The Purple Cow!

Burgess, Gelett, 1866-1951Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 25K words
Chapters: 3

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.The Purple Cow! by Gelett BurgessAuthor: Burgess, Gelett, 1866-1951,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 12, 2009

Editor's review

The Purple Cow! is an English-language work by Gelett Burgess, released free by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook. The title evokes the widely circulated short poem of the same name; the book is slim, playful in language, and marked by the humor and wordplay of early periodicals. Its value lies not in grand narrative but in a light, brisk pleasure in English verse: short lines, whimsy, deliberately perverse metaphors—like leafing through an old book of humorous sketches. For English learners, the short sentences and lively rhythm suit practice in rhyme and colloquial expression; for literature lovers, it offers a small window onto late nineteenth-century American popular humor. The electronic edition is easy to search and excerpt, good for reading or reciting in spare moments. A caveat: its humor bears the marks of its time, and some expressions may not sit well with today's readers; take it as light reading in historical context rather than a serious literary classic.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners who want to practice language sense and reading aloud with short English verse
Readers who enjoy light humor, wordplay, and the flavor of old periodicals
Teachers or reading-group leaders who need brief English selections for class
Readers curious about late nineteenth-century American popular literature

Not a good fit for

Serious literature readers expecting profound themes or a complete narrative
Systematic learners who need a textbook of standard modern English
Readers uninterested in old-style humor and verse forms

Reading tips

Pick a few pieces and read them aloud, attending to rhyme and the rhythm of pauses.
When you meet unfamiliar old-fashioned expressions, guess the meaning first, then check a dictionary.
Copy out short lines you like and imitate their patterns in a sentence or two of your own English.
No need to read it all at once; it suits light browsing in spare moments.

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 a poetry collection or a story collection?

The available information only confirms that it is an English-language work by Gelett Burgess, light in language and short in length. Judging by the title and common editions, it is closer to a collection of short poems and humorous verse than to a long story; check the eBook's table of contents for the specific pieces.

Is it suitable for English beginners?

The sentences are short and the rhythm brisk, making it fairly friendly as material for reading aloud and building language sense. But it contains old-fashioned expressions and wordplay, so beginners are best off reading with a dictionary or notes and need not understand every line.

Is the electronic edition convenient for classroom materials?

The Project Gutenberg edition is freely available and easy to search and excerpt, suitable for selecting short pieces for classroom reading or discussion. Teachers can choose the pieces in advance, mark vocabulary and cultural background, and keep the class pace under control.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Burgess, Gelett, 1866-1951 Author

Gelett Burgess (1866–1951) was an American writer, illustrator, and humorous poet, best known for his satirical children's literature on manners and his wordplay. His representative works, Goops and How to Be Them and More Goops and How Not to Be Them, depict children's rude behavior through comic "Goop" figures, conveying etiquette in a teasing manner that delighted readers. He also compiled Burgess Unabridged: A new dictionary of words you have always needed, collecting invented words and displaying his linguistic keenness and playfulness; short verses such as The Purple Cow! likewise reflect his light, witty style. The library holds eight of his works, including War the Creator, The Rubaiyat of Omar Cayenne, and Are You a Bromide?. Public information is limited, but his writing centers on childlike humor, satirical etiquette, and linguistic experiment, giving him a distinctive place in popular humorous literature.