Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from English Literature and Literary Criticism: A Practical Guide to Systematic Reading and Study; Comprising Typical Selections, Illustrative Criticisms, and Exhaustive Analyses of the Best and Most Notable Works in the English Language
English literature is not contained in a single book, nor in any specified number of books. No single volume can teach English literature. The best text-book is that whichwill direct the student what to study, how to study, and how best to apply the knowledge acquired by that study. It is hoped that the present work will, in some measure, per form the office of such a guide, and that it will serve as a. Practical introduction to the study of the best and most notable works in the English language. The chronological arrangement usually adopted in books upon this subject has been in most part abandoned for the more natural arrangement by which works of a similar character are grouped and studied together and compared with each other. The student's attention is directed first and princi pally to books, rather than to authors; and the Opinions of our best critics concerning these books are fully and freely quoted. For historical information regarding the times in which these works were produced, and the circum stances which brought them forth, the student is referred to books of history; and for a knowledge of the lives of the men and women who wrote them, he is sent to books of biography. Illustrative extracts are frequently given, but only such as are deemed necessary either to arouse an interest in the works under discussion, or to assist the student in forming a just conception of' their literary merits. From books which are easy of access or generally known, fewer selections are quoted; for the student should, whenever possible, eschew extracts and turn to the books themselves. The best versions and the most approved texts have been generally followed, and, with but few exceptions, the orthography and punctuation of the origi nals have been carefully preserved. Except in rare cases.
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