The essential reference guide to poetry terms, movements, and concepts by the renowned poet and national bestselling author of How to Read a Poem.
When Edward Hirsch's A Poet's Glossary was first published in 2014, it was hailed as "an instant classic that belongs on the bookshelf of every serious poet and literature student." Now Hirsch selects the most important material from that extraordinary volume for The Essential Poet's Glossary (The Washington Post).

This new work compiles poetic terms spanning centuries and continents, including forms, devices, movements, aesthetics, rhetorical terms, and folklore. Knowing how a poem works is crucial to unlocking its meaning—entries will deepen readers' relationships with their favorite poems and open greater levels of understanding in each new poem they encounter. Shot through with the enthusiasm, authority, and sheer delight that made A Poet's Glossary and How to Read a Poem so beloved, this Essential edition is the ideal companion for all readers, writers, teachers, and students of poetry.