Poems

Crabbe, George, 1754-1832Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 275K words
Chapters: 28

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.Poems by George CrabbeAuthor: Crabbe, George, 1754-1832,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 30, 2018

Editor's review

George Crabbe (1754–1832) was an English poet known for writing about rural life and the fates of ordinary people in everyday language. Poems is the Project Gutenberg e-book of his verse collection and a convenient entry into the realist strand of English poetry from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. Crabbe's poetry does not aim at ornate rhetoric but excels at observation and narrative, often blending rural scenes, people's fortunes, and moral reflection, so that it reads with a sense of story. For Chinese readers the main barriers lie in language and context: the meter of English verse, the social setting of the eighteenth century, and Crabbe's rather long narrative lines all require patience. Its value lies in offering a poetic experience different from the Romantic lyric tradition—cooler and closer to reality. It is best used as supplementary reading in the history of English poetry, or as practice material for close reading of English verse, one or two poems at a time with some background; that is more effective than reading the whole collection straight through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in English poetry of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who want to broaden their reading
Readers who like realist, narrative poetry and do not seek ornate rhetoric
English or literature majors using it as supplementary reading in poetry history
Upper-intermediate and advanced readers of English who want close-reading practice and are willing to read slowly

Not a good fit for

Readers with no experience of English poetry who want an easy introduction
Readers who prefer short lyrics and lack patience for long narrative poems
Readers who need detailed Chinese annotation and background guidance in order to read

Reading tips

Do not read the whole collection straight through; start with shorter poems and then decide the scope of close reading.
Before reading, learn a little about eighteenth-century English rural society; it helps in understanding the situations depicted.
Read each poem twice: first for the narrative thread, then for diction and tone.
Read alongside a history of English poetry, placing Crabbe within the realist tradition.

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

What are the main characteristics of Crabbe's poetry?

Crabbe is known for writing about rural life and the fates of ordinary people in everyday language with a realist touch; his poems are often narrative and morally observant and do not rely on ornate rhetoric. Do not expect strong lyric effect; approach their value through the characters' situations and narrative detail.

Can I read this collection without a background in English poetry?

You can try, but extra preparation is needed. Begin with one or two shorter poems, with background on the poet and his era, and use reference works when meter and allusion get in the way. If you have no experience of English poetry at all, start with anthologies or introductory guides.

Is this Gutenberg edition suitable for academic citation?

The Project Gutenberg edition is convenient for free reading and searching, but its layout and textual scholarship may not meet academic citation standards. For citation in papers, check page numbers and text against an authoritative edition and note the edition information you rely on.

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About the author

Crabbe, George, 1754-1832 Author

George Crabbe (1754–1832) was an English poet. Eleven of his works are held in this collection, including Poems, The Borough, George Crabbe: Poems, Volumes 1–3, The Parish Register, Tales, and The Library. Public information about his life is limited, so biographical details are omitted here; his surviving works show him excelling in narrative verse that depicts rural and small-town life and attends to the circumstances and fates of ordinary people. His style is realistic and restrained, combining moral observation with sympathy. By bringing everyday scenes into poetry and using story to portray groups of characters, he occupied a distinctive place in the transition from classical to Romantic poetry in England, and his texts offer later readers a vivid picture of local social life in his time.