TY - BOOK AU - Lowell,James Russell TI - Among My Books. First Series AV - PS PY - 2005/// CY - Salt Lake City, UT PB - Project Gutenberg KW - New England -- Social life and customs KW - Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1712-1778 KW - Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Criticism and interpretation KW - Witchcraft KW - Dryden, John, 1631-1700 KW - Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim, 1729-1781 N1 - Release date is 2005-07-01; Dryden -- Witchcraft -- Shakespeare once more -- New England two centuries ago -- Lessing -- Rousseau and the sentimentalists; Produced by Ted Garvin, Thomas Berger and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team; Original publication data not identified N2 - "Among My Books. First Series" by James Russell Lowell is a collection of literary essays written in the mid-19th century. The essays discuss various writers and themes, exploring the relationship between literature and culture, particularly focusing on English poets like John Dryden and William Wordsworth, while also touching on figures such as Rousseau and Shakespeare. The text serves as a reflective commentary on the literary landscape of Lowell's time, revealing insights into both the authors' works and the evolution of literary criticism. The opening of this collection introduces the theme of memory and learning through literature. Lowell employs a metaphor from Benvenuto Cellini to illustrate how painful experiences can mark our memories, challenging the notion of learning through pleasure alone. He then transitions into an analysis of Dryden's impact on English poetry, discussing the historical context of his works, the stylistic variations among poets, and the significance of maintaining literary standards. Throughout, Lowell reflects on the tension between classical influences and modern innovation, setting the groundwork for a deeper exploration of the writers featured in the series. (This is an automatically generated summary.) UR - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8503 ER -