Ban and Arrière Ban: A Rally of Fugitive Rhymes

Andrew Lang / Henry Justice FordLongmans, Green & Co.1894

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Chapters: 40

Summary

Ban and Arrière Ban is a poetry collection published in 1894 by the British poet and critic Andrew Lang (1844–1912), with the subtitle "A Rally of Fugitive Rhymes." The title borrows from the old French military terms "ban" and "arrière-ban": the former referred to a monarch's summons of his direct vassals, the latter to the general mobilization of their own subordinates. Andrew Lang uses these two words to describe himself: calling back into service the poems that had over the years appeared scattered in periodicals, dedications, and social occasions and were nearly lost, forming them into a troop of short poems. The book contains about fifty poems, with notes appended. The subjects span a wide range: works drawing on Scottish and Stuart dynasty history such as "A Scot to Jeanne d'Arc," "How they held the Bass for King James," and "Three Portraits of Prince Charles"; translations and adaptations oriented toward the East and the classics such as "From Omar Khayyam," "Æsop," and "Les Roses de Sâdi"; light and humorous occasional poems such as "Ode to Golf" and "Freshman's Term"; and poems discussing the art of poetry itself, such as "Ballade of Difficult Rhymes" and "The Sonnet." Several poems in the collection were originally written at publishers' invitation as dedications for books by Robert Louis Stevenson, Rider Haggard, Mark Twain, and others, and survive because of those books. Andrew Lang deftly employs the French ballade, the sonnet, the ode, and other verse forms; the prosody is meticulous and the interests eclectic, making this a poetry anthology that reveals the social circles and reading tastes of Victorian literary men. The English original is also included in various English-original collections and public-domain e-book projects, and is a common entry point for understanding Andrew Lang's poetry.

Editor's review

一本常被误当成“小说”的英文诗选集：本书副标题写明是“A Rally of Fugitive Rhymes”，是安德鲁·兰把散落各处的旧诗收拢起来的集子，而非叙事长篇。对中文读者来说，它的价值有两层：一层是文本本身，几十首短诗格律工整、语调多变，从斯图亚特王朝的历史怀想到高尔夫球场上的玩笑，读来不闷；另一层是它像一扇小窗，能看见十九世纪末英国文人的交游方式，其中为史蒂文森、马克·吐温、赖德·哈格德所写书籍作的题赠诗，是文学史的边角史料。原书由朗文（Longmans, Green & Co.）于1894年在伦敦、纽约两地出版，配有亨利·贾斯蒂斯·福特的插图。读这类公版英文原著，建议把它当作“短篇随手集”：一次读两三首，不硬啃生僻的历史与神话典故，遇到“Bass”“Prince Charles”“Ercildoune”这类专名时借助书末注释与检索再补背景。它的语言难度大致相当于英语专业高年级，适合作为原典阅读练习，也适合作为维多利亚时代诗歌研究的辅助材料。

Who it's for

A good fit for

有一定的英语基础、想尝试阅读英文诗歌原著的学习者
对维多利亚时代英国文学与文人交游感兴趣的读者
喜欢叙事歌谣、十四行诗等传统格律的诗歌爱好者
从事英国文学翻译、需要查阅题赠诗与应景诗资料的人

Not a good fit for

期待一部情节完整的英文小说的读者，本书是诗集
英语基础较薄弱、更习惯中译本阅读的入门读者
不喜欢典故密集、格律严格之老派诗歌的读者

Reading tips

先读《Lost Love》《The Haunted Tower》《Boat-song》等抒情短章，建立语感后再进入历史题材的组诗。
遇到 Bass、Ballantrae、Ercildoune 等地名或人名，先看书的 Notes 部分，再查一次背景，读起来会顺很多。
把《Ballade of Difficult Rhymes》《The Sonnet》当作“诗论”来读，可以顺带理解维多利亚时代诗人对形式的执念。
建议配合朗读，这类音韵讲究的诗，默读容易错过它最讲究的部分。

About the publisher

Longmans, Green & Co.

Longmans, Green & Co. is a publisher whose output is oriented chiefly toward literary works, and although only one title is currently held in the collection, it reveals a close connection with poetry. The representative book, Ban and Arrière Ban: A Rally of Fugitive Rhymes, belongs to the field of modern poetry and reflects the publisher's attention to verse and literary texts. The associated authors include Andrew Lang and Henry Justice Ford, both important names in this publishing context. As far as the available materials show, the common categories center on literature, foreign literature, and modern poetry, with an editorial character leaning toward the arrangement and presentation of poetry and literary works. Because public information such as the founding year and location is limited, a fuller account of its history and scale cannot yet be given; the above direction is based solely on the title held in the collection.

A Scot to Jeanne d'Arc
How They Held the Bass for King James, 1691–1693
Three Portraits of Prince Charles
From Omar Khayyam
Æsop
Les Roses de Sâdi
The Haunted Tower
Boat-Song
Lost Love
The Promise of Helen
The Restoration of Romance
Central American Antiquities
On Calais Sands
Ballade of Yule
Poscimur
On His Dead Sea-Mew
From Meleager
On the Garland Sent to Rhodocleia
A Galloway Garland
Celia's Eyes
Britannia
Gallia
The Fairy Minister
To Robert Louis Stevenson
For Mark Twain's Jubilee
Poems Written under the Influence of Wordsworth: Mist; Lines; Lines
Ode to Golf
Freshman's Term
A Toast
Death in June
To Correspondents
Ballade of Difficult Rhymes
Ballant o' Ballantrae
Song by the Sub-Conscious Self
The Haunted Homes of England
The Disappointment
To the Gentle Reader
The Sonnet
The Tournay of the Heroes
Ballad of the Philanthropist

FAQ

这本书是小说吗？

不是。它是安德鲁·兰1894年出版的诗集，副标题为“A Rally of Fugitive Rhymes”，全书约五十首短诗加注释。它常被归入“英文原著小说大合集”之类的电子书目录，但实际文体是诗歌。

“Ban and Arrière Ban”是什么意思？

这两个词来自旧时法国的军事征召制度：ban 指君主对直属封臣的征召，arrière-ban 指对这些封臣之臣属的总动员。作者用它比喻把散佚的诗作重新“征召集结”。

这本书有中文译本吗？

目前公开可查的信息中，未见正式出版的中文全译本。国内可见的是微信读书上架的英文原版电子书（中译名作《逃离韵律的聚会》），一般读者借英文本或公版电子版阅读。

阅读需要什么英语水平？

书中典故密集、格律讲究，还夹杂法语诗题与苏格兰地名，大致需要英语专业高年级或同等阅读能力。入门者可以先读抒情短诗，跳过注释较密的历史题材。

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About the author

Andrew Lang Author

Andrew Lang was a British literary figure active from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century; details of his life and nationality are limited in publicly available sources. The collection includes three of his works: The Lilac Fairy Book, the short story The Story of Hassebu, and the poetry collection Ban and Arrière Ban: A Rally of Fugitive Rhymes. These works span children's books and children's literature, folklore, foreign literature, and modern poetry, showing a range that combines narrative, imagination, and poetic language. His fairy tales and stories often draw on folk traditions and are bright and fanciful in style, suited to young readers, while his poems reflect an interest in rhythm and form. Overall, his writing has some significance for children's literature and the collection and transmission of folk tales, though more biographical details await reliable sources.

Henry Justice Ford Author

Henry Justice Ford is an author about whom relatively little is known, and available public information is limited; neither his nationality nor the dates of his birth and death are clearly recorded. According to the holdings in our library, he is associated with a work titled Ban and Arrière Ban: A Rally of Fugitive Rhymes, which is classified under literature, foreign literature, and modern poetry. On the basis of the existing information, it can be judged that his writing involves the genre of poetry. The title of the work suggests a gathering of scattered or fugitive verses, implying that his writing may favor short poems and occasional personal expression, with a style tending toward lightness and ease rather than long narrative. Because biographical materials are lacking, it remains difficult to give a complete assessment of his life, the full range of his work, or his literary standing. Readers may take this collection of poems as a starting point for appreciating the features of his poetic language and emotional expression, and may watch for further materials that may come to light.