A Lover's Litanies

Mackay, Eric, 1851-1898Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 78K 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.A Lover's Litanies by Eric MackayAuthor: Mackay, Eric, 1851-1898,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Feb 3, 2009

Editor's review

A Lover's Litanies is a poetry collection by the 19th-century English poet Eric Mackay, treating the theme of love through litany-like repeated invocations. Mackay's verse continues the Victorian tradition of lyric poetry, with attention to rhyme and rhythm, and the litany form itself lends the work a sense of ritual and cumulative emotional intensity. Readers will find a twofold expression of love—devout and sorrowful at once: the religious vocabulary of the litany is transferred to secular feeling, creating a distinctive rhetorical tension. As a public-domain ebook, it serves as supplementary material for the study of English poetry and is also suited to readers who enjoy the cadences of classical English verse for casual browsing. There is no need to read it straight through; choosing passages where recurring themes appear and sensing their shifts in tone is more rewarding. Because the work is early and its language richly stylized, modern readers may need some patience to adjust to its syntax and diction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying 19th-century English poetry and the Victorian lyric tradition
Poetry lovers drawn to litany-like repetition and experiments in sound and rhythm
Translation learners seeking public-domain English poetry texts

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for modern free verse or contemporary love poetry
Beginners with little patience for archaic English syntax and religious rhetoric

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the overall rhythm of the litany, then choose individual sections to read aloud repeatedly.
Notice how religious vocabulary is transferred to the expression of love, making brief excerpts and annotations.
Consult a Chinese translation or notes to understand the background of Victorian poetry.

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 novel or a poetry collection?

It is a poetry collection, voicing the theme of love through a litany-like repetitive structure rather than a narrative novel. Readers should approach it as lyric poetry rather than looking for plot development.

Can readers with average English read it?

The syntax and diction are markedly 19th-century, so readers with average English will find it demanding. It is advisable to begin with notes or a parallel translation, then return to the original to feel its rhythm and rhetoric.

Why adopt the litany form?

The litany originated as a form of repeated prayer in religious ritual; the poet borrows its cumulative and echoing structure to heighten emotional intensity, giving the expression of love a sense of ritual and devotion.

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About the author

Mackay, Eric, 1851-1898 Author

Eric Mackay (1851–1898) was a poet writing in the late nineteenth century. Public information about his life and nationality is limited, and the bibliography available here includes only three of his works. Judging from what is accessible, he wrote chiefly lyrical poetry centred on love and emotional experience: Love Letters of a Violinist, and Other Poems and A Lover's Litanies explore longing, memory and inner monologue in delicate language marked by strong musicality and rhythm, while The Song of the Flag: A National Ode turns to a public theme, expressing attachment to flag and country in ode form. His verse generally follows the Romantic lyrical tradition, emphasising sound and emotional development and suiting recitation. Given the limited material, his biography and place in literary history await further study, and readers may chiefly come to know his writing through the works mentioned above.