English Lit Relit: A Short History of English Literature from the Precursors (Before Swearing) to the Pre-Raphaelites and a Little After, Intended to Help Students See the Thing Through, or See Through the Thing, and Omitting Nothing Unimportant

by Richard Armour

First edition. "A short history of English literature from the Precursors before swearing to the Pre-Raphaelites and a little after, intended to help students see the thing through, or see through the thing, and ommitting nothing unimportant." Ink inscription on free endpaper. viii , 151 pages. cloth, dust jacket.. 8vo..

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Books About Books, History

151 pages, hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Richard Armour, a college professor of English who specialized in Chaucer and the English Romantic poets, was best known as a prolific author of light verse and wacky parodies of academic scholarship. He was a professor of English at Scripps College in Claremont from 1945 to 1966.

Armour was raised in Pomona, California, where his father owned a drugstore. He graduated from Pomona College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, then obtained his master's and Ph.D. in English literature at Harvard. He was a Harvard research fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum library in London.

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's better. That's Armour at the top of his game.

Not to oversell him. He's mildly amusing in his snarky survey of English lit. But there's also a whiff of the old uncle who's humor is rather old-fashioned, but he's always been nice and pleasant and it's easy to just let him ramble on.

So I'm enjoying my Armour binge but am probably not going to request all the other ones. It is good to have them lurking there in the back of my mind, waiting for another low-stress reading bout. Probably though I will limit myself to literature and academia in the future. That's where he's best.

You know what these books are like? It just occurred to me: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It's the art: buxom young women in quaint attire and it's definitely old-fashioned, but not too offensive.

Praising with faint damns.

Library copy.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy's English classes must have been a riot!

[Sarah A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hilarious book exploring the complete history of English literature. The author, a professor of English literature, has wonderful tongue-in-cheek subtle and not so subtle humor, poking fun at writers and reviewers throughout history.
Excellent inspiring read!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good fun, but a few too many off colour jokes for my liking.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Richard Armour takes the reader on a pun-filled entertaining trip through the eras and authors of English literature. Anyone who has read any English lit at all--by choice or by assignment--will enjoy this book. Armour, who taught English Literature for 38 years, is well-versed in his subject; he knows enough about his topic to thoroughly make fun of it. I love this book, and I hope I can track down all of his irreverent titles. :)

[Reuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short history of Englsh literature to just after the Pre-Raphaelites/ literary criticism. Useful and succinct.

[Mohamad Noor Rizal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended for those who take Survey of English Literature subject. It helps you to comprehend the instructor's taste of humor, too. :D

[Cary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as his ones on history -- but again that may be that I like history far better than english lit...