Rhythm in Modern Poetry

Eva Lilja is Professor Emerita of Literature in the Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Specializing in modernist poetry, she pioneered the study of free versification and was the founder and chair of the Nordic Society for Metrical Studies.

• List of PlatesList of FiguresPrefaceForeword by Margaret H. FreemanAcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: The Poetic GestaltIntroduction: Mousike1. Verse Systems and Principles of Rhythm2. The Rhythmic Gestalt3. Rhythm and Significance4. Temporal and Spatial Rhythms: The Intermedia Perspective5. Cognitive Versification Theory: Some Aspects6. Levels and TimesPart II: Reading Free Verse RhythmsIntroduction: How to Read Free Verse7. Cognitive Economy8. The Poem in the Body9. Patterns of Culture10. Direction11. Balance in Versification12. Rhythm in Modern PoetryWorks CitedIndex

This is a landmark book. It sets out with clarity and commitment how an approach based in poetic cognition can illuminate poetry, metrics, rhythm and reading. Rhythm in Modern Poetry takes the reader on an intellectual and poetic journey in its compelling ideas and its artful expression.