A Jongleur Strayed

Le Gallienne, Richard, 1866-1947Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 98K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Jongleur Strayed by Richard Le GallienneAuthor: Le Gallienne, Richard, 1866-1947,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jan 29, 2006

Editor's review

This is a poetry collection by Richard Le Gallienne, belonging to the lyrical work of the late Victorian transition toward modern English literature. The title's 'jongleur' refers to the wandering minstrels of the Middle Ages, while 'strayed' suggests a writing stance that departs from orthodoxy and roams freely. Le Gallienne's style is influenced by Aestheticism, attentive to sound and imagery, and often treats love, nature, art and vanished beauty in a light, sentimental manner. For Chinese readers, the value of this work lies not in grand narrative but in experiencing the tone and taste of late nineteenth-century English poetry and understanding the transitional form between the lingering Romantic tradition and modernism. It is suitable as extended reading in English poetry, to be sampled in short selections that convey its rhythm and diction. As a public-domain ebook, the text is easy to obtain, but it lacks notes and an introduction, so readers need some English reading ability and background in poetry.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English literature students who need to understand the transitional style of late Victorian poetry
General readers interested in Aestheticist poetry who want to broaden their reading of English verse
Poetry lovers willing to build language sense by sampling short poems in the original
Readers studying late nineteenth-century British literary history who want supplementary source reading

Not a good fit for

Readers who want a Chinese translation and are uncomfortable with English poetry in the original
Readers who prefer strongly plotted novels or narrative works
Beginners who need detailed notes and an introduction to approach poetic texts

Reading tips

Start with short poems on nature and love rather than reading the collection in order.
Read aloud, noting rhyme and rhythm, to feel the musicality of late nineteenth-century English poetry.
Read alongside an anthology of Victorian poetry to establish literary-historical coordinates.
Mark unfamiliar allusions first and look them up after finishing a poem, so as not to break the reading rhythm.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a Chinese edition or the English original?

This is an English public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg; the text is the English original, with no Chinese translation, notes or introduction.

What does 'jongleur' in the title mean?

A jongleur originally referred to a wandering minstrel-entertainer of medieval France, often associated with folk oral performance. Le Gallienne uses it as the title of a poetry collection to cast himself as a wandering poet and to suggest a light, spontaneous lyrical stance.

Can I understand it without a background in poetry?

You can try, though it will be somewhat difficult. Start with the shorter poems, use a dictionary and literary-historical references as aids, and focus on imagery and tone rather than word-for-word comprehension.

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About the author

Le Gallienne, Richard, 1866-1947 Author

Richard Le Gallienne (1866–1947) was a writer active in English letters from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Public information about his life and nationality is limited, and the library holds 17 of his works. His writing spans poetry, prose and fairy tales: the poetry collections The Lonely Dancer and Other Poems and The Silk-Hat Soldier, and Other Poems in War Time show lyricism and an awareness of their era, while the prose volumes Prose Fancies and The Book-Bills of Narcissus have an easy, personal tone, and the novels The Romance of Zion Chapel and The Worshipper of the Image explore emotional and aesthetic themes. He also wrote The Maker of Rainbows, and Other Fairy-tales and Fables and October Vagabonds. His clear, graceful style carries an aesthetic and romantic flavor, appealing to readers interested in English literature from the late Victorian to the Edwardian age.