Alfred Tennyson has 3 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 3 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.8★ across 5 ratings. The most-rated is Idylls of the King.
Idylls of the King
Summary
The Arthurian legend of Camelot has been told many times, but never better than by Alfred Tennyson. Employing some of the most stirring and beautiful blank verse ever written, Tennyson crafted his version of the Knights of the Round Table over the course of nearly fifty years, completing it in 1885. Despite the length of time, Tennyson managed to maintain a high level of style and continuity throughout. His gift for sublime and evocative metaphor and simile has never been matched, and in this case has produced some of the most memorable lines of narrative poetry in the history of English literature. Although Sir Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur has been called the backbone of the Arthurian legend, Tennyson's Idylls of the King is the flesh and blood. Tennyson's epic poem consists of 12 loosely connected episodes of the knights at Camelot, Arthur himself appearing as an almost Christ-like figure among them. However, though Arthur's knights represent the highest and most virtuous ideals, they sometimes fail to live up to those ideals, and their tragic flaws eventually lead to disaster. But it is this very tension between the flawed knight struggling with his own weaknesses as he confronts evil that gives Idylls of the King its compelling qualities. Some of the most dramatic scenes in the poem concern the vicissitudes of love and the daunting ethical challenges such love poses for a knight: jealousy, betrayal, and adultery. Tennyson's vision of glorious quests, Christian valor, doomed love, manly jousts, and bitter destiny have dazzled readers for well over 100 years. These endlessly inspiring, enduring lines of verse are not only entertaining, but enlightening as well. The timeless Idylls will no doubt continue to enthrall mankind for centuries to come.
Public Domain (P)2007 Audio Connoisseur
The Great Poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson
Summary
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.
©2009 Naxos Audiobooks (P)2009 Naxos Audiobooks
Idylls of the King
Summary
This series of poems covers the story of the legendary hero, King Arthur, beginning with his first encounter with Guinevere, the woman who would become his queen on his search for the Holy Grail, to the betrayal of Guinevere and Sir Lancelot, and finally ending with Arthur's last battle.
First published between 1859 and 1885 as a series of twelve poems, Idylls of the King retells the story of King Arthur with a unique and Victorian flavor beloved by many.
Alfred Tennyson was one of the most prominent British poets of his time and today is still revered as a master poet. Tennyson's elegant prose adds color and vitality to the life and times of the legendary King Arthur, infusing the story with the values we have all come to expect from kingly heroes.
Public Domain (P)2018 A.R.N. Publications