The Cambridge Companion to the Sonnet

Beginning with the early masters of the sonnet form, Dante andPetrarch, the Companion examines the reinvention of the sonnetacross times and cultures, from Europe to America. In doing so, itconsiders sonnets as diverse as those by William Shakespeare,William Wordsworth, George Herbert and e. e. cummings. The chaptersexplore how we think of the sonnet as a 'lyric' and what isinvolved in actually trying to write one. The book includes alively discussion between three distinguished contemporary poets -Paul Muldoon, Jeff Hilson and Meg Tyler - on the experience ofwriting a sonnet, and a chapter which traces the sonnet's diffusionacross manuscript, print, screen and the internet. A fresh andauthoritative overview of this major poetic form, the Companionexpertly guides the reader through the sonnet's history anddevelopment into the global multimedia phenomenon it is today.