Book excerpt: This compact volume makes available a selection of 402 entries from the widely praised Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, with emphasis on prosodic and poetic terms likely to be encountered in many different areas of literary study. The book includes detailed discussions of poetic forms, prosody, rhetoric, genre, and topics such as theories of poetry and the relationship of linguistics to poetry. Originally published in 1987. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.