[Riffaterre] provides lucid analyses of difficult poems by the Surrealists, Rimbaud, and nineteenth—century French poets. However, [he] also proves the versatility of his poetics by occasionally analyzing samples from Ronsard, Shakespeare, and some prose writers.
~Modern Language Journal
. . . this is a book which any dealer—in—the—text must necessarily read, and salute.
~World Literature Today
Riffaterre's readings, sometimes dealing with texts that are exceedingly resistant to interpretation, constitute a veritable gold mine.
~Philip Lewis
