The perfect introduction to poetry, this book offers a fascinating exploration of more than 90 of the world's greatest poetic works. Discover poems in all their many guises, from the epics of the ancient world through Renaissance sonnets to modernist masterpieces such as The Waste Land, and the key works of the last 50 years, including And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou and Derek Walcott's Omeros. Using the Big Ideas series' trademark combination of clear explanation, witty infographics, and inspirational quotes, this unlocks the key ideas, themes, imagery, and structural techniques behind even the most complex of poems, in clear and simple terms, setting each work in its historical, social, cultural, and literary context.