Books by Michael (Princeton University Wachtel

This 1999 book explores the Russian verse tradition from Pushkin to Brodsky. Keeping technical terms to a minimum and providing English translations of Russian quotations, Michael Wachtel offers close readings of poems by more than fifty poets, and demonstrates the practical interpretive value of paying attention to poetic form.

This introduction presents the major themes, forms and styles of Russian poetry. Using examples from Russia's greatest poets, Wachtel draws on three centuries of verse, from the beginnings of secular literature in the eighteenth century to the present.