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Idylls of the King  By  cover art

Idylls of the King

By: Alfred Tennyson
Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
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Publisher's 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

Critic reviews

"His genius was lyrical." (W.H. Auden)

What listeners say about Idylls of the King

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful poetry

This is wonderful poetry--descriptive, evocative and moving. The language is spell-binding. I would find myself leaving the car and thinking about the day to come in the language of Arthur and his knights.

The story is also compelling. It is a tragic and doomed tale, yet it is also noble in the characters' aspirations, efforts and, perhaps most surprisingly, self-perceptions.

Narration is the key to poetry, and Griffin's reading is absolutely superb.

There is also a fine scholarly introduction to the work, which includes an Edison recording of Tennyson himself reciting "The Charge of the Light Brigade". Not to be missed.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superior Romanticism

Maybe I'm just biased, but I've always enjoyed this book. This rendition of it made me fall in love with it all over again.

I love the Arthurian legends, but this used to be merely one of the collection for me. Superior as a story, but I don't think I appreciated blank verse poetry nearly as much back then. The last few years, I've made some personal strides on the poetic front, having learned how to finally appreciate Shakespeare, Chaucer, Byron, Shelley, and a great many others. Having returned to this one after a few years with this new appreciation, this might very well be my favorite version of the Arthur tales now. Funny how that happens sometimes.

I've picked up Audio Connoisseur titles in the past, and I've been impressed by them, both in quantity of extra information and in appreciation of the narrator. For most of my experiences, Charlton Griffin has been the performer. This guy is amazing when it comes to delivery in the classic style. I highly recommend his version of Milton's Paradise Lost for comparison.

What kind of extras are here? There is a bio of Tennyson, which I always find helpful. Knowing the artist makes for better appreciation of the art. There is an Edison recording of Tennyson reading his poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade," which for an old radio geek like me is awesome beyond words. Fair warning: you'll want a print copy to read along with because the quality is less than acceptable, but still... it's cool to have it there anyway. There is extended synopsis and analysis, so nobody's expecting you to be dropped in head first. And before the Idylls get going, there's Griffin's performance of Tennyson's classic "The Lady of Shallot." I truly wish more of his related poetry had made it into this collection, but I'll take what I can get.

On a personal appreciation level, I've found that digging into Arthurian legend and the medieval history that inspires it to be every bit as complex as digging into Tolkien's Middle-Earth. It's easy to connect the dots back and forth too, the more you dig. No doubt that has a considerable amount of my newfound appreciation for this work. Granted, most people won't do that kind of work unless it's a specialization for them. I'm strictly an amateur on this, not a tenured professor or anything, but I've been around the block enough to see an evolution in how these stories are put together. Combine that with a recently-gained appreciation for the poetic, which I've mentioned, I can look at this work in a number of ways. I see it as a pinnacle of the Arthurian legend, certainly. But I can also see it as the pinnacle of the Victorian quest to reignite the flame of romantic chivalry. That speaks to me. If that idea speaks to you as well, then I highly recommend this one.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

stunning writing and narration

First of all, the longish introduction to the Idylls and the career of Tennyson was very interesting and added quite a bit to my appreciation of the poem itself. The narrator really brought out the beauty and drama of the writing, which is thrilling, strange, nuanced and incredibly sad. It gets ever darker and more tragic as it progresses, while bringing out the epic spiritual and human themes more and more vividly. Also vivid, ecstatic imagery is suggested in every line. I'm downloading in enhanced format to listen again.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • PC
  • 02-17-11

listening is so much better

I have read Idylls of the King, Tennyson's masterwork, and listened to some artists sing portions of it (Lorena McKennit - Lady of Shalot). Truly, the way to get the best experience of Tennyson's sweeping blank verse is to listen to it. Tune out the world, relax, and be swept away by the elegant language. 12 hours is a long time to isolate oneself from the outside world, but there are breaks, segues from one section to the next. One can take a snack break, handle e-mail and phone calls that came in while the ringer was off and other trivial details. Then put on the earphones and depart the mundane for the glorious. I highly recommend this for someone taking a long road trip. Be careful not to get so involved that you forget to pick up the kids for soccer practice. Idylls 1 & 2 is a wonderful production of a work that is neglected in print because it is too long to teach in an average English class. The Audble.com recording makes it truly accessible to eveyone. What a wonderful experience.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Poorly read

It's a real bonus to have the complete Idylls of the King in audio format, but this issue has one major problem - it is poorly read - badly enough for me to consign it to the trash.

It sounds as if Charlton Griffin is trying to assume a British accent, and it doesn't really work.Then the actual reading of the music of poetry is terribly flat and dull - it reminded me of those flat, dull readings of the Bible that one sometimes comes across, where the reader seems to be going through the motions, or is practicing to be an auctioneer.

The whole thing is exmplified by a classic mistake. This is an English poem. Charlton Griin (tries) to read it as if he is an Englishman. But he pronounces Idyll - in the title of the poem - not in the English fashion - 'id - yl' - but in the American fashion - 'idle'.

This is great, musical poetry, and a great story. You would never know it from this reading.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Charlton Griffin rocks

The narrating style of Charlton Griffin is perfect for this most famous work by Tennyson. He reads with tasteful flair. I especially enjoyed "Merlin and Vivien."

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Beautiful narration of a beautiful story wonderfully told in poetic language. Tennyson brings to vivid life the stories of Malory, the beauty and the sadness and the humanity. A minor quibble, I wish that the female voices had been narrated by a woman! This audio edition makes this great work accessible again. Highly recommended.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Confusing start to a wonderful collection

I don't know what edition this reading is based off but the first poem The Coming of Arthur does NOT start at the beginning of corresponding chapter, but rather in the previous one. Mark these timestamps to save yourself the confusion, especially if reading along with a print copy. Note that the dedication is omitted in this audiobook.

The Life and Career of Alfred Tennyson (biographical essay) - 0:00:00
The Lady of Shalott (related poem not usually included in the Idylls) - 01:51:12
The Coming of Arthur (The first poem in the Idylls -- feel free to skip to here) - 02:01:02

The remaining chapters all align with the beginning of their corresponding poems. These technical mistakes marr an otherwise wonderful rendition of the poetry.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Tennyson is great. So is Griffin.

I don't know why I love the Arthurian story so much. It is so sad. Tennyson's take on it is quite sad, but his poetry glitters so resplendently I don't care. Griffin is up to the task. I was especially impressed with his ability to change his voice for each character and yet keep Tennyson's meter intact. At the same time, I would sometimes forget I was listening to poetry because he was telling the story so well. Don't worry about words you don't understand. Forge ahead. Beauty that will amaze you is around the corner.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Way more enjoyable than I expected

I picked this up while doing some Arthurian research, and thought this was going to be a slog of antiquated language and flowery poetry. Not so: the performance was engaging and the language fairly accessible, and it felt like listening to stories more than poems. Very well done.

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