The Well Wrought Urn

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Well Wrought Urn
• Author: Cleanth Brooks
• ISBN-13: 9789391011277
• Pages: 257
• Edition: First Edition (1947); Reprint 2026
• Binding: Paperback
• Genre: Literature & Fiction > Literary Criticism > Poetry Studies > Literary Theory > New Criticism
• Recommended Age Group: Undergraduate Students, Postgraduate Students, Researchers & Adult Readers (16+ years)
• Reading Difficulty: Advanced
• Estimated Reading Time to Finish: 8–10 hours
• Price: ₹375.00/-

Description

The Well Wrought Urn by Cleanth Brooks is one of the most influential works of twentieth-century literary criticism and a foundational text in the development of New Criticism. Insisting on the value—and even the necessity—of reading poetry for its own distinctive meaning, structure, and verbal design, Brooks argues that a poem should not be reduced to paraphrase, biography, or historical background. Instead, it must be understood as a carefully shaped verbal structure in which language, imagery, irony, paradox, rhythm, tone, and form work together to create meaning.

Through detailed commentary on celebrated poems in English, Brooks demonstrates the discipline of close reading and shows how poetic meaning emerges from the organic unity of the poem. His famous idea of “the heresy of paraphrase” remains central to literary study, reminding students that the meaning of a poem cannot be separated from the way it is expressed. The book discusses major poets including John Donne, William Shakespeare, John Milton, Robert Herrick, Alexander Pope, Thomas Gray, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and W. B. Yeats.

Written with clarity, authority, and scholarly insight, The Well Wrought Urn is essential reading for students of poetry, literary theory, and textual interpretation. It offers both an introduction to close reading and a powerful argument for the complexity of poetic art. For classroom study, independent reading, or advanced critical discussion, this book continues to provide a lasting foundation for understanding how poems work and why poetic language matters.

Key Features

• Landmark text in New Criticism and close reading.
• Written by influential critic Cleanth Brooks.
• Explains poetry as an organic verbal structure.
• Introduces the key idea of “heresy of paraphrase.”
• Discusses major English poets and canonical poems.
• Useful for literary theory and criticism courses.
• Helps readers interpret irony, paradox, tone, and form.
• Essential for advanced poetry and textual analysis.
• Suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate study.
• Reprint edition for academic and classroom use.

Manufacturer Details

• Manufacturer: Doaba Corporation
• Imprint: Aumram Publications / Doaba Publications
• Email: care@doababooks.com
• Address: 4551-16, Shanti Mohan House, 16 Ansari Road, Daryaganj - 110002
• Published by: Aumram Publications
• For and on behalf of: Doaba Publications
• Typeset at: Doaba Graphics, Delhi
• Printed and Bound in: India
• Year: 2026