Peter Abbs and John Richardson; 1990, Cambridge, CUP
             I was introduced to this book via its companion volume, The Forms of Narrative, which I was recommended by a teacher at my Phase One teaching practise school; I could just as easily have used this book for this exercise but I chose the volume, The Forms of Poetry, as I have found it more directly useful so far in my teaching, providing me with many useful ideas.
             Both books are identical in layout and format and both are clearly designed to be directly useful teaching tools. They are the kind of books that no English teacher can afford to be without, if only because they attack the teaching of narrative and poetry by using the latest teaching methods and by providing the busy teacher with a host of ideas for running effective and interesting lessons. Both books manage to combine theory and practice in a very bright, modern and profusely illustrated format that is eminently readable and easy to follow. They are aimed at the student rather than the teacher but double up just as easily as a teaching resource, in fact, as I shall make plain later, I feel the book is better as a teaching resource than as a student text–book.
             Although I undoubtedly have found enjoyment in reading the more 'theoretical' books on teaching methodology, without doubt the kind of books represented by The Forms of Poetry and The Forms of Narrative must hold a special place in any (at least any student) teacher's heart as they offer a way out of that seemingly eternal question, "How am I going to come up with something exciting and different by tomorrow first period?"
             Looking at The Forms of Poetry specifically, the authors, rightly, make clear that the study of poetry can never be a "scientific activity". Yet in their introduction they early make clear the importance to students of learning and understanding the technical terminology – the poetic device...