[(The Cambridge Introduction to Russian Poetry)] [Author: Michael Wachtel] published on

Cambridge Introductions to Literature

by Michael Wachtel

The Cambridge Introduction to Russian Poetry presents the major themes, forms, genres and styles of Russian poetry. Using examples from Russia's greatest poets, Michael Wachtel draws on three centuries of verse, from the beginnings of secular literature in the eighteenth century up to the present day. The first half of the book is devoted to concepts such as versification, poetic language and tradition; the second half is organised along genre lines and examines the ode, the elegy, ballads, love poetry, nature poetry and patriotic verse. All poetry appears in the original followed by literal translations. This book is designed to give readers with even a minimal knowledge of the Russian language an appreciation of the brilliance of Russian poetry.

Genres: Russia, Poetry

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly the survey I was looking for and a great (re-)introduction to the subject. The only (small) fault is the bizarre and inconsistent switching to transliteration in some sections of the text, which far from helping readability is distracting and obfuscating, especially since everywhere else the Russian text is in Russian. But this is thankfully rare and does not take away from the overall excellent survey of Russian prosody and poetry.

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Очень красивые стихи, сопровождается многих длинных толкований -- мне потребовалось пять месяцев, чтобы прочитать 124e страницы

[Karl Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine introduction! A working grasp of the Russian language is highly recommended, though not absolutely necessary, however, as well as having a basic cultural understanding.