The Sonnet

by Stephen Regan

The Sonnet provides a comprehensive study of one of the oldest and most popular forms of poetry, widely used by Shakespeare, Milton, and Wordsworth, and still used today by poets such as Seamus Heaney, Tony Harrison, and Carol Ann Duffy. This book combines a broad historical overview of the sonnet with detailed critical analysis to show how the sonnet has achieved its special status and popularity among poets in Britain, Ireland, and America.

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As it includes the full texts of more than 170 sonnets, as well as copious quotations from many others, this book almost works as an anthology alone, but mainly it is a critical history of the development of the English sonnet (in Britain, the USA, and Ireland) from the Renaissance to the present day—and an excellent one. It is critical in an academic sense: very few of the works it examined are evaluated less than positively, the adjectives "remarkable" and "deft" are frequently employed, and some poets receive fulsome praise, but Regan's analysis throughout is as clear, learned, and insightful as the scope of his book is comprehensive. It is also inspiring: as well as having my understanding of both the form as a whole and the works of already familiar sonneteers greatly enhanced, I finished this book wanting to read further, by adding poets including George Meredith, Patrick Kavanagh, Douglas Dunn, and others to my list for future exploration. The Sonnet is an academic book, not a popular introduction to poetry, but it is accessible enough for anyone with more than a passing interest in and appreciation of sonnets to enjoy, without sacrificing either ambition or rigour. It seems that I am the first person to post a review of it on this site: my first "Goodreads first", I think. Happily, a good book to claim that title.