The four essays collected here under the title "The Language of Poetry" were read to audiences at PrincetonUniversity in the spring of 1941 under the auspices of the Creative Arts Program. The primary aim of the symposium was not a series of lectures but the present book. The contributors were invited to prepare essays which should not sacrifice the difficult implications of the subject to the limited capacity of the ear of even the best audience.CONTENTSPREFACEBy Allen TatePOETRY, MYTH, AND REALITYBy Philip WheelwrightTHE LANGUAGE OF PARADOXBy Cleanth BrooksTHE INTERACTIONS OF WORDSBy I. A. RichardsTHE NOBLE RIDER AND THE SOUND OF WORDSBy Wallace Stevens