Audiobook · read by volunteers
Ring Out, Wild Bells
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)
Read by Alan Davis Drake (1945-2010), Annie Coleman Rothenberg, Betsie Bush, Curtis, Douglas D. Anderson, Eva-Marie Quinones, JemmaBlythe, Rick Box, Kathy Broderick, Kristin Hughes (1974-2021) · 19 chapters · 37 min
About the book
Ring out the old, ring in the new. On New Year’s Eve, the bells peal over the snow, and Tennyson’s poem asks them to carry away grief, falsehood and strife, and to bring in a kinder and wiser age. It is one of the best-loved poems in English, full of hope and ringing rhythm.
This collection presents nineteen different readings of “Ring Out, Wild Bells”, each by a different volunteer. The poem is short, but each voice brings its own pace and feeling to the lines, and listening to them one after another makes an unusual and satisfying experience.
About thirty-five minutes in total. A fitting listen as one year turns into the next, and a chance to hear a great poem of renewal in many voices.
Introduction
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) was the leading English poet of the Victorian age and held the post of Poet Laureate from 1850 until his death. His works include The Lady of Shalott, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Ulysses, Idylls of the King and the long elegy In Memoriam A.H.H., written in memory of his close friend Arthur Hallam, who died young in 1833.
“Ring Out, Wild Bells” forms part of In Memoriam, published in 1850, and is one of its most famous sections. Written on the theme of the passing of the old year, it lists the things the speaker wishes to see disappear, among them grief, social injustice, pride and war, and the things he hopes for in their place. Its steady rhythm imitates the swing of bells, and it has often been recited on New Year’s Eve. Several composers have set it to music.
The poem shows the combination of personal feeling and public concern that was typical of Tennyson, who wrote about private sorrow but also about the hopes and anxieties of his age. Its tone is sincere and even stirring, and it reads well aloud.
This recording is a multi-version project with nineteen readings by LibriVox volunteers, from the weekly poetry project of the last week of December 2006. The whole collection runs for about thirty-five minutes. Hearing so many interpretations of one short poem makes it a pleasant way to compare voices, or simply to welcome the new year with words that have stayed alive for more than a century and a half.
Public domain
Alfred, Lord Tennyson died in 1892: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text