Rhyme's Rooms: The Architecture of Poetry

by Brad Leithauser

From the widely acclaimed poet, novelist, critic, and scholar, a lucid and edifying exploration of the building blocks of poetry and how they've been used over the centuries to assemble the most imperishable poems.“Anyone wanting to learn how to remodel, restore, or build a poem from the foundation up, will find this room-by-room guide on the architecture of poetry a warm companion.” —Tomás Q. Morín, author of MacheteWe treasure our greatest poetry, Brad Leithauser reminds us in these pages, "not for its what but its how." In chapters on everything from iambic pentameter to how stanzas are put together to "rhyme and the way we really talk," Leithauser takes a deep dive into that how—the very architecture of poetry. He explains how meter and rhyme work in fruitful opposition ("Meter is prospective; rhyme is retrospective"); how the weirdnesses of spelling in English are a boon to the poet; why an off rhyme will often succeed where a perfect rhyme would not; why Shakespeare and Frost can sound so similar, despite the centuries separating them. And Leithauser is just as likely to invoke Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, or Boz Scaggs as he is Chaucer or Milton, Bishop or Swenson, providing enlightening play-by-plays of their memorable lines.Here is both an indispensable learning tool and a delightful journey into the art of the poem—a chance for new poets and readers of poetry to grasp the fundamentals, and for experienced poets and readers to rediscover excellent works in all their fascinating detail.Portions of this book have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The New York Review of Books.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Writing, Literary Criticism, Audiobook, Lit Crit, Books About Books

369 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 22, 2022

About the author

BRAD LEITHAUSER is a widely acclaimed poet and novelist and the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a MacArthur Fellowship. This is his seventeenth book. He is a professor in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University and divides his time between Baltimore and Amherst.

Reviews

[Ulysse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just moved out of a flat
We lived in for four years
About the size of a hat
Filled to the brim with tears

Livingroomdiningroombedroom
Were all squeezed into one
All I needed was a broom
To tidy up my kingdom

No room had I of my own
(My wife used the spare room)
Five hundred books and a phone
Were my only heirloom

The real ruler of the nation
Was our five-year-old son
Who occupied every square inch
Like Attila the Hun

A small corner of the table
Where we ate was all I had
To pen a poem or a fable
Of this I'm very glad

Not in a room but in a stanza
I lived life to the full
Busy busy were my hands
Ah! life was never dull

We are now in a bigger flat
And I have my own desk
Should I be excited that
My life’s less picturesque?

And from my many windows
I will see many moons
And sometimes there might be rainbows
But will my rhymes have rooms?

[Patrick Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books like this are becoming rarer and rarer. A beautiful love letter to/ defense of poetry in all its wondrous variety. Loved every page.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this more than I expected. In truth, I didn’t think I’d finish it. I didn’t always agree with his choices (I think our tastes are different) but overall a worthwhile read.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here,
unbridle a bible,
Rhymes' Room,
i roam around the realm of sound;
Hear,
mind my meters,
in legions of Funesians,
folly turned to finesse earned.

[Kim Horner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely disappointing. Leithauser’s tone is curmudgeonly, overly-prescriptive without being instructive, and suspiciously religious: there is no reason to mention “God” that often in a book allegedly about poetry.

[John Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rewarding read and provided me with new insights and perspectives about the art and craft of writing poetry that will inform my reading.

[Shary · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a really good review, go to Amazon.com and read Stan Nevin's review of the book. Encapsulates it perfectly.

I never studied poetry in school. There is much poetry I've found beautiful but have also felt a little intimidated about what I don't know. Now I know even more about what I don't know. But I also am more likely to seek it out, slow down, and spend more time with it.

Hint: read the poetry aloud.

I wish the book had an index to make it easier to refer back to poets, when they lived, and their poems.

Wonderful learning experience.

[Courtney (Campbell_Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were several parts throughout the book which gave me insight and inspired my own writing of poetry. At a time when poetry (especially rhymed) seems bleak, nonexistent, and underappreciated, (Dr.?) Leithauser manages to shed light on the importance and consistent dire need for poetry. There was also intriguing commentary on language; specifically how languages evolve (and how those changes are reflected in poetry). He also describes poetry and it's elements in a poetic way, which I greatly appreciated. Overall, it was no only insightful for my writing but would make for a number of wonderful scholarly discussions (not just on poetry but language, as well).

I definitely would love to see one of his lectures and/or read more of his books.

[Jacob Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and clear argument for the incomparable and ineffeble majesties and mundanities of poetry and poetics. Each chapter is vivid and carefully crafted. This felt at times like non-fiction poetry about poems.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as books on poetry go this was a pretty decent one; in depth analysis of poetical tropes and techniques; some downsides that prevent this from receiving a 5 star rating; it's too long; contents could've been redacted and condensed to max 250 pages, in addition the author has a slight tendency to show off his skills and knowledge in a manner that does not necessarily serve the narrative and central message of the book; showing you how poetry works.

[Jason Cady · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some excellent passages in this book. By the end of the chapter on "rim rhyme" the author convinced me of its potential. But he never mentions the unintentional hilarity of the name, "rim rhyme," because he not only lacks a sense of humor, but also a sense of keeping up with language. He repeatedly lamented that the evolution of language makes older poems go partially extinct. I agree that that is an unfortunate byproduct, but it is necessary to stay current and move forward.

I do not enjoy reading Free Verse, but I believe it was historically necessary. It opened up new possibilities. But, we are in the 21st century: Free Verse is stale. Leithauser argues in favor of rhyme and meter, but it doesn't seem like he wants poetry to advance. He wants poetry to regress to the time of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Leithauser ignores Hip-Hop, though it is the most popular and innovative place for rhyme today and offers opportunity for the growth of new poetry.

Finally, the author mentions God and Christianity too many times. I felt like I was getting preached at. It's hard to take a book seriously when the author praises superstition.

[Wade Flanagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, albiet dry read. I probably would have gotten more from it were I not such an ignoramus about all things poetry. The book did enhance my overall ability to enjoy and analyze poetry. Perhaps it's worth a revisit when I'm a little less stupid.

[Peter Buckingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful love letter to poetry. The author’s affection is infectious. Reading this I felt as if I’d found a friend.

[Dan Cassino · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a series of short chapters, filled with examples from hundreds of years of English language verse, Leithauser introduces and dissects the building blocks of poetry, the iambs and trochees and rhymes and rhythms, the way they’re used and abused and transcended. The book has the feeling of a long taught 200 level seminar, one that the professor has taught 100 times, so they know every aspect, and have sufficient confidence in their mastery to include asides, and bits of their personality. I’ve never heard Leithauser’s voice, but I can hear him speaking in it, appropriate for a book that begins by challenging the reader to slow down. I found myself reading all of the poetry contained in it aloud, to hear, to feel the elements that Leithauser was getting at, and his chapters calling out individual poets led me to immediately add books of their work to my to-read list. It’s not going to be for everyone: it’s erudite, and nerdy, and not at all ashamed or timid about the pleasures of verse, about loving a poem for forty years, but it was exactly what I wanted from it. One of the recurring conceits - a tribe that can appreciate poetry perfectly- seems unnecessary, as it certainly feels like Leithauser could count himself among them them, but that’s a small quibble for an entertaining and energetic romp through meter and verse and rhyme.

[Daniel Klawitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book in the small universe of those books that focus (correctly in my opinion) of the "How" of poetry, i.e., it's "architecture", instead of the focus that dominates in many public schools revolving around author intention and what the poem "means." The latter approach is responsible for turning off many people to poetry because it makes the student feel dumb and/or that poems are necessarily mystical and complex riddles that can only be solved through laborious speculation.

Leithauser writes winningly about rhyme and meter, proclaiming that a poem is "a compact sonic parade" among other things, without reducing poetry to mere mathematical stress counting. He also tackles song lyrics and the Janus faced nature of poetry's conservatism and radicalism in literary history.

Among many favorite quotes, I particularly appreciate Brad's reflection on how many great and timeless poems have rather commonplace messages in terms of "what" they are saying, so again: the focus is the execution of the message. He writes: "There can be no real poetry without, deep in the background, an abounding juvenile joy. Poets who entertain a message so pressing they needn't worry about the music are doomed to write message poetry."

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a series of short (and wittily entertaining) essays on the appreciation of poetry than a manual of prosody, the book has the feel of an undergraduate lecture course in the English department of a school where liberal arts are valued, which perhaps it is.
¨I´m tempted to observe that all exact rhymes are alike and all off rhymes are off in their own off way. Off rhyme supplies the poet with a wild assortment of effects -- discordancy, slovenliness, attenuation, unpredictability, silliness -- rarely open to the more decorous exact rhyme Action picks up when good rhymes go bad.¨ (p.178)
The text pointed me (really not a poetry reader) toward many authors, though I suspect this would not be the case for most readers.

[Scott Wiggerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly fascinating discussion of all things rhyme-related, including mater, spelling, pronunciation, wordplay, and song lyrics. Part of what makes these chapters (most of which read like individual essays) is Leithauser's enchanting writing style, his adept choice in poems to quote, and his bold pronouncements. For example, he writes, "Moore seems to me to be, along with Whitman, the most innovative and liberating of all American poets. She's the closest thing we have to a Gerard Manley Hopkins." That darned if Leithauser doesn't then make a compelling argument to prove his point! This book is a brilliant look into the "architecture of poetry," and to how significant a role rhyme has played and continues to play in it.

[Jose Luis Sandin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always find too daunting of a task to embark upon reading poetry in a serious manner. Especially since English is not my native language. I feel that that fear was somewhat justified, after reading this book. So much of poetry, the author points out, is reading it aloud, so you may fully capture the sounds that have been crafted by the poet. I might have missed much of this since English is not a phonetic language and I do not know pronunciation of obscure terms.
On the other hand, any poem, the author remarks, has to be read slowly. I realise that reading poetry is about this gut-level feeling (which Leithauser reminds us about) and reading slowly is what I ought to do to approach poetry, instead of trying to read 100 poems in one day trying to figure out what's "the message".

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

AUDIOBOOK. Thoughtful and engaging...and the reader in particular deserves a hand because it can't be easy to read poetry, particularly free verse, in ways that show what the author is getting at in terms of form or rhythms. Presents an expansive view of what constitutes "rhyme," too, with discussions of internal rhymes, rim rhymes, and even implied rhymes, and gives modern song lyrics their due as, really, the successors to contemporary poetry as language that is embedded in our common culture and discourse and understood by (nearly) all. Shame on you, contemporary poets, for missing the boat.

[Frances Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply learned and yet easily accessible, both elevated and lighthearted, Rhyme’s Rooms is a joy. One of Brad Leithauser’s achievements is what he gives us in Chapter Twenty One: his clear-cut, sensitive insight into the art of Gerard Manley Hopkins. There are countless treasures in these pages, though. Tracing the development of poetry and poets, Rhyme’s Rooms arches over continents, centuries. Byron, Auden, Robert Frost, Marianne Moore, Yeats, E.E. Cummings, Philip Larkin, T.S. Eliot, Wilfred Owen and many brilliant others: the insights into their work are rich, lucid and beautiful. When the late literary critic Clive James wrote, “I’m still trying to figure out just how the propulsive energy that drives a line of poetry joins up with the binding energy that holds a poem together,’’ he was anticipating Rhyme’s Rooms.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I liked that someone was taking a crack at breaking down poetry in order to tell us how it works. On the other hand, with books like this one, you have to be very concise and can’t amble off too far, which tends to happen here. The tone is conversational, but wandering. I enjoyed the effort made, overall, with these minor qualms.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A lot of history of poetry and a lot of reasoning of poetry (e.g. rhyming schemes, iambic pentameter). Interesting to me who writes poetry.
I can tell that this is a subject the author loves.

[Al Biggerstaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ignore the NYT review.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old school! Enjoyed the framing (heh) of poetry as architecture, but would've loved more discussion of modern poetry. Bit of a slog as it went on.

[Oiseau Distrait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent tool book for poet beginners and poetry lovers.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Author had a great sense of humor and a fascination with language. I read it slowly so I wouldn’t miss a thing.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting discourse on poetry through history and how people view and "hear" poetry.

[Reader]

The Free Library of Philadelphia

[Samuel Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining read. A good introduction to poetry and how structure shapes poems.

[Clara! · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfectly acceptable excuse to gush about his favorite poems and styles.