Showing results by narrator "Denis Daly" in All Categories

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is a poetic marvel, a work that has survived translation into many languages, while losing little of its force and its wry character. As a source of literary imagery and memorable quotations it ranks with the Bible and the works of Shakespeare. While Edward Fitzgerald was neither the first nor the most scholarly of the English translators of the Rubaiyat, his translation has been largely responsible for the world-wide popularity of this monument of classic Persian poetry.

Caliban is a major character in The Tempest by Shakespeare. He is a deformed monster, the offspring of Sycrorax, a witch. Prospero, a magician who presides over the island where Caliban dwells, has made him a servant. This galls Caliban's spirit, as he believes himself to be the rightful ruler of the island. Setebos is the deity who was worshipped by Sycorax and is mentioned by Caliban in two scenes.

Lamia is a narrative poem that reflects Keat's intensive exploration of Greek mythology. It first appeared in 1820 in a collection entitled Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St Agnes and Other Poems. The poem describes the search of the god Hermes for a beautiful nymph, during which he encounters Lamia, who is trapped in the form of a serpent. At her fervent request, Hermes transforms Lamia into a human form and she departs to pursue a liaison with her lover, the glamorous Corinthian youth, Lycias.

Thomas Troward (1847 - 1916) was a divisional Judge in the British administration of India. In his later years, he developed a distinctive discipline of personal development which he called Mental Science. He had a particular reverence for Jesus. In the introduction, the author asserts that "we possess latent powers which a better knowledge of the truth regarding ourselves will enable us to develop, and that the purpose of the Bible is to lead us into this knowledge in a perfectly natural manner while guarding us against the dangers arising from misuse of it."

Accusation is the unperceived catalyst for this dramatic narrative; Job is framed by the accusation that his self-invested allegiance to God will evaporate if he is exposed to adversity. Job is unaware that this wager against his integrity has taken place. The drama that ensues on an epic scale resonates with universal experiences of human suffering - from Job's searching questions, to the grating interventions of Job's friends, and the sense that human misfortune can seem contingent on the whim of unseen powers.

Thomas Troward (1847-1916) was a divisional Judge in British-administered India. In his retirement, he became well known as a lecturer on metaphysical subjects and developed a unique New Thought philosophy, which he discussed in a number of books. The Law and the Word was published posthumously in 1917. The book explores the power of the word as the fundamental element in manifestation. Troward held the word to be the expression of the immutable law of creation and supports his claim with extensive citations from the Bible.

This poetic exploration of the subject of love was composed in Italy 1821, and published anonymously, as the poet wished its circulation to be restricted to the "esoteric few." The title means "concerning or about a little soul", the subject, in this case, being Shelley's inamorata of the time, Countess Teresa (designated "Emily" in the poem) Viviani, a young woman who was immured in the Convent of Saint Anna by her father. Shelley had had a number of contacts with her by letter and in person.

Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), known in the English-speaking world simply as Petrarch, was a 14th-century Italian scholar and poet who was one of the first to use Italian as a literary language. One of his close friends was Boccaccio, who was also a pioneer in literary composition in Italian. Although Petrarch was a notable Latin scholar, and most of his works were written in that language, today he is most famous for his many sonnets in Italian, which frequently feature the superior charms of his innamorata, Laura.

"Enoch Arden" is a long narrative poem that is built on a theme that has been widely explored in literature and on film. A man is separated from his family due to shipwreck and marooned on an island. After several years of absence from his home, it is assumed that he has died, and his wife remarries and starts a new family. After 10 years, the man finally makes his way home and has to deal with the trauma of discovering his wife and family happily established in a new relationship.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the adopted son of the Emperor Antoninus Pius and ruled from 161 to 180. His Meditations or "discourses with himself" were written in Greek between 170 CE and 180 CE, mostly while he was on military campaigns. Jeremy Collier's translation, while lacking the accuracy of the more famous translation by George Long, has a particular verve and color, imparting a vigor that is often lacking in the original text.

New Poems by D.H.Lawrence. Narrated by Denis Daly. This audiobook is a collection of 42 poems first published in 1920. In it, Lawrence explores the possibilities of free verse, of which he says in the preface: “This is the unrestful, ungraspable poetry of the sheer present, poetry whose very permanency lies in its wind-like transit.”

First published in 1874, "The City of Dreadful Night" is an extended poetic meditation on melancholy, or what is generally termed today as depression. Thomson's "city" is the "città dolente" of Dante, the domain of souls trapped in a round of ceaseless misery. However, the inhabitants of Thomson's world endure a torment more subtle and more devastating than the acute and picturesque tortures of Dante's Inferno - a complete loss of purpose and a relentless draining of energy, a desperate and ever wakeful ennui.

Passion and intrigue among the upper classes form the basis of Lady Windermere's Fan, Oscar Wilde's first successful play, which displays his trademark wit and wisdom. Beautiful and innocent Lady Windermere finds out that her husband has been keeping company with the scandalous and mysterious Mrs. Erlynne. Her discovery unleashes a host of tensions at her 21st birthday party, where London's elite have gathered to gossip.

Oedipus the King is the story of a man whose life is destroyed by his own good intentions. When a terrible secret from his past is brought to the light of day, the consequences are chilling - and ineluctable.

After his soul-searing journey through the torments of hell, Dante is led by his guide, Virgil, to the frontier of Purgatory, depicted as a vast mountain that represents the sole piece of land in the Southern Hemisphere. The pair slowly make their way up the mountain, at the top of which is the fabled earthly paradise. As they climb they meet repentant sinners whose curative punishments are often no less severe than those inflicted in hell.

In the final volume of The Divine Comedy, Dante completes his tour of the afterlife and rises to the highest sphere of heaven. His guide is Beatrice, who acts as both an object of devotion and also a source of instruction. In verse of the most sublime order, Dante not only describes the sights, sounds, and inhabitants of this celestial region, but also presents, with astonishing clarity, a comprehensive view of Catholic theology.

Among the monuments of world literature, few works have been as influential as the Divine Comedy. Dante's compendious allegory of a journey through the world of the afterlife is significant on many levels. It established Italian as a literary language, and consolidated the position of Florentine Italian as the lingua franca of the Italian peninsula. As an engaging portrait of the social and intellectual life in medieval Florence it is unrivalled

In the 19th century, when books were comparatively rare and expensive, encyclopedic compendiums about managing households became very popular. The most notable example in this genre is Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management, first published in 1861. Three years later, Edward Abbott, who described himself as an “Australian Aristologist”, published The English and Australian Cookery Book, which has the subtitle Cookery for the many, as well as the for the ‘upper ten thousand’.

It is said that there is no-one more zealous in a cause than an adult convert. A notable example of this was Joseph McCabe, whose conversion was not to a religion, but from religious faith to secularism. Ordained as a Franciscan priest in 1890, and later recognized by the Catholic Church as an able scholar and teacher, by 1897 McCabe had completely lost his faith and had left the priesthood. He became a very active secularist, delivering thousands of public lectures and publishing over two hundred books on a wide range of religious, historical and scientific topics.

This collection of sixteen poems features several notable examples of his early work, including “Oenone” and “The May Queen”, as well as two of his most iconic works, “The Lady of Shalott” and “The Lotus Eaters."