Enoch Arden, &c.

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.1

Word count: 127K words
Chapters: 13

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.Enoch Arden, &c. by Baron Alfred Tennyson TennysonAuthor: Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jun 1, 1998

Editor's review

A poetry collection by Baron Tennyson, centered on the long narrative poem Enoch Arden and including other poems. Tennyson was a representative poet of the Victorian era; his narrative poetry is metrically refined and emotionally restrained yet profound. Enoch Arden tells the tragedy of a fisherman lost at sea who returns years later to find his wife remarried, exploring fate, sacrifice, and ethical choice. It is a suitable introductory text for understanding the Victorian narrative poetry tradition. This is a Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook in the original English, without modern annotations, and requires some grounding in English poetry. Suitable for supplementary reading in British literature courses, close reading by poetry enthusiasts, and readers studying Tennyson's narrative technique. Reading aloud is recommended to appreciate the meter, alongside background materials for historical context.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of English literature needing representative Victorian poetry
Enthusiasts of English poetry wishing to closely read Tennyson's narrative verse
Readers studying poetic narrative and meter who need the original text
Those preparing course essays on English and American literature who need to cite public-domain primary texts

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak English who need Chinese annotations or translations
Readers who prefer fast-paced plot-driven fiction and lack patience for poetic form
Advanced researchers needing scholarly annotated or authoritative critical editions

Reading tips

Read Enoch Arden through once to grasp the storyline, then return to key lyrical passages for close reading.
Read aloud or listen to an audiobook to feel Tennyson's sound and rhythm, noting line breaks.
Before reading, look up Victorian fishing and shipwreck background to understand the characters' situation.
Read alongside the Tennyson chapter of an English literary history textbook to build an overall picture.

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 only in English? Is there a Chinese translation?

This Project Gutenberg edition is in the original English, with no Chinese translation or annotations. For reading in Chinese, you may find a separate Chinese translation of Tennyson's poetry to use alongside, but this ebook itself provides only the English text.

What is the story of Enoch Arden?

The long poem tells of the fisherman Enoch, lost at sea, who returns years later to find his wife remarried under the pressure of hardship. It revolves around fate, sacrifice, and ethical choice, with restrained yet profound emotion, and is one of Tennyson's representative narrative poems.

Can I read this book without a poetry background?

You can try, but it is advisable to read a plot summary and background introduction first, then work through it section by section alongside an audio recording. If English reading is difficult, read a Chinese translation first to grasp the plot, then return to the English original to appreciate the language and meter.

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About the author

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892 Author

Alfred Tennyson, Baron Tennyson (1809-1892), was a British poet who succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate in 1850. His representative works include Idylls of the King, Maud, and Other Poems, and Enoch Arden. This library holds 17 of his works, commonly classified under inspirational growth. Drawing frequently on classical and medieval legend, his poetry is finely crafted and highly musical, combining Romantic sentiment with a Victorian concern for morality, faith and the meaning of life; Idylls of the King uses the Arthurian legends to explore the conflict between duty and desire. Available public information is limited, and no further biographical details are provided.