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Read by Richard Mitchley, Ghizela Rowe & Gideon Wagner (Unabridged: 1hr 2mins)
Algernon Charles Swinburne was born on April 5th, 1837, in London, into a wealthy Northumbrian family. He was educated at Eton and at Balliol College, Oxford, but did not complete a degree.
In 1860 Swinburne published two verse dramas but achieved his first literary success in 1865 with Atalanta in Calydon, written in the form of classical Greek tragedy. The following year "Poems and Ballads" brought him instant notoriety. He was now identified with "indecent" themes and the precept of art for art's sake.
Although he produced much after this success in general his popularity and critical reputation declined. The most important qualities of Swinburne's work are an intense lyricism, his intricately extended and evocative imagery, metrical virtuosity, rich use of assonance and alliteration, and bold, complex rhythms.
Swinburne's physical appearance was small, frail, and plagued by several other oddities of physique and temperament. Throughout the 1860s and 1870s he drank excessively and was prone to accidents that often left him bruised, bloody, or unconscious. Until his forties he suffered intermittent physical collapses that necessitated removal to his parents' home while he recovered.
Throughout his career Swinburne also published literary criticism of great worth. His deep knowledge of world literatures contributed to a critical style rich in quotation, allusion, and comparison. He is particularly noted for discerning studies of Elizabethan dramatists and of many English and French poets and novelists. As well he was a noted essayist and wrote two novels.
In 1879, Swinburne's friend and literary agent, Theodore Watts-Dunton, intervened during a time when Swinburne was dangerously ill. Watts-Dunton isolated Swinburne at a suburban home in Putney and gradually weaned him from alcohol, former companions and many other habits as well.
Much of his poetry in this period may be inferior but some individual poems are exceptional; "By the North Sea," "Evening on the Broads," "A Nympholept," "The Lake of Gaube," and "Neap-Tide."
Swinburne lived another thirty years with Watts-Dunton. He denied Swinburne's friends access to him, controlled the poet's money, and restricted his activities. It is often quoted that 'he saved the man but killed the poet'.
Swinburne died on April 10th, 1909 at the age of seventy-two.
In this compilation -
01 - Algernon Charles Swinburne - An Introduction |
02 - A Ballad of Death by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
03 - A Ballad of Dreamland by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
04 - The Year of the Rose by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
05 - Loves Lies Bleeding by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
06 - March - An Ode by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
07 - Music - An Ode by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
08 - April by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
09 - Eros by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
10 - Etude Realiste by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
11 - The Promise of the Hawthorn by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
12 - White Butterflies by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
13 - Love in a Mist by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
14 - The Triumph of Time, an Extract by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
15 - To a Cat by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
16 - August by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
17 - Love and Sleep by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
18 - Autumn in Cornwall by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
19 - A Match by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
20 - Four Songs for Four Seasons by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
21 - Winter in Northumberland (Extract) by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
22 - A Leave Taking by Algernon Charles Swinburne |
23 - Before a Crucifix by Algernon Charles Swinburne |