April 28, 2006 Audiobook
Dulce et Decorum Est
by Wilfred Owen2 minutes, 5 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poetry
1920
The classic war poem written by a British soldier during World War I. Read by Alex Wilson.
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October 04, 2005 Audiobook
Kubla Khan & The Pains of Sleep
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge6 minutes, 58 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poetry
1816
Two poems by one of the founders of the Romantic Movement.
Coleridge claimed that "Kubla Khan," one of his most famous works, came to him in an opium-inspired dream. Coleridge's symbolic pleasure-dome of Xanadu in this poem is referenced and even built in Orson Well's classic film, Citizen Kane. The full title of the poem is "Kubla Khan Or, a Vision in a Dream. A Fragment."
"The Pains of Sleep" by contrast is a more conversational and emotional piece, dealing with nightmares instead of utopian fantasies, but it is very likely that this poem, too, was inspired by Coleridge's continued opium use.
Though both poems were first published at the same time in 1816, Coleridge wrote "Kubla Khan" a good 6 years before 1803's "The Pains of Sleep," revealing very different mental reactions to his continued drug use. 1816 was also the year when Coleridge finally sought help for his addiction.
Read by Alex Wilson.
Also available (at sister site Telltale Weekly): The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for just $1.50.
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August 06, 2004 Audiobook
The Dungeon
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge2 minutes, 21 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poetry
1798
A poem by one of the founders of the Romantic Movement.
Read by Alex Wilson.
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February 27, 2004 Audiobook
The Glove and the Lions
by James Leigh Hunt1 minute, 54 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poem
1836
"'No Love,' quoth he, 'but vanity sets love a task like that...'" A famous lyrical poem by James Leigh Hunt.
Read by Alex Wilson.
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