Underwoods

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 76K words
Chapters: 8

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.Underwoods by Robert Louis StevensonAuthor: Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Feb 1, 1996

Editor's review

Underwoods is a short collection of English poems by Stevenson, drawing largely on daily life, friendship, travel impressions and personal reflections. The language is clear and flowing, the rhythm unhurried, with the restraint and warmth characteristic of Victorian poetry. As a public-domain eBook its value lies mainly in a complete, searchable and freely available text, making it a light entry point to English poetry. Readers can see another side of Stevenson beyond his novels: no grand narrative, but delicate observation and self-reflection set in short lines. Some poems use older wording, and allusions and place names may need notes or background material. Overall it is a collection for slow, repeated reading, useful both for training an ear for English and as supplementary reading on nineteenth-century English poetry.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who want a light introduction to English poetry
Fans of Stevenson's novels who want to know his poetry
Readers who need public-domain English texts for language study or excerpting
Literature lovers interested in Victorian English poetry

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for tightly plotted, strongly story-driven writing
Beginners with weak English who dislike consulting reference works
Readers who prefer modern or contemporary colloquial poetry

Reading tips

Skim the contents and start with poems whose titles or first lines appeal to you; no need to read in order.
Read each poem twice: first for rhythm, then to look up words and note rhyme and line breaks.
Keep a notebook for lines you like and try restating their gist in Chinese.
If a poem's background is unclear, skip it for now and return to difficulties after finishing the book.

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 the original English edition, and what English level does it require?

It is an original English poetry collection in nineteenth-century English. It is not very difficult overall, but some wording and syntax are old-fashioned. Readers at roughly CET-4 level who are willing to use a dictionary can generally get through it; if you want easy reading, try the shorter poems first.

Can I read this without experience with poetry?

Yes. Most poems are short and their themes close to everyday feeling, without reliance on complex allusions. Start with short poems, focus first on overall mood and imagery, then gradually notice formal elements such as rhyme and line breaks; don't aim for word-by-word precision at the outset.

How can I take notes easily when reading the electronic edition?

Use your reading app's highlight and annotation tools to mark new words and favorite lines, and keep a separate notes document organized by poem title. After each poem, write a sentence or two on your response or questions; reviewing after finishing the book will make your reading progress clearer.

Comments

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About the author

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894 Author

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a nineteenth-century British writer known for adventure fiction and poetry. His representative work Treasure Island established a classic model for treasure-hunt adventure stories and has circulated widely in many translations; the library also holds the Spanish version La isla del tesoro and the German version Die Schatzinsel: Roman. Another representative work, A Child's Garden of Verses, writes from a child's perspective about play, imagination, and everyday feelings, with fresh language and natural rhythm, and is a common reader in English children's poetry. The library holds as many as 101 of his works, showing the variety of his subjects and forms. Public information is limited, so details of his life and education are not elaborated here; overall, his writing combines thrilling narrative with a lyrical tone, being strongly story-driven yet readable aloud, and has had a lasting influence on later adventure literature and children's literature.