Tagged: mbw

Richard Austin recites Gerard Manley Hopkins' poetry all over the world.

Richard Austin Recites Hopkins’ Poetry

Richard Austin Recites Hopkins’ Poetry Richard Austin grew up in the same corner of England as Gerard Manley Hopkins. Thus blessed with the correct native accent, he now recites Hopkins’ poetry all over the...

Pied Beauty by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Pied Beauty by Gerard Manley Hopkins GLORY be to God for dappled things— For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim: Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;...

raven

The Raven Poem by Edgar Allan Poe

“The Raven” by American writer Edgar Allan Poe is a narrative poem that tells the story of a mysterious talking raven’s visit to the narrator, who is mourning the loss of his love, Lenore....

Illustration for The Owl and the Pussy-cat, by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear

One of the first poems I recite when trying to soothe a fussy infant is “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” a poem I memorized through endless readings when I was a child. Its rollicking...

Alexander Pope

Solitude An Ode by Alexander Pope

Solitude: An Ode by Alexander Pope     I How happy he, who free from care The rage of courts, and noise of towns; Contented breaths his native air, In his own grounds. II...

Boaz Asleep by Victor Hugo

BOAZ ASLEEP (“Booz s’était couché.”) by Victor Hugo Translation by BP. ALEXANDER [original French is below the English] from Hugo’s volume of poems, La Légende des siècles collected in Poems by Victor Hugo, 1888...

Lycidas by John Milton

English poet John Milton wrote this pastoral elegy in mourning for a childhood friend. It is saturated throughout with classical allusions, so it’s best to read it with a Dictionary of Allusions close at...

On His Blindness - they also serve . . . who wait.

On His Blindness by John Milton

On His Blindness by John Milton When I consider how my light is spent Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, And that one talent which is death to hide Lodg’d...

Gratefulnesse by George Herbert

Gratefulnesse by George Herbert Thou that hast giv’n so much to me, Give one thing more, a gratefull heart. See how thy beggar works on thee By art. He makes thy gifts occasion more,...

Easter Wings by George Herbert 1633

Easter Wings by George Herbert

Easter Wings by George Herbert Easter Wings Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store, Though foolishly he lost the same, Decaying more and more, Till he became Most poore: With thee Oh let...

Good Bye by Emerson

GOOD-BYE by Ralph Waldo Emerson Good-bye, proud world! I’m going home: Thou art not my friend, and I’m not thine. Long through thy weary crowds I roam; A river-ark on the ocean brine, Long...

The lily is beautiful, although its time on earth is limited, just like ours.

The Day’s Ration by Emerson

THE DAY’S RATION by Ralph Waldo Emerson When I was born, From all the seas of strength Fate filled a chalice, Saying, ‘This be thy portion, child; this chalice, Less than a lily’s, thou...

The Hippopotamus by T S Eliot

The Hippopotamus by T. S. Eliot This odd little quatrain poem was written by Eliot before his conversion to the Christian faith. Similiter et omnes revereantur Diaconos, ut mandatum Jesu Christi; et Episcopum, ut...

God’s Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins

God’s Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins You may find it helpful to listen to Richard Austin’s excellent recitation of this poem. THE world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out,...

Surprised by Joy by William Wordsworth

Surprised by Joy by William Wordsworth Surprised by joy, impatient as the wind, I turned to share the transport, — oh, with whom? But thee, deep buried in the silent tomb, That spot which...