The Art of Reading Poetry is a stand-alone introduction to Harold Bloom's The Best Poems of the English Language anthology." "Harold Bloom gives us his critical reflections on more than a half century devoted to reading, teaching, and writing about the literary achievement he loves best, and conveys his passionate concern for how a poem should be interpreted and appreciated. By illuminating such subjects as poetic voice, metaphor and allusion, and the nature of poetic value itself. Bloom presents an invaluable learning tool as a key to artistic expression