Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde [with text] - Read by Poet Arthur L Wood
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
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An extraordinary ballad by the Irish poet, playwright and novelist, Oscar Wilde. There are many parallels between this and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (also on this channel) and Wilde echoes Coleridge several times.
Possibly Wilde's greatest work. This video took me a long time to make so I would really appreciate if you share/rt and subscribe to my channel!
My aim is to breathe life into our rich literary heritage, and to add to the tradition through my own writing. Your support helps me to continue.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
BY OSCAR WILDE
I
He did not wear his scarlet coat,
For blood and wine are red,
And blood and wine were on his hands
When they found him with the dead,
The poor dead woman whom he loved,
And murdered in her bed.
He walked amongst the Trial Men
In a suit of shabby gray;
A cricket cap was on his head,
And his step seemed light and gay;
But I never saw a man who looked
So wistfully at the day.
I never saw a man who looked
With such a wistful eye
Upon that little tent of blue
Which prisoners call the sky,
And at every drifting cloud that went
With sails of silver by.
I walked, with other souls in pain,
Within another ring,
And was wondering if the man had done
A great or little thing,
When a voice behind me whispered low,
"That fellow's got to swing."
Dear Christ! the very prison walls
Suddenly seemed to reel,
And the sky above my head became
Like a casque of scorching steel;
And, though I was a soul in pain,
My pain I could not feel.
I only knew what hunted thought
Quickened his step, and why
He looked upon the garish day
With such a wistful eye;
The man had killed the thing he loved,
And so he had to die.
Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!
Some kill their love when they are young,
And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold.
Some love too little, some too long,
Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
Yet each man does not die.
He does not die a death of shame
On a day of dark disgrace,
Nor have a noose about his neck,
Nor a cloth upon his face,
Nor drop feet foremost through the floor
Into an empty space.
He does not sit with silent men
Who watch him night and day;
Who watch him when he tries to weep,
And when he tries to pray;
Who watch him lest himself should rob
The prison of its prey.
He does not wake at dawn to see
Dread figures throng his room,
The shivering Chaplain robed in white,
The Sheriff stern with gloom,
And the Governor all in shiny black,
With the yellow face of Doom.
He does not rise in piteous haste
To put on convict-clothes,
While some coarse-mouthed Doctor gloats, and notes
Each new and nerve-twitched pose,
Fingering a watch whose little ticks
Are like horrible hammer-blows.
He does not know that sickening thirst
That sands one's throat, before
The hangman with his gardener's gloves
Slips through the padded door,
And binds one with three leathern thongs,
That the throat may thirst no more.
He does not bend his head to hear
The Burial Office read,
Nor while the terror of his soul
Tells him he is not dead,
Cross his own coffin, as he moves
Into the hideous shed.
He does not stare upon the air
Through a little roof of glass:
He does not pray with lips of clay
For his agony to pass;
Nor feel upon his shuddering cheek
The kiss of Caiaphas.
#OscarWilde #BalladOfReadingGaol #ArthurLWood #Poetry #PoetryfromtheShires #Wilde 
Развлечения
I have always appreciated Wilde but recently I’ve absolutely fallen in love with his poetic genius ❤❤❤
brilliant i feel this when i listen i can imagine the events
The coward does it with a kiss, the brave man with a sword 😰
The first is judas the second brutus or joab
Such an excellent reading of this fantastic poem
You didn’t promise too much! A shockingly great poem and your reading congenial! Oscar Wilde, a man trained to excel in society, refined and pampered, adored and celebrated. And thrown from these heights to a man made cruel hell. And finds the strength to write such a poem! And finds the kindness towards the fellow prisoners to see them with respect and love, doesn’t judge them for what they did nor for where they come from, just sees them as human beings innocent because they did what they had to do, what their nature, what our nature obliges. He was judged not for what he did, but for what he was. By chance one is the hangman and one is the hanged. He doesn’t feel superior nor ashamed. A great soul he was. An iron brain behind a soft boyish face.
And the meter, the 4/3 stresses seem to be made for a hearty, juicy, happy theme, though here he chose it to sing about hell. What a man!
Thank you for this excellent reading! In fact, I might have gone through life without ever reading it.
I'm quite sure I'll listen several times to this version!
A terrifying epic. The poem has such depth of understanding and humanity. Your performance was epic too. A master class in performance of poetry. Thank you 🙏
One of my top 5 poems. Read perfectly by you. 🙏🏼 You’ve utterly spoiled me for other recitations. Thank you for doing this one Arthur 🌹
It might be my favourite as well, and I agree that Arthur has done a very good job reciting it. Which are the other 4 if I may ask?
Holy Mackeral! What a vivid rich brilliant piece of work, and you did it justice, Arthur me boy.
(*Have you done The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes?)
I have recorded it before for a friend but not for the channel. It’s on my list of the 52 poems to record this year!
@@ArthurLWood52..! Great brother you did a fantastic job😊👍
Beautifully read, I often read this poem out loud to myself, love it x
Outstanding ❤
This was a brilliant reading of a truly beautiful poem, I'll definitely be returning to this video or others on tour channel!
I had read excerpts from this in a book of poetry and looked forward to reading or listening to it in it's entirety.
I'm so glad I found this, it was so much to think about, I almost had to stop working to listen more closely.
I'll definitely listen again! Thank you for your work making this.
I love this poem
Loved the recitation sir
Magnificent
An articulate rendition, full of discernment and compassion. (I've just begun to memorize this poem; you've inspired me to understand the soul behind the words before I begin.)
What a lovely comment! So pleased this video was a useful resource. I have many more on the channel.
I admire you for memorising this poem. I memorised The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge a few years ago (I’ve also recorded it on here), and that took a great deal of effort! Good luck. Will you be performing it anywhere? Arthur
Well, well ... I also have memorized Rime 😉 ... you're right ... took many hours (so far, still my favorite). Reading Gaol will be my 70th poem. I started two years ago ... for personal enjoyment ... I like to have them with me in my head wherever I go ... (I walk quite a bit).
“For alien years will fill for him
Pity’s long broken urn
For his mourners will be outcast men
And outcast men always mourn…”
Always gets me. Beautiful read.
Thank you very much. One of the finest poems in the language. Written with the perfect rhythm and rhyme pattern to depict the ruthless monotony of the jail.
@@ArthurLWood Hate to admit there have been a few unfortunate parts of my life I have related all too well to this in a literal sense, but the spirit of it just begs the soul to weep. A must read for any Anglophile anywhere and again I thank you for beautifully reading it
I love this
Thanks
This poem and " If " are my favourites. This makes me cry.
Just wish that Stephen Fry read this because his voice would resonate with feeling.
OW was a genius.
I have read it so many times that I think I could manage to deliver it without it printed !
1:45
ruclips.net/video/XPC7La-244E/видео.htmlsi=0B5lFanwm4aISgF5 1:48 One of the most famous Turkish actors Tuncel Kurtiz read the part “yet each man kills the thing he loves “ in Turkish. Thank you for the reading whole poem. If you would watch the video, please share your thoughts.
I thought it was very well read.
Most not know the horror of this poems meaning and intent. The sad enunciated script of a human criminal only by the laws of a bigoted time.
The beauty in the darkness of what it means for us who live in fear of hateful law. Never Again🏳️🌈
This is a terrible reading. Da dum, da dum, da dum. No feeling, no emotion, not even a change of tone.
And to think it was the first offering among many, all of which are far better than this.
Oh dear, I’m so sorry you feel that way about my reading!
@@ArthurLWood As am I.
Well there are certainly many bad poetry readings on RUclips, so I would be careful what you listen to. Hope you at least appreciate the effort to get the text up in sync with the reading. I am quite self-critical, but I don’t agree with your verdict. Nevertheless thanks for commenting and for watching the video. Have a nice day! 😊
@@ArthurLWood I did appreciate the text. In fact I'd been reading another post and decided it would be better to hear it. I wish I had liked it more, given the work you put into it.
“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
Oscar Wilde