The Mentor: Famous English Poets, Vol. 1, Num. 44, Serial No. 44

Hamilton Wright MabieProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.5

Word count: 43K words
Chapters: 5

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.The Mentor: Famous English Poets, Vol. 1, Num. 44, Serial No. 44 by MabieAuthor: Mabie, Hamilton Wright, 1846-1916,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 28, 2015

Editor's review

This is Vol. 1, No. 44 of The Mentor series, edited by Hamilton Wright Mabie and devoted to famous English poets. Mabie was an essayist and literary critic known for guiding ordinary readers into the world of literature in an accessible way. This issue presents representative poets of the English poetic tradition in a feature format; the prose is introductory and readable rather than dense academic argument, making it a popular introduction to literature. For readers who want to understand the arc of English poetry but do not know where to begin, it offers a shortcut with a critic as guide. The contents carry the imprint of early twentieth-century literary criticism; the views and selections reflect the tastes of the time, and readers may treat it as a historically situated literary guide rather than current scholarship. It suits supplementary reading on English poetry or as a way to see how the early English-speaking world popularized classic poets.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Ordinary readers who want a systematic introduction to representative English poets but lack an entry point
Literature lovers interested in early twentieth-century English literary criticism and popular guides
Teachers and discussion organizers who need background material on English poetry for classes or reading groups
English learners who want a relaxed way to approach classic poets

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers seeking current scholarship or the latest criticism on poets
Deep readers expecting close reading of poems with detailed textual analysis
Readers who prefer systematic literary histories by period over feature-format periodical guides

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and introduction first to see which poets are included and how they are arranged, then decide the order of close reading.
For each poet, look up one or two representative poems and read the commentary alongside the works.
Treat it as a guide, not a final verdict; annotate points that differ from contemporary assessments and verify them separately.
Read in sections, focusing on one poet at a time, and summarize the commentary in your own words afterward to reinforce it.

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 a poetry anthology or a critical guide?

The material indicates it is a feature issue of The Mentor series, critical and introductory in nature, with Mabie writing the commentary rather than collecting the poems themselves. It is best used as supporting material for understanding the poets, ideally alongside the original poems.

Can I understand it without a background in English poetry?

Yes. The series is aimed at general readers, and the language is mainly explanatory and introductory, assuming no specialist background. Since it discusses specific poets and works, however, readers with no exposure to English poetry will understand more smoothly if they look up the relevant poems as they read.

Is the content outdated?

The book reflects early twentieth-century literary tastes and critical perspectives. It has value as a historical document but does not represent current scholarship. Readers may treat it as a window into how the early English-speaking world popularized the classics, checking its views against modern sources.

Is it suitable for exam preparation?

Not really as an exam textbook. It lacks systematic coverage of exam points and detailed textual analysis and is better for broadening background and building interest. For exams, use a textbook as the main resource and this book as supplementary reading.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Hamilton Wright Mabie Author · American · 1846–1916

Hamilton Wright Mabie (1846–1916) was an American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer, born in 1846 in Cold Spring, New York. From 1879 he served for many years as editor of the weekly The Christian Union, later renamed The Outlook, and wrote several collections of essays on literature and culture, such as Books and Culture and Essays on Work and Culture. He also edited the "Every Child Should Know" series, including Heroes Every Child Should Know and Legends That Every Child Should Know, which introduced classic stories and heroic figures to young readers. The library holds nine of his works, including three numbers of The Mentor on American novelists, American pioneer prose writers, and Walter Scott. He died in 1916 in Summit, New Jersey.