Childe Roland and Other Poems
The title poem was inspired by various images which Browning saw while living in Italy, an old tower in the Carrara Mountains, a painting in Paris and a horse on a tapestry in his home near Florence. These called to his mind the line from Shakespeare's King Lear spoken by Edgar in his feigned madness "Childe Roland to the dark tower came". The poem, full of surreal imagery, evokes the worlds of the 11th century epic poem "The Song of Roland" and of the Arthurian Legends with their notion of the "quest", a journey undertaken by a Knight into unknown hostile territory in search of a mysterious goal. - Summary by Alan Mapstone
Genre(s): Narratives
Language: English
| Section | Chapter | Reader | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play 01 | "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" | Alan Mapstone |
00:17:17 |
| Play 02 | Porphyria's Lover | Alan Mapstone |
00:04:07 |
| Play 03 | Incident of the French Camp | Alan Mapstone |
00:02:42 |
| Play 04 | The Patriot | Alan Mapstone |
00:02:27 |
| Play 05 | How they brought the good news from Ghent to Aix | Alan Mapstone |
00:04:15 |
| Play 06 | The Twins | Alan Mapstone |
00:01:54 |
| Play 07 | Cavalier Tunes | Alan Mapstone |
00:04:12 |
| Play 08 | My Last Duchess | Alan Mapstone |
00:04:44 |
| Play 09 | Home Thoughts from Abroad | Alan Mapstone |
00:01:49 |
| Play 10 | The Heretic's Tragedy | Alan Mapstone |
00:09:44 |