Practical Guide to English Versification

Tom HoodProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 336K words
Chapters: 34

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.Practical Guide to English Versification by Tom HoodAuthor: Hood, Tom, 1835-1874,Language: English, Class: PE: Language and Literatures: English, Release Date: Apr 26, 2016

Editor's review

This is a practical guide to English versification written by the 19th-century English author Thomas Hood, a public-domain work of English language and literature. Its value lies in its systematic explanation of the basic rules of English poetry—metre, rhyme, and rhythm—not abstract poetics but hands-on technical instruction. The book preserves Victorian English expression and examples, letting readers see the norms and tastes of English poetry composition of the time. It serves well as a supplementary reader for formal analysis of English poetry, to be consulted alongside original poems to identify feet, rhyme schemes, and other elements. As an early public-domain electronic edition, it is plain text with no modern annotations or exercises; readers need some grounding in English poetry and should not treat it as a beginner's textbook. Overall it is better suited to readers studying English prosody or practicing translation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English majors learning English metre and rhyme schemes
Literary researchers analyzing the form of English poetry
Translators of English poetry concerned with rhythm
Readers interested in Victorian English writing conventions

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak English who need Chinese explanations
Readers seeking only modern creative-writing workbooks
Readers expecting systematic poetics or literary history

Reading tips

Read the table of contents first to see how chapters on metre and rhyme are organized, then consult as needed.
Compare the book's examples with original English poems at hand, marking feet and rhyme schemes as you read.
Look up archaic English expressions in a dictionary; do not try to memorize every term.
Use it as a reference book in sessions, focusing on one or two techniques at a time.

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 suitable for someone learning English from scratch?

Not really. It discusses the metre and rhyme rules of English poetry, which require some English reading ability and familiarity with concepts such as feet and rhyme schemes. Beginners will struggle with the terminology and archaic expressions; it is better to build up experience reading English poetry first.

Is this a Chinese book or an English book?

It is an English-language public-domain original by the 19th-century Thomas Hood, released as an e-book by Project Gutenberg. The text is entirely in English, with no Chinese translation or notes, so readers face the original English directly.

Does the book include exercises or modern annotations?

No. This is an early public-domain electronic text consisting mainly of the original content, without modern editorial notes, exercises, or answer keys. Readers must look up terminology in other sources and do their own comparative analysis.

Can it be used to learn to write English poetry?

It can serve as a reference for traditional metrical rules, but it is not a modern creative-writing course. It emphasizes rules and examples; to actually practice writing, combine it with contemporary writing guides and read plenty of original English poetry to develop an ear for the language.

Comments

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About the author

Tom Hood Author · British · 1835–1874

Tom Hood (1835–1874) was a British humorist and poet, the son of the celebrated poet Thomas Hood. Public information about his life is limited, but his writing carries on a light, witty tone and spans both poetry and the retelling of fairy tales. Two of his works are held here. The first, Practical Guide to English Versification, is a practical handbook that teaches writers the rules of English metre and rhyme. The second, Fairy Realm: A Collection of the Favourite Old Tales Told in Verse, retells well-known old tales in rhyme, making them easy to read aloud and remember. Together they show his concern for the craft of verse and his pleasure in using poetry to tell stories for a broad readership, giving him a place in the humorous and versified writing of the Victorian era.