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the experience of reading in Britain, from 1450 to 1945...

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 33726


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Diary entry, August 22, 1831: "And then we read merely the Greek of a passage in the poem next to my favorite poem; and then Mr. Boyd gave me Meleager’s ode to Spring, to read, while he “stretched his legs” in the garden. Very very happy! – Meleager’s ode is beautiful tho' monotonous: but the monotony is much less felt in the concluding lines. Nota Bene Ba! Buy Wakefield’s Bion, & Moschus & Meleager”

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

22 Aug 1831

Country:

England

Time

daytime

Place:

city: Malvern Hills, Ledbury, Wellington Heath
county: Herefordshire
specific address: Hope End

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

6 Mar 1806

Socio-Economic Group:

Gentry

Occupation:

Poet

Religion:

Evangelical

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

Hugh Stuart Boyd


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Meleager

Title:

Ode to Spring

Genre:

Classics, Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

33726

Source:

Print

Author:

Elizabeth Barrett Browning,

Editor:

Phillip & Ronald Kelley & Hudson

Title:

Diary of E.B.B.: The Unpublished Diary of Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Place of Publication:

Athens, OH

Date of Publication:

1969

Vol:

n/a

Page:

97-98

Additional Comments:

Diary entry, August 22, 1831

Citation:

Elizabeth Barrett Browning,, Phillip & Ronald Kelley & Hudson (ed.), Diary of E.B.B.: The Unpublished Diary of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, (Athens, OH, 1969), p. 97-98, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=33726, accessed: 18 May 2024


Additional Comments:

Editor's note regarding the last book mentioned by Barrett Browning: " Gilbert Wakefield, ed. Biwnos kai Mosxou ta Leipsana (London, 1795). Although Meleager is not mentioned on the title page, this edition contains an Idyll of his". Although it is not explicit in the quotation, Barrett Browning is probably reading Meleager's text aloud, and Mr. Boyd is listening.

   
   
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