Lyrical Ballads (1798)


Read by Verity Kendall

(3 stars; 20 reviews)

Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems is a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 and generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literature. The immediate effect on critics was modest, but it became and remains a landmark, changing the course of English literature and poetry. Most of the poems in the 1798 edition were written by Wordsworth, with Coleridge contributing only four poems to the collection, including one of his most famous works, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. (Additionally, though only the two writers are credited for the works, William's sister Dorothy Wordsworth's diary which held powerful descriptions of everyday surroundings influenced William's poetry immensely.) (Summary by Wikipedia) (2 hr 3 min)

Chapters

00 - Advertisement 3:36 Read by Verity Kendall
Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, The 21:28 Read by Verity Kendall
Foster-Mother's Tale, The 4:17 Read by Verity Kendall
Lines left upon a Seat in a Yew-tree which stands near the Lake of Esthwaite 3:23 Read by Verity Kendall
Nightingale, The 5:59 Read by Verity Kendall
Female Vagrant, The 12:43 Read by Verity Kendall
Goody Blake and Harry Gill 4:44 Read by Verity Kendall
Lines written at a small distance from my House... 1:47 Read by Verity Kendall
Simon Lee, the old Huntsman 3:51 Read by Verity Kendall
Anecdote for Fathers 2:32 Read by Verity Kendall
We are Seven 2:31 Read by Verity Kendall
Lines written in early spring 1:25 Read by Verity Kendall
Thorn, The 9:08 Read by Verity Kendall
Last of the Flock, The 3:38 Read by Verity Kendall
Dungeon, The 1:37 Read by Verity Kendall
Mad Mother, The 3:46 Read by Verity Kendall
Idiot Boy, The 16:38 Read by Verity Kendall
Lines written near Richmond, upon the Thames, at Evening 2:11 Read by Verity Kendall
Expostulation and Reply 1:28 Read by Verity Kendall
The Tables turned; an Evening Scene, on the same subject 1:31 Read by Verity Kendall
Old Man Travelling 1:18 Read by Verity Kendall
Complaint of a Forsaken Indian Woman, The 3:46 Read by Verity Kendall
Convict, The 2:37 Read by Verity Kendall
Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey 7:27 Read by Verity Kendall

Reviews

Great version, so very well read


(5 stars)

I’d read the Prelude to the Lyrical Ballads but never the Ballads themselves until coming across the audiobook. It’s a nice little collection, with the great Rime of the Ancient Mariner in it (which I had read before). In fact, quite a few favourites have apparently been included in this set. It is great to hear them all read by the same person, who obviously puts great effort into reading this properly and in an entertaining fashion without spoiling the pieces. Great job.

Good reading for scholarly listen, wish sound was better


(3 stars)

The reading was quite good to focus on words and not the readers inflection. Also liked the footnotes since I was not reading for enjoyment but to understand the work.

too,rushed and breathless for poetic enjoyment.


(3 stars)


(0.5 stars)

The sound is horrible and the narration is not the proper one to Romantic poetry. Footnotes shouldn’t be read; this makes the reader feel lost and not concentrate in the poem itself.