Right Royal

Masefield, John, 1878-1967Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 84K words
Chapters: 9

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.Right Royal by John MasefieldAuthor: Masefield, John, 1878-1967,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 1, 2004

Editor's review

Right Royal is a narrative poem by the English poet and novelist John Masefield. Centered on horse racing and horses, it tells in verse the story of a horse named Right Royal, together with the people and races connected with it. Masefield was known for his plain, vigorous language and for writing about the sea, the countryside, and animals; this work continues his interest in vitality and scenes of competition, with a brisk rhythm and strong visual imagery that make it well suited to reading aloud. Its value lies in carrying a complete story in verse, letting readers feel, through its rhythm, the tension of the racetrack and the depth of human affection for horses. For readers curious about English narrative poetry but wary of the difficulty of long classical poems, this is a work of moderate length on an approachable subject. Note that the original is English verse, and its rhythms and dialectal expressions add to the difficulty; reading aloud alongside annotations is recommended.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in English narrative poetry who want an approachable subject to start with
Readers who like horses and horse racing and are willing to experience the racetrack atmosphere through verse
English learners who want to practice reading English poetry aloud and feel its rhythm and rhyme
Literary readers studying Masefield's work and his approach to narrative poetry

Not a good fit for

Readers who read only Chinese and do not want to tackle English verse and dialectal expressions
Readers expecting the continuous plotting and extensive psychological description of a prose novel
Practical readers seeking professional racing knowledge or a training guide

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the story's direction, then read aloud in sections, using your voice to catch the rhyme and rhythm.
Mark dialect or racing terms as you go and look them up together after finishing a passage, so as not to keep interrupting the flow.
A reliable Chinese plot summary can help comprehension, but do not let it replace the rhythmic experience of the original.

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

What kind of work is Right Royal?

It is an English narrative poem that tells a story around a horse and the people and races connected with horse racing. Unlike a prose novel, it advances the plot in verse, with a strong rhythm and vivid imagery; it is well suited to reading aloud, and readers need to adjust to poetry's way of narrating.

Can I understand it without knowing about horse racing?

Yes. The work's focus is the story, the characters' emotions, and the atmosphere of the racetrack; racing terminology is not essential to the main thread. Look up the occasional term as needed; there is no need to study the rules of racing first. Grasp the narrative flow first, then revisit the technical expressions, and it will be easier.

Why is it harder to read than a novel?

Because it is in verse, word order and diction are constrained by rhythm, and dialect and ellipsis may appear, so reading naturally goes more slowly than with prose. Slow down and read aloud; aim for overall understanding first, then work through difficulties passage by passage, and do not hold yourself to the speed of reading a novel.

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About the author

Masefield, John, 1878-1967 Author

John Masefield (1878–1967) was a British poet and writer, and this library holds fourteen of his works. His range is broad: poems set against the sea and the countryside, such as Salt-Water Ballads, Dauber and Reynard the Fox; adventure stories for young readers like Jim Davis and Martin Hyde, the Duke's Messenger; documentary works drawn from his wartime experience, including Gallipoli and The Old Front Line; and narratives of voyaging and exploration such as On the Spanish Main. His verse is brisk in rhythm and vivid in imagery, often centred on ordinary sailors and country people, with a strong narrative drive; his prose and fiction prize plot momentum and scene-setting, making them highly readable. The library files his work under inspirational coming-of-age writing, reflecting Chinese readers' interest in his themes of adventure and growth. Public information is limited, so this sketch rests on the works held here.