been banned, burned, and revered. With in depth analysis of poems by the likes of Edgar Allen Poe, Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath, and Langston Hughes,the book offers students the tools to grasp more firmly and dig deeper into the meanings of not only the works covered here, but literature as it has been created around the world. The essays appear alphabetically by the title of the work. Each is 6-8 pages in length and includes the following sections: content synopsis (summarizes the poem, describing the main points and prominent characters in concise language); historical context (describes the relevance of the moods, attitudes, and conditions that existed during the time period that the poem was written); societal context (describes the role of society in relation to the content of the poem, from the acceptance of traditional gender roles to dealing with mental illness); religious context (explains how the religious views of the author specifically, or a group generally, influenced the poem); scientific & technological context (analyzes to what extent scientific and/or technological progress has affected the writing of the poem); biographical context (offers biographical details of the poet's life, which often helps students to make sense of the work); discussion questions (a list of 8–10 thoughtful questions that are designed to develop stimulating and productive classroom discussions); essay ideas (a valuable list of ideas that will encourage students to explore themes, writing techniques, and character traits); works cited (also includes an additional general Bibliography and Subject Index at the end of volume). The book covers authors, works and themes that are addressed in core reading lists at the undergraduate level, making this title a perfect reference for any student or researcher.

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