How do we read a poem? How is reading a poem different from reading a novel or a newspaper? And in fact - what is a poem? 'Studying Poetry' helps the reader to understand and appreciate poetry as a genre, to develop an informed and articulate response to the individual poem, and to become aware of the larger concerns involved in reading poetry. The book is divided into three parts. The first, 'Form and Meaning', deals with the formal characteristics of poetry, such as metaphor, symbol, image, metre, rhythm and rhyme. The second, 'Critical Approaches', explores the relation between reading poetry and key concepts in critical theory, focusing on the poem as object, the idea of the author and the role of the reader. In part three, "Interpreting Poetry", the discussion broadens out to explore issues to do with political poetry, the poem in history and the limits of poetry. 'Studying Poetry' is refreshingly free of jargon and is both informative and accessible. This is a helpful, well-focused and compact guide which also shows the theoretical assumptions in reading poetry. The book refers to a wide range of poetry and poets and offers stimulating readings of individual poems.