Using eleven of W.B. Yeats's poems, John Gordon explores ways of thinking about and teaching poetry in secondary schools and at undergraduate level. He draws together commentary, research, and his own professional experience, to enable his readers to develop flexible pedagogical judgement that can respond to the requirements of a range of students and the demands of texts of varied length and complexity. His readers will be able to apply the key principles he identifies to teaching a broad range of poems effectively and memorably. A Pedagogy of Poetry is original and ambitious, theoretical, and practical. The author synthesizes literary criticism and analysis, considerations of literary pedagogy, the empirical research base, and the theoretical frameworks that underpin people's responses to poetry. He analyses the key books on poetry and teaching and shows where historical understanding will illuminate a poem for students, for example through his analysis of Yeats's 'Easter 1916'. The book is an invaluable resource for English teachers in secondary schools, colleges, and higher education.

Author Biography

Dr John Gordon has been Course Director for an outstanding secondary phase English teacher-education programme at the University of East Anglia for over ten years. His research has concentrated on the pedagogy of poetry and children's responses to the poetry they hear. He has published widely on learning and teaching poetry in international journals.