.
Move from reading to writing. Learn practical techniques for generating poems, working with metaphor and sound, revising toward clarity and impact, and developing a distinctive voice informed by tradition and contemporary practice.
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