The Passion of Meter is the first extended critical study of Wordsworth’s metrical theory and his practice in the art of versification. Until now, relatively little attention has been paid to the relationship between Wordsworth’s attempt to incorporate into his poetry the language of “common life” and the highly complex and decidedly conventional metrical forms in which he presents this language. O’Donnell provides a detailed treatment of what Wordsworth calls the “innumerable minutiae” that the art of the poet depends upon and of the broader vision to which those minutiae contribute. Beginning with a reassessment of Wordsworth’s frequently misrepresented prose comments about meter, O’Donnell argues that these comments-considered in light of Wordsworth’s practice and within their 18th-century context are more unorthodox and challenging than previously thought. In emphasizing the physical body of the poem as the site of a dynamic tension between conflicting passions – “the passion of sense” and “the passion of meter.” Wordsworth places issues of metrical form and versification in the foreground of his theory of poetry. The core of this book is dedicated to a close examination of the elements of Wordsworth’s craft. It sets forth in detail the rules and conventions that govern the poet’s habits of metrical composition, identifying the idiosyncrasies that distinguish his practice from those of his predecessors and contemporaries. It also offers a close reading of a substantial body of Wordsworth’s poetry, with careful attention paid to complex relationships between the minutiae of its sensuous forms (metrical form, rhythm, rhyme, assonance, alliteration) and larger thematic, aesthetic, and sophic concerns. As a departure from much contemporary criticism that tends to treat poetry solely as text, The Passion of Meter demonstrates the benefits of studying the details of versecraft. O’Donnell sizes the importance of hearing Wordsworth’s poems as sonic performances in time as well as seeing them on the page. The Passion of Meter: A Study of Wordsworth's Metrical Art stands out as the first and for some time probably the only sustained treatment of [Wordsworth's] metrical theory and practice. It rectifies a crucial omission in our understanding of Wordsworth, but does more than just that. Its close, dexterous analysis of the verse provides a virtual education in techniques of metrical scansion for the reader with little knowledge of prosody. The exposition of metrical theory is so lucid, and the examples so well chosen, that one can learn quite enough here to read many another poet with a fair degree of metrical competence . . . . a gracefully-written book that no one who loves or teaches Wordsworth should fail to consult. -- Steven Willett in Romantic Circles Reviews, March 1998 Brennan O'Donnell has endeavoured to demonstrate that Wordsworth was . . . an extremely subtle and versatile user of complex and conventional metrical forms. It is his contention that much of the power and appeal of even the most apparently simple of Wordsworth's works lies in the delicately poised conflict between strict adherence to metrical form -- the "passion of metre", in Wordsworth's own phrase -- and the powerful and disruptive "passion of sense", whose emotional force threatens to break this structure asunder . . . . The book is a much-needed illumination of an almost entirely neglected aspect of Wordsworth's art, and can only serve to increase one's respect for his talents. -- John Haydn Baker, the Times Literary Supplement [London], 5 March 1998. Brennan O'Donnell's The Passion of Meter is the first extended critical study of Wordsworth's metrical theory and his practice in the art of versification. O'Donnell provides a detailed treatment of what Wordsworth calls the "innumerable minutiae" that the art of the poet depends upon and of the broader vision to which those minutiae contribute. Beginning with the reassessment of Wordsworth's frequently misrepresented prose comments about meter, O'Donnell argues that these comments are more unorthodox an challenging than previously thought. The core of this book is dedicated to a close examination of the elements of Wordsworth's craft. It sets forth in detail the rules and conventions that govern the poet's habits of metrical composition, identifying the idiosyncrasies that distinguish his practice from those of his predecessors and contemporaries, offering a close reading of a substantial body of Wordsworth's poetry. The Passion of Meter demonstrates the benefits of studying the details of versecraft. O'Donnell emphasizes the importance of hearing Wordsworth's poems as sonic performances in time as well as seeing them on the page. The Passion of Meter is a significant contribution to the study of Wordsworth's poetic genius. -- Midwest Book Review O'Donnell has a gift for metrical analysis and a talent for drawing out the literary-historical implications of Wordsworth's metrica