The Well Read Poem

Welcome to Season 4 of The Well Read Poem with poet and classicist Thomas Banks. This series of poetry readings will focus on poems having animals as the subject. Some poems will be by well known poets, while others will be by less popular poets. This week’s poem is “The Blinded Bird” by Thomas Hardy. A late Victorian author, Hardy was known for his rather pessimistic writing as well as his defense of the beautiful, innocent and weak creatures of the world. Poem begins at timestamp 7:59. Check out our sister podcast, The Literary Life Podcast, for more great discussions of literature! The Blinded Bird By Thomas Hardy So zestfully canst thou sing? And all this indignity, With God's consent, on thee! Blinded ere yet a-wing By the red-hot needle thou, I stand and wonder how So zestfully thou canst sing! Resenting not such wrong, Thy grievous pain forgot, Eternal dark thy lot, Groping thy whole life long; After that stab of fire; Enjailed in pitiless wire; Resenting not such wrong! Who hath charity? This bird. Who suffereth long and is kind, Is not provoked, though blind And alive ensepulchred? Who hopeth, endureth all things? Who thinketh no evil, but sings? Who is divine? This bird.

Welcome to Season 4 of The Well Read Poem with poet and classicist Thomas Banks. This series of poetry readings will focus on poems having animals as the subject. Some poems will be by well known poets, while others will be by less popular poets. This week’s poem is “A Runnable Stag” by John Davidson. Poem begins at timestamp 3:29. Check out our sister podcast, The Literary Life Podcast, for more great discussions of literature! A Runnable Stag by John Davidson When the pods went pop on the broom, green broom, And apples began to be golden-skinn'd, We harbour'd a stag in the Priory coomb, And we feather'd his trail up-wind, up-wind, We feather'd his trail up-wind- A stag of warrant, a stag, a stag, A runnable stag, a kingly crop, Brow, bay and tray and three on top, A stag, a runnable stag. Then the huntsman's horn rang yap, yap yap, And 'Forwards' we heard the harbourer shout; But 'twas only a brocket that broke a gap In the beechen underwood, driven out, From the underwood antler'd out By warrant and might of the stag, the stag, The runnable stag, whose lordly mind Was bent on sleep though beam'd and tined He stood, a runnable stag So we tufted the covert till afternoon With Tinkerman's Pup and Bell- of-the-North; And hunters were sulky and hounds out of tune Before we tufted the right stag forth, Before we tufted him forth, The stag of warrant, the wily stag, The runnable stag with his kingly crop, Brow, bay and tray and three on top, The royal and runnable stag. It was Bell-of-the-North and Tinkerman's Pup That stuck to the scent till the copse was drawn. 'Tally ho! tally ho!' and the hunt was up, The tufters whipp'd and the pack laid on, The resolute pack laid on, And the stag of warrant away at last, The runnable stag, the same, the same, His hoofs on fire, his horns like flame, A stag, a runnable stag. 'Let your gelding be: if you check or chide He stumbles at once and you're out of the hunt For three hundred gentlemen, able to ride, On hunters accustom'd to bear the brunt, Accustom'd to bear the brunt, Are after the runnable stag, the stag, The runnable stag with his kingly crop, Brow, bay and tray and three on top, The right, the runnable stag. By perilous paths in coomb and dell, The heather, the rocks, and the river-bed, The pace grew hot, for the scent lay well, And a runnable stag goes right ahead, The quarry went right ahead-- Ahead, ahead, and fast and far; His antler'd crest, his cloven hoof, Brow, bay and tray and three aloof, The stag, the runnable stag. For a matter of twenty miles and more, By the densest hedge and the highest wall, Through herds of bullocks lie baffled the lore Of harbourer, huntsman, hounds and all, Of harbourer, hounds and all The stag of warrant, the wily stag, For twenty miles, and five and five, He ran, and he never was caught alive, This stag, this runnable stag. When he turn'd at bay in the leafy gloom, In the emerald gloom where the brook ran deep He heard in the distance the rollers boom, And he saw In a vision of peaceful sleep In a wonderful vision of sleep, A stag of warrant, a stag, a stag, A runnable stag in a jewell'd bed, Under the sheltering ocean dead, A stag, a runnable stag. So a fateful hope lit up his eye, And he open'd his nostrils wide again, And he toss'd his branching antlers high As he headed the hunt down the Charlock glen, As he raced down the echoing glen For five miles more, the stag, the stag, For twenty miles, and five and five, Not to be caught now, dead or alive, The stag, the runnable stag. Three hundred gentleman, able to ride, Three hundred horses as gallant and free, Beheld him escape on the evening tide, Far out till he sank in the Severn Sea, Till he sank in the depths of the sea The stag, the buoyant stag, the stag That slept at last in a jewell'd bed Under the sheltering ocean spread, The stag, the runnable stag.

Welcome to Season 4 of The Well Read Poem with poet and classicist Thomas Banks. This series of poetry readings will focus on poems having animals as the subject. Some poems will be by well known poets, while others will be by less popular poets. This week’s poem is “Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog Which I Gave to His Highness” by Alexander Pope. Pope is known for his satirical poems and his rather dark sense of humor. Poem begins at timestamp 6:47. Check out our sister podcast, The Literary Life Podcast, for more great discussions of literature! Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog Which I Gave to His Highness By Alexander Pope I am his Highness’ dog at Kew: Pray tell me, Sir, whose dog are you?

Welcome to Season 4 of The Well Read Poem with poet and classicist Thomas Banks. This series of poetry readings will focus on poems having animals as the subject. Some poems will be by well known poets, while others will be by less popular poets. This week’s poem is “The Kraken” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson was perhaps the last poet to achieve popular celebrity in his day, and his inspiration for this poem comes from the Book of Job and Norse folklore. Poem begins at timestamp 6:58. Check out our sister podcast, The Literary Life Podcast, for more great discussions of literature! The Kraken by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Below the thunders of the upper deep; Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea, His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee About his shadowy sides: above him swell Huge sponges of millennial growth and height; And far away into the sickly light, From many a wondrous grot and secret cell Unnumbered and enormous polypi Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green. There hath he lain for ages and will lie Battening upon huge sea-worms in his sleep, Until the latter fire shall heat the deep; Then once by man and angels to be seen, In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.

Welcome to Season 4 of The Well Read Poem with poet and classicist Thomas Banks. This series of poetry readings will focus on poems having animals as the subject. Some poems will be by well known poets, while others will be by less popular poets. This week’s poem is “Infant Innocence” by A. E. Houseman. This poem rather pokes fun at the more romantic treatment of animal characters by poets like William Blake. Poem begins at timestamp 5:09. Check out our sister podcast, The Literary Life Podcast, for more great discussions of literature! Infant Innocence By A. E. Houseman The Grizzly Bear is huge and wild; He has devoured the infant child. The infant child is not aware It has been eaten by the bear.

Welcome to Season 4 of The Well Read Poem where Thomas Banks focuses on poems featuring animals. This episode analyzes and reads 'Auguries of Innocence' by William Blake, discussing its themes, structure, and imperfections. The hosts also explore the absence of punctuation in Blake's poems and the eerie imagery and themes of violence and tenderness in 'Auguries of Innocence'.

Explore the lyric poem 'Anthem for St. Cecilia's Day' by W. H. Auden that discusses the theme of inspiration. Learn about the skillful use of interior rhymes and the references to Aphrodite and the angels in the poem.

Explore W.H. Auden's 'Epitaph on a Tyrant' in this podcast. They delve into the portrayal of a tyrant, perfection, and the fascination with armies and fleets. The analysis also explores the themes of tyranny and its consequences, including the reversal of the idea of children crying when a tyrant dies.

In this podcast, they explore W.H. Auden's poem about Martin Luther and discuss Auden's portrayal of him, his theological preoccupations, and themes of salvation and existential concerns. They also delve into Martin Luther's impact on the Reformation and share a poignant anecdote about Luther's encounter with the devil.

Season 3 of The Well Read Poem podcast explores six lyric poems by W. H. Auden, a chronicler of the 'Age of Anxiety'. The podcast analyzes Auden's poem 'Roman Wall Blues' which portrays a soldier's longing for companionship and his struggles with boredom. The hosts also delve into the symbolism behind a Greek word for fish and its connection to Christianity, as well as the themes of loneliness and longing in the poem.