"Darkness" by Lord Byron (read by Tom O'Bedlam)

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  • Опубликовано: 18 окт 2024
  • Some end of the world prophesies here:
    www.endofthewor...
    Paintings:
    apocalypse2011....
    Guide to surviving the apocalypse
    tinyurl.com/3lc...
    Apocalypse Now by Thierry Canon
    raph.com/3darti...
    Apocalypse City
    jjasso.devianta...
    I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
    The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
    Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
    Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
    Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
    Morn came, and went and came, and brought no day,
    And men forgot their passions in the dread
    Of this desolation; and all hearts
    Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light:
    And they did live by watchfires - and the thrones,
    The palaces of crowned kings, the huts,
    The habitations of all things which dwell,
    Were burnt for beacons; cities were consumed,
    And men were gathered round their blazing homes
    To look once more into each other's face;
    Happy were those who dwelt within the eye
    Of the volcanos, and their mountain-torch:
    A fearful hope was all the world contain'd;
    Forest were set on fire but hour by hour
    They fell and faded and the crackling trunks
    Extinguish'd with a crash and all was black.
    The brows of men by the despairing light
    Wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits
    The flashes fell upon them; some lay down
    And hid their eyes and wept; and some did rest
    Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smiled;
    And others hurried to and fro, and fed
    Their funeral piles with fuel, and looked up
    With mad disquiet on the dull sky,
    The pall of a past world; and then again
    With curses cast them down upon the dust,
    And gnash'd their teeth and howl'd:
    the wild birds shriek'd, and, terrified,
    did flutter on the ground, And flap their useless wings;
    The wildest brutes
    Came tame and tremolous; and vipers crawl'd
    And twined themselves among the multitude,
    Hissing, but stingless, they were slain for food:
    And War, which for a moment was no more,
    Did glut himself again; a meal was bought
    With blood, and each sate sullenly apart
    Gorging himself in gloom: no love was left;
    All earth was but one thought and that was death,
    Immediate and inglorious; and the pang
    Of famine fed upon all entrails men
    Died, and their bones were tombless as their flesh;
    The meagre by the meagre were devoured,
    Even dogs assail'd their masters, all save one,
    And he was faithful to a corpse, and kept
    The birds and beasts and famish'd men at bay,
    Till hunger clung them, or the dropping dead
    Lured their lank jaws; himself sought out no food,
    But with a piteous and perpetual moan
    And a quick desolate cry, licking the hand
    Which answered not with a caress, he died.
    The crowd was famish'd by degrees; but two
    Of an enormous city did survive,
    And they were enemies; they met beside
    The dying embers of an altar-place
    Where had been heap'd a mass of holy things
    For an unholy usage; they raked up,
    And shivering scraped with their cold skeleton hands
    The feeble ashes, and their feeble breath
    Blew for a little life, and made a flame
    Which was a mockery; then they lifted up
    Their eyes as it grew lighter, and
    Each other's aspects saw, and shriek'd, and died, beheld
    Even of their mutual hideousness they died,
    Unknowing who he was upon whose brow
    Famine had written Fiend.
    The world was void,
    The populous and the powerful was a lump,
    Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless,
    A lump of death, a chaos of hard clay.
    The rivers, lakes, and ocean stood still,
    And nothing stirred within their silent depths;
    Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea,
    And their masts fell down piecemeal; as they dropp'd
    They slept on the abyss without a surge
    The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave,
    The moon their mistress had expired before;
    The winds were withered in the stagnant air,
    And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need
    Of aid from them. She was the universe.

Комментарии • 48

  • @superkasanova1979
    @superkasanova1979 2 года назад +19

    What have I discovered? Lord Byron had no fear in staring into the VOID I learned today. Hearing this today reminds me of the dark forces ever at work to make this poem a reality. It is incumbent on humanity to resist through Love and whatever that means. True poetry is a life well lived

  • @whit2642
    @whit2642 6 лет назад +26

    An absolute favorite. Love him in all his melancholy.

  • @francescarigolina7258
    @francescarigolina7258 7 лет назад +36

    Tom is the best reader ever... Know about you for a long time. Greetings from Russia.🔥🔥🔥

  • @ramonalejandrosuare
    @ramonalejandrosuare 7 лет назад +44

    Holy shit, this is more mortifying than a 100 post-apocalyptic movies.

  • @RejectedTheOnes
    @RejectedTheOnes 6 лет назад +27

    "The meager by the meager were devoured" paints a perfect picture of the concept of desperation

  • @williampage7179
    @williampage7179 11 лет назад +33

    I had an odd experience connected with this poem. In the 80s I lived in London and was very interested in contemporary poetry. One day I was in bookshop looking over the a surprising large selection of new poetry chapbooks when I lighted on a pamphlet that had the first four lines of this poem on its cover. I was amazed, thinking it was a new poem and that I had discovered a great contemporary poet. In the end the pamphlet turned out to be Byron's poem with a Russian translation. Thanks.

  • @saralouisecowan
    @saralouisecowan 4 года назад +9

    Wow, these words are incredible

  • @paulnorthey6712
    @paulnorthey6712 9 лет назад +34

    She was the universe!

  • @jimmyfortrue3741
    @jimmyfortrue3741 5 лет назад +30

    Inspired by the weather of 1815 thru 1816... After the eruption of Mount Tambora changed the earth's climate.

  • @C-OBrien
    @C-OBrien 3 года назад +7

    It’s said this poem was put at the head of a letter written by Soviet and American scientists to both of their governments warning them against the dangers of a nuclear winter

  • @TheLeaveTaking
    @TheLeaveTaking 7 лет назад +14

    very well done... that poem is incredible, like some kind of apocalyptic movie. gotta love Byron

  • @markusalcudia
    @markusalcudia 5 лет назад +17

    A brilliant rendition of a brilliantly dark poem about the year with no summer (1815, if I'm correct).

  • @pkingo1
    @pkingo1 10 лет назад +83

    Anyone else get a Dark Souls vibe from this poem? :)

  • @tietjen666
    @tietjen666 6 лет назад +4

    I experience distant similar feelings when listening to Mahler or Bruckner as when hearing you recite this piece. Bravo!

  • @Malacigla
    @Malacigla 13 лет назад +9

    Love Lord Byrons poetry...
    Love to listen the collours of the Speakers voice
    Love&Peace

  • @laurakuhl
    @laurakuhl 12 лет назад +3

    You have an amazing voice and way with words. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.

  • @tietjen666
    @tietjen666 6 лет назад +3

    So beautiful. And beautifully performed. Thank you.

  • @drmpsinha6461
    @drmpsinha6461 6 лет назад +4

    Wonderful recitation,meaning of the poems is made clear.

  • @CaroleMcDonnell
    @CaroleMcDonnell 13 лет назад +3

    Wow, this really surprised me! I used to read a lot of Byron as a kid and didn't quite know what to expect, but this was definitely not what I expected. Byron does apocalypse? YES!!!! Who knew the Romantics had this in them? Thanks so much.

  • @EoinR90
    @EoinR90 13 лет назад +6

    This is a terrific poem and an excellent reading as well. I have recently read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, which has a very similar tone and theme to this poem.
    Thank you for your brilliant reading as always.

  • @colourmegone
    @colourmegone 13 лет назад +5

    Very well read. It brings the poet's vision home.

  • @LilyNoelleArt
    @LilyNoelleArt 12 лет назад +2

    I am going to be addicted to your channel!

  • @santosd6065
    @santosd6065 8 лет назад +27

    Oh...
    My...
    God...

  • @EnriqueGiliOrtiz
    @EnriqueGiliOrtiz 7 лет назад +1

    Just beautiful. Thank you.

  • @swiftset
    @swiftset 13 лет назад

    Thank you thank you for this. I came across this poem a while back and fell in love with it.

  • @giulioluzzardi7632
    @giulioluzzardi7632 7 лет назад +4

    ..the rendition of this poem is perfect. The voice seeps in through the pores on the skin.

  • @DwRockett
    @DwRockett 10 лет назад +1

    Very good reading of Byron's poem. May have to check out more of his work

  • @bertiodvonrastenburger1129
    @bertiodvonrastenburger1129 4 года назад +4

    The end of mankind, the end of the world, the end of everything.

  • @nicko3272
    @nicko3272 6 лет назад +3

    Holy shit, love this poem. The universe: how cruel and apathetic she is.

  • @jasonzacharias2150
    @jasonzacharias2150 2 года назад +2

    Really got into this in high school 😂 thank you Lord Byron

  • @ОльгаСнегирь-у3ы
    @ОльгаСнегирь-у3ы 4 года назад

    Thank you so much for sharing

  • @Dodero8
    @Dodero8 11 лет назад +9

    thanks a lot, I was looking for this poem, your voice is great and deep, I really like how you recite, I´m from Mexico and I am studying english, what better way to learn than with Lord Byron or Robert Frost, don´t you think?

  • @julianevans9955
    @julianevans9955 4 года назад +1

    Quite relavant for today

  • @chiiiicchetta
    @chiiiicchetta 13 лет назад +3

    CanI ask a trivial question? What font is that you used for the text? thank you so much for your readings!!!

  • @SuperBooboohaha
    @SuperBooboohaha 11 лет назад +1

    please upload more lord byron poems

  • @Debunker246
    @Debunker246 5 лет назад

    thanks for this..

  • @ragandbonemanofmontecarlo2467
    @ragandbonemanofmontecarlo2467 9 лет назад

    An exceptional reading, Bravo.

  • @skytowergnome4664
    @skytowergnome4664 5 лет назад

    Great voice.

  • @TheCrazyhorse131
    @TheCrazyhorse131 13 лет назад

    I love your voice Spoken verse.......

  • @SpokenVerse
    @SpokenVerse  13 лет назад +1

    @chiiiicchetta Cardinal - it's a free download

  • @jaywolfe82
    @jaywolfe82 13 лет назад +2

    Dark...

  • @ajafta7674
    @ajafta7674 4 года назад +2

    for a time and a time And a half sucn things will come to pass

  • @DanHaddock
    @DanHaddock 8 лет назад +2

    Excellent reading, as long as this doesnt violate any kind of copyright your channel has massive potential.
    Can someone explain to me how one might appreciate the work of Byron?
    Even after listening to this beautiful reading, I am still struggling to grasp the point of it.

    • @joshgonzalez3434
      @joshgonzalez3434 8 лет назад +13

      The main thing is just to take it as a whole. Instead of dissecting it just listen to the whole thing. Allow yourself to be submerged into the universe he creates. Pay attention to key sad parts in this poem. Such as the story of the innocent dog. Of course multiple listenings will help but also pay attention to the letter choice. The voiced letter sounds such as d,b, and the all play over and over again and really captures how dreary it must be to live in complete darkness.

    • @joshgonzalez3434
      @joshgonzalez3434 8 лет назад +3

      Also at this time fossils were a new thing and many people were wondering how a big apocalypse might look and feel like with humans. Mary Shelley also was fascinated by the "end of times" theme.

  • @mistymoon243
    @mistymoon243 11 лет назад

    wow...

  • @ghiribizzi
    @ghiribizzi 10 лет назад +7

    enthropy, perhaps prophetic

  • @burbie1342
    @burbie1342 6 лет назад +1

    The Book of Revelation !
    Last book in the Bible .
    It will come to pass some day.