Poetry

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1863-1944Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 60K words
Chapters: 7

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.Poetry by Arthur Quiller-CouchAuthor: Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1863-1944,Language: English, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Mar 1, 2004

Editor's review

This book is an English-language poetry anthology by the British scholar Arthur Quiller-Couch, belonging to the poetry anthology and criticism tradition within Language and Literature (PN). Its value lies not in offering isolated poems one by one, but in linking the threads of English poetry through the editor's perspective, allowing readers to see which poems have been repeatedly transmitted and which themes run through different eras. Quiller-Couch himself was both a writer and an editor, and his selections tend to balance readability and representativeness, making the book suitable as an introductory map to English poetry, and also useful for readers with some reading experience to fill gaps. The text is in English, and reading requires a certain foundation in English, especially for inversions, ellipses, and archaic usages in poetry. As a public-domain ebook, the edition is primarily text-based, without modern annotations and detailed background notes, so readers would do best to use it alongside annotated editions or introductory materials. It is suitable to keep at hand for casual reading, reading one or two poems a day, which makes it easier to appreciate rhythm and diction than reading it straight through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers with some English foundation who want systematic exposure to English poetry
English majors or literature enthusiasts seeking an overall impression of a poetry anthology
Teachers preparing lessons or book clubs selecting materials who need a public-domain English poetry anthology for reference
Readers who enjoy slow reading and are willing to recite short poems repeatedly

Not a good fit for

Readers whose English reading ability is still at the beginning stage and who need Chinese annotations for support
Researchers seeking detailed poet biographies, compositional background, and modern scholarly annotations
Readers who only want to read individual famous poems and do not wish to engage with anthology arrangement and chronological span

Reading tips

First read through the table of contents, pick out poets you are familiar with or interested in, and start with short poems to build confidence.
Read one or two poems a day, reading aloud and paying attention to rhyme and the rhythmic changes brought by line breaks.
When encountering unfamiliar words, first guess from context and look them up after finishing, avoiding frequent interruptions to reading.
Keep a notebook and note recurring images and themes, then review your own threads after finishing.

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 book in Chinese or English?

The main text is in English and is a public-domain English poetry anthology. The book contains no Chinese translation or annotations, so reading requires a certain English reading ability, especially a readiness for ellipsis, inversion, and other usages in poetic language.

Can I understand it without annotations?

You can read it, but there will be obstacles. Poetry often uses archaic words, allusions, and compressed syntax, and without annotations it is easy to get stuck on individual words or lines. It is advisable first to grasp the overall meaning and sound effect, then use a dictionary or related introductory materials to resolve difficulties, without insisting on understanding every word.

Is it suitable for reading straight through from beginning to end?

Not very. The anthology is arranged according to editorial logic, and continuous reading can easily become tiring. A more effective approach is to read a small amount each day, savor it repeatedly, or skip-read by poet or theme, treating the book as a long-term companion rather than a one-time task.

What is the difference between a public-domain electronic edition and a paper book?

A public-domain electronic edition mainly provides textual content and usually lacks the annotations, introductions, and typographic design of modern publishers. Its advantages are that it is free, easy to search, and portable; its shortcoming is the lack of supporting materials, so readers need to supplement background knowledge themselves.

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About the author

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1863-1944 Author

Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863–1944) was an English writer with a substantial body of work, of which 41 titles are held in this collection. His writing covers a wide range: essays on the craft of reading and writing such as On the Art of Reading and On the Art of Writing, and narrative works set against the sea, winter, and the fireside, including The Roll-Call of the Reef, I Saw Three Ships and Other Winter Tales, Two Sides of the Face: Midwinter Tales, and The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales. He also retold fairy tales from the Old French in The Sleeping Beauty and other fairy tales from the Old French, and wrote From a Cornish Window, a book that reflects his attention to the Cornish landscape and local life. Public information is limited and biographical details are hard to verify, but the surviving works show a graceful, unhurried prose that combines the reflective habits of an essayist with a storyteller's pleasure in narrative, leaving its mark on English prose and short fiction.