Summary:
"A Household Book of English Poetry" by Richard Chenevix Trench is a collection of poetry curated and organized for a general audience, written in the late 19th century. This anthology strives to present a diverse range of English poetry, drawing from both established and lesser-known poets. Trench's arrangement includes notes to provide context and insights, making the collection accessible for readers unfamiliar with the nuances of English poetry. The opening of this work includes Trench's thoughtful preface, where he reflects on the purpose of the anthology and its intended audience. He discusses the desire to make poetry a part of every household by selecting pieces that range from popular to obscure, aiming for originality without being exhaustive. The preface emphasizes the transient nature of life and the enduring joy that great poetry brings, setting the tone for the selected works that follow, which explore themes of love, mortality, beauty, and the human condition through various poets' perspectives. (This is an automatically generated summary.)