The Great Poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson Audiobook By Alfred Tennyson cover art

The Great Poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson

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The Great Poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson

By: Alfred Tennyson
Narrated by: Michael Pennington
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The 200th anniversary of the birth of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892), one of the most popular of poets, is celebrated in 2009. Works such as "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Crossing the Bar", and "Tears, Idle Tears" have made him an internationally famous figure, and the second most quoted writer of all time (after Shakespeare).

Tennyson's poetic works encompass a great range of styles, settings and personae, and are known for their emotional resonance and powerful imagery. Naxos AudioBooks's popular The Great Poets series marks the anniversary with an audio bringing together all the key works, read by veteran reader Michael Pennington.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2009 Naxos Audiobooks (P)2009 Naxos Audiobooks European Poetry World Literature

Editorial reviews

There's no need to dip into the lesser works in a collection of Tennyson, and Naxos has made a fine selection here, mixing the best known ("The Charge of the Light Brigade," "The Lady of Shalott," "Ulysses," "The Lotus-Eaters") with others that will be less familiar to casual readers. One might quibble with some of Michael Pennington's line readings, but he has made thoughtful interpretations, and his voice is quite capable of meeting the musical demands of the poetry. There's nothing new here for Tennyson's fans, but the presentation is a strong introduction to a master's range of style and emotion.
Emotional Depth • Beautiful Poetry • Excellent Narration • Versatile Styles • Complex Language • Mythological Elements
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I love Tennyson. My favorite is Lady of Shallot. What made it even better was the voice and inflection of Michael Pennington. Pure magic. 

My favorite poet

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Who was your favorite character and why?

Crossing The Bar - A eulogy for loved ones still on the Mainland and wait to cross the bar.

Have you listened to any of Michael Pennington’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The first one for me and not the last.He becomes fully absorbed and welds Lord Tennyson into your consciosness

Any additional comments?

Under Priced.

Steeped In Brillance

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Tennyson has never been a favorite, but I absolutely loved this selection and performance.

FABULOUS performance

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Pennington does a wonderful job with Tennyson's verse. His voice has a gruffness and gravitas to it that is particularly well suited to the more elegiac pieces.

High point: Ulysses, running from ~19m41s to to ~24m57s.

Sadly absent: Crossing The Bar, which I would have loved to hear in Pennington's voice.

Beautiful rendering of Ulysses

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Lord Tennyson, of all the most famous english poets, has not only some of the best mythology in his rendition of The Death of Arthur and the Lady of Shallot, but his rhyme scheme is very satisfying and simplistic.

The narrator does the dramatization very well, for a very dramatic write.

Recommended.

Lord Tennyson, the dramatic man.

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Poetry is largely meant to be heard aloud and listening to it is a new dimension of experience. Pennington is an excellent reader, though some sections feel a bit rushed. My main complaint isn't a big one. the Table of Contents isn't accurate. more than one poem is crammed under the heading of another, making it tricky to navigate. This does not, however, diminish the overall listening experience.

Tennyson

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Nice little sample of Tennyson to check out, some great, some good, and the reading voice, the tone and pacing, and the production and editing were all done well which is better than many other poetry audiobooks.

Good sampling, very good narrator

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I must confess that I was not originally a big fan of Tennyson...multiple encounters with Michael Pennington has quite altered my opinion. It's somehow all linked to the lack of communication - printed words, especially of poetic verse, must be rightly interpreted, and then verbally conveyed in such a way as enable the mind to embrace the depth and the beauty of the authors meaning. This narrator has the gift to do just that.

One technical negativo is the format - the poems are not divided in such a way as to allow for the selection of individual works, rather, it is simply one large recording with no breaks...

A Savory Performance

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would. Lord Alfred Tennyson's work trickles with sadness and rolls into the edge of despair. His words roll around your head and take root feeding the knowledge of the frailty of life, friendships and aching love.

What did you like best about this story?

The poetry varies as does the subject matter however, it all ties into a thread of similarity due to the author's pen.

What about Michael Pennington’s performance did you like?

It had good tempo and inflection. Soft when it should be soft and more intense as subject needed. He was pleasant.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

There would be no book unless it was about the life of the poet. In such a case that title could be...."A Common Thread" or even "A Common Thread of Grief".

Transfixed

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I'm basically a non-fiction guy. But I was raised on some classical art and theater. I love nimble English prose. (Obviously Tennyson revered Shakespeare, one of the few bits of literature I can hang with.) This is painterly, Victorian, sometimes unfashionably sentimental (in a way that has been imitated and poorly copied, long since), all fairly odd to my ears. But moments of it are very vivid and immersive, transporting. (It is not all fairies in colorful ponds; the contemplation of mortality is frequent, but that does not bother me.) I was sitting in a medical clinic, waiting on a relative getting treatment. I played this and voila, the place and scene were transformed. It was like falling into a strange old (but complex, vivid) painting. It was the perfect change of mindscape. So I have it available for those sorts of moments.

Transports me to a different time, space

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