To read a poem with complete pleasure we must understand how it works rhythmically and how its rhythms are related to those of other poems. Verse is a seminal introduction to prosody - the rhythmic organization of poetic language - for any student learning to read or write poetry. Written in a clear and engaging style by a poet and teacher with more than thirty years of experience teaching the subject, this book explains the fundamental components and technical details necessary to fully understand the meaning of poems.

Along with important historical and theoretical background material, the author discusses basic definitions, methods of scansion, and broader techniques of reading. The chapters cover iambic pentameter and other kinds of metrical verse, rhythm and rhyme, free verse, song, and advanced topics such as poetic meter, linguistic approaches to verse, and the computer scansion of metrical poetry. The book is also supplemented by a user-friendly website featuring student exercises and additional resources. Addressing fundamental topics that so often go untaught in today's poetry courses, this is an essential text for anyone wishing to fully understand the meaning of poetry. --Book Jacket.