A Closer Look - Rated 
Paulin is the master of close reading, and, as previous reviewers have mentioned, this book enables the reader to sit at Paulin's shoulder as he analyses a very particular selection of poems spanning the past thousand years. Whilst close reading, with its concentration on metre and rhythm, can be a dry pursuit, Paulin enlivens it immeasurably through his highly subjective, confrontational and enlightening interpretations.
What comes through most strongly from a reading of this marvellous book is Paulin's love of the canon of clear, emotionally direct, muscular poetry. We move from Bunyan to John Clare to Hopkins (whose shadow hangs over much of Paulin's work) to Heaney and with each we are taught a whole new way of reading and enjoying the poems.
Spend time learning how to read again in Paulin's company - he brings a freshness and vigour to everything touched by his unique intellect.
The definitive Poetry primer - Rated
If you are a student of English literature, or a reader looking to sharpen their appreciation of an art form that seems to instil a special sort of panic in the average person, this book is a must.
Paulin is a controversial and outspoken academic with a high media profile, a unique presence on late night review programmes. Over the last thirty years his prolific output of poetry, criticism and drama has been a consistent presence in the British literary scene. He is a champion of the urgent and politicised reading of poetry, and it is no accident that his literary heroes are users of powerful, rugged and vital language such as Frost, Rossetti, Hopkins and Heaney.
The reading here are controversial and sometimes sensational. The effect of reading them cover to cover is cumulative, rather like engaging in a sequence of hard working tutorials with a teacher of the first rank. You will not agree with all of the critical points raised in the book, but they will send you back to the original texts with your preconceptions challenged and lazy interpretations routed. A fine book that is a bold shout about the nature of poetry as vital and life-affirming art.
A necessary book - Rated
This may be the only such selection of which one can say, "This is a necessary book." Most good anthologies offer the twin pleasures of discovery and quarrel: "I never knew that poem" and "Why wasn't this poem included?" But this is an anthology which instructs as well as it delights. It makes one exclaim, "How I wish he was my teacher!" All poets should live in hope of writing a poem worthy of Tom Paulin's vital attention. Ben Sonnenberg
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