An Introduction to Shakespeare's Poems

'This was a thoroughly readable and student-friendly text, bringing together comment upon the whole range of Shakespeare's poetry in the course of one book. The book places the Sonnets in proportion, and establishes the poetic context very well indeed.' - Dr Chris Meads, University College Worcester 'Hyland's book will appeal to anyone interested in a solid and comprehensive introduction to Shakespeare's non-dramatic works.' - J.S. Carducci, Choice '...readable, well-informed and...persuasive...' - Paul Dean, The Use of English 'The book ...is an approachable and enjoyable as well as informative read that gives the scholar, general reader or first-time student an excellent basis for understanding and interpreting Shakespeare's non-dramatic poetry.' - John Holmes, University of Reading

An Introduction to Shakespeare's Poems provides a lively and informed examination of Shakespeare's non-dramatic poetry: the narrative poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece;An Introduction to Shakespeare's Poems provides a lively and informed examination of Shakespeare's non-dramatic poetry: the narrative poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece; the Sonnets; and various minor poems, including some only recently attributed to Shakespeare. Peter Hyland locates Shakespeare as a sceptical voice within the turbulent social context in which Elizabethan professional poets had to work, and relates his poems to the tastes, values and political pressures of his time. Hyland also explores how Shakespeare's poetry can be of interest to twenty-first century readers.