Amores: Poems

Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert), 1885-1930Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 66K words
Chapters: 7

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. Amores: Poems by D. H. Lawrence. Author: Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert), 1885–1930. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: Sep 7, 2007

Editor's review

Amores: Poems is an early collection by D. H. Lawrence, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook and classified under English literature (PR). Lawrence is best known for his novels, but his poetry is equally concerned with the body, desire, nature, and the emotional tensions between people, and its language is direct and rich in imagery. This collection brings together early poems that show him exploring the ground between traditional metre and freer expression; the emotional charge is high, and some pieces carry a strongly personal perspective. Readers may notice the recurring natural imagery and the treatment of relations between the sexes, which became central motifs of his later work. As a public-domain text, it is a good entry point for understanding Lawrence as a poet and is well suited to close reading of short pieces by lovers of English poetry. Note that its expression is frank and bears the marks of its era and of the poet's individual style; it should not be judged by a single moral framework. Overall, this is a work in which the poet's breath and warmth can be felt, and it rewards slow and repeated reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to know Lawrence as a poet, not only as a novelist
Enthusiasts interested in the early landscape of modern English poetry
Learners who need public-domain English poems for close-reading practice
Literary readers drawn to themes of desire, nature, and emotion

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strict classical metre and restrained expression
People sensitive to frank emotion and bodily description
Researchers seeking a systematic history of poetry or a fully annotated edition

Reading tips

Read two or three poems at a time, first taking in the rhythm and imagery, then looking up word meanings.
Read aloud to catch the tone and breath of Lawrence's lines.
After reading, note recurring images of nature and emotion and watch how they change.
Read alongside passages from his novels to see how themes echo between poetry and fiction.

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

Where does this collection stand in Lawrence's career?

It belongs to Lawrence's early poetry and shows him exploring the ground between traditional poetic forms and personal expression. Nature, desire, and relations between the sexes—motifs that run through his later work—are already present, so it can serve as an entry point to his literary world, though it should not be taken as the final representative of his poetic achievement.

How difficult is the language in this collection?

It is written in early twentieth-century English overall; the sentences are not very complex, but some diction and imagery are highly individual and need to be understood in context. A moderate reading ability in English is enough to attempt it, and a dictionary will help with unfamiliar expressions. It is best to read through once for tone before doing line-by-line close reading.

What setting suits reading this book?

It suits short reading in spare moments, two or three poems at a time, with room to let them linger; it also suits reading aloud in a quiet place to feel the rhythm and emotional intensity of the lines. For study, keep notes on imagery and themes; for leisure, there is no need to finish it—dipping in at random is rewarding too.

Comments

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About the author

Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert), 1885-1930 Author

D. H. Lawrence (David Herbert Lawrence, 1885–1930) was an English novelist, poet and essayist. The library holds 25 of his works, including the novels Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love and The Lost Girl, the short-story collections The Prussian Officer and England, My England, and the travel book Twilight in Italy. His writing often draws on mining and rural life and focuses on relations between men and women, class, and the pressure modern civilization places on individual vitality, with a candid style that is sensuous and psychologically searching, at once poetic and forceful. Because his work boldly touched on desire and social taboo, he was controversial in his lifetime and is now regarded as a major voice in twentieth-century English literature. Detailed information beyond his works is limited, so this note relies on the available works and established common knowledge.