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The Ballad of Reading Gaol  By  cover art

The Ballad of Reading Gaol

By: Oscar Wilde
Narrated by: SIR Donald Sinden
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Publisher's summary

"The Ballad of Reading Gaol" is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile, either in Berneval or Dieppe, France, after his release from Reading Gaol on or about the 19th of May 1897. During his imprisonment, a hanging took place. This had a profound effect on Wilde, inspiring the famous line "we all are guilty of killing the thing we love."

©2009 WHITEROOM MUSIC LTD (P)2010 WHITEROOM MUSIC LTD

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Genius poem; horrible reading

I am sure Sir Donald Sinden was an outstanding actor in his day, but his reading of the Ballad of Reading Gaol is pathetic. He reads it as though he has never read it before, as though we listen simply to hear his unplanned and random use of dramatic emphasis, not because we want a deeper understanding of the genius of Oscar Wilde.

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