A Parody Anthology

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 371K words
Chapters: 38

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 Parody Anthology by Carolyn WellsAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Aug 27, 2014

Editor's review

This Parody Anthology, edited by Carolyn Wells, is a selection from the English literary tradition of parody, gathering verse in which various poets mock or rewrite existing poems. Its value lies not in original verse but in showing a way of writing that "jokes while standing on earlier shoulders": readers familiar with the originals catch the puns and irony, while others can still enjoy the play of rhythm and phrasing. As a public-domain ebook, it is loosely organized and old-fashioned in format, better browsed as a sample of literary wit than used as a systematic textbook. It suits reading a few poems on a commute or before sleep, with the originals at hand for comparison; it can also serve writing courses or English-literature enthusiasts as an introduction to parody as a genre. Note that the anthology is old and some targets may be unfamiliar to today's readers, so the difficulty varies with background knowledge.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature lovers interested in English poetry and parody as a form
University literature and writing students curious about mock writing
Casual readers who like short, browsable books
Advanced learners with some grounding in English poetry

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak English who need line-by-line notes
Readers seeking a systematic history of poetry or literary theory
Those who prefer complete long narratives over fragmented anthologies

Reading tips

Read the parodied original or learn its gist first, then compare it with the parody
Read only a few poems at a time and note puns and irony, avoiding fatigue from reading too much at once
Read favorite pieces aloud to feel the effect of rewritten rhythm and rhyme
Skip unfamiliar names and allusions at first, then look them up after a full reading

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

Do I need to know the original poems to understand this book?

Not all of them, but knowing the parodied originals clearly adds to the pleasure. Parody's humor often rests on recognizable rewrites of an original's style, syntax, or theme, so readers who know the original more easily catch the contrast; others can first enjoy the rhythm and exaggerated phrasing, then fill in the background.

Is this a novel or a poetry collection?

It is a parody anthology edited by Carolyn Wells, gathering mock verse by many authors on existing poems; it belongs to poetry and literary parody, not to a continuous narrative novel. It is better read selectively or by skipping around than straight through.

Can I read it with average English?

You can try, but there is some difficulty. Parody relies on puns, allusions, and changes of meter, so readers with weak English may miss the jokes. Read with a dictionary and knowledge of the originals, or read a Chinese translation first for the gist, then compare it with the English to enjoy the verbal wit.

Comments

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