The Art of Poetry

A one-semester or yearlong course for students in years 7-12 

“I dwell in Possibility— A fairer House than Prose—” While we think of poetry as the best words in the best order, we sometimes forget how important its poetic or metaphoric thinking is to various subjects such as writing, speaking, business, and science.

The Art of Poetry is an excellent middle or high school curriculum that teaches the practice of reading a poem closely and absorbing its beauty.

The Art of Poetry Teacher’s Edition is a valuable resource for teachers that includes the entire content of The Art of Poetry Student Edition and an answer key, as well as detailed and fascinating explications of 39 poems. The introduction for the teacher offers teaching tips and suggestions. Thorough appendices include a poetry timeline, quizzes for each chapter, and a cumulative book quiz.

The Art of Poetry (Student Edition) contains 16 chapters and over 100 poems. The first 8 chapters cover the elements of poetry (such as images, metaphor, rhythm, and tone); the final chapters cover the forms of poetry (such as ode, villanelle, and open verse). Each chapter includes an extensive explication of one poem, along with exercises and discussion questions on additional poems. Biographies of 51 poets, a glossary of terms, an index of all the poems and authors, and an application section with ideas on how to continue a study of poetry are all included in this thoughtful course.

See the Support tab on the Classical Academic Wegbsite for schedule recommendations and the complimentary audio files that feature the author, Christine Perrin, and her husband, Dr. Christopher Perrin, reading the poems aloud.