Ring Out, Wild Bells

English · 1850 · 37:15 · Poetry

In “Ring Out, Wild Bells,” Alfred, Lord Tennyson turns the sound of bells at the close of the year into a call for change. The poem asks what should be left behind—and what hopes and values should be welcomed in its place.

Written in the wake of personal loss, it moves from grief and conflict toward a vision of renewal: old sorrows, divisions, and falsehoods giving way to peace, truth, and a more generous future. Its repeated appeals to the bells give the poem the cadence of a public song as well as a private reflection.

This audiobook presents Tennyson’s poem in multiple volunteer readings. Listeners can hear how different voices bring out its measured rhythm and its balance of mourning and hope.