Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards

Evans, Evan, 1731-1788Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.4
Word count
399K words
Chapters
40

Tags

English Originals Foreign Literature Welsh PoetryLiterary TranslationPoetry CollectionTraditional AestheticsAncient BardsAncient StyleCultural ChangeNational HeritageFolk LegendMusical Rhythm

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.Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards by Evan EvansAuthor: Evans, Evan, 1731-1788,Language: English, Class: PB: Language and Literatures: General works, Release Date: Jun 10, 2010

Editor's review

This selection of ancient Welsh bardic poetry, compiled by the eighteenth-century Welsh scholar Evan Evans, is an English verse translation of documentary value, containing sample works of ancient Welsh bards. Its value lies mainly in cultural preservation and cross-linguistic translation: for readers studying Welsh literature, Celtic tradition, and eighteenth-century British antiquarian research, it is a usable primary source. The Project Gutenberg electronic edition makes this public-domain document available at low cost, suitable for specialized searches or textual comparison. It should be noted that the poems are presented in English translation and the book dates from an early period, so its translated style is distant from contemporary readers' habits of reading poetry; it is better read from the perspective of literary history and cultural studies rather than for immediate aesthetic pleasure. Overall, it is a niche but clearly oriented scholarly selection, not a general reader for a broad audience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the editor's preface and editorial notes first to clarify the selection criteria and translation approach.
  2. Read alongside background materials on Welsh history and Celtic mythology to lower the threshold of understanding.
  3. Read excerpts grouped by theme or poet rather than from beginning to end, to facilitate comparison.
  4. Record proper names and allusions in the translation to form your own annotation list for later reference.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40

FAQ

Is this book a Chinese translation or an English original? According to the information, the book is in English and is a selected English translation of ancient Welsh poetry intended for English-language readers, not a Chinese translation. Chinese readers need English reading ability or should use relevant Chinese research materials to assist understanding.
Can I read it without any knowledge of Welsh? Yes. The poems are presented in English translation, so readers do not need to know Welsh to read them. However, the translation dates from an early period and involves many proper names and allusions; reading with background materials is recommended for better results.
Is the electronic edition suitable for academic citation? This electronic edition comes from Project Gutenberg and is a digitized text of a public-domain document, usable for general reading and textual searches. For formal academic citation, it is recommended to check the paper or authoritative edition and to note the source and access date of the electronic edition.

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About the author

Evans, Evan, 1731-1788 Author · Welsh · 1731–1788

Evan Evans (1731–1788) was a Welsh poet and clergyman, known for his poetry in Welsh and for the pen name "Ieuan Fardd." Born in 1731 and deceased in 1788, he combined the office of a clergyman with a reputation as a poet, and his writing was rooted in the Welsh-language tradition, with a commitment to collecting and transmitting early Welsh poetry. His representative work, Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards, presents specimens of the poetry of the ancient Welsh bards and serves both as documentary preservation and as literary exemplification, reflecting his familiarity with and esteem for the Welsh poetic tradition. One work by him is held in the collection. Public information on his education, specific posts, and personal circle is limited; yet, judging from the surviving work and his use of a pen name, he was a representative figure in eighteenth-century Welsh-language literary circles, and his collecting and translating work helped later generations understand the character of ancient Welsh poetry.