Growth of Love
Robert Bridges, who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1913, published three versions of his sonnet sequence, The Growth of Love:
1876 - 24 sonnets
1889 - 79 sonnets
1898 - 69 sonnets
The second edition, which is the subject of this recording, was re-published in 1894, with an extensive introduction from another celebrated poet, Lionel Johnson.
The title of the work is a little misleading, as it suggests a process of development, a deepening understanding, by which one arrives at a more comprehensive appreciation of the mysterious entity which we call love. In fact, Bridge's journey is a meandering, rather than a goal-oriented path. Each sonnet is a window thro...
1876 - 24 sonnets
1889 - 79 sonnets
1898 - 69 sonnets
The second edition, which is the subject of this recording, was re-published in 1894, with an extensive introduction from another celebrated poet, Lionel Johnson.
The title of the work is a little misleading, as it suggests a process of development, a deepening understanding, by which one arrives at a more comprehensive appreciation of the mysterious entity which we call love. In fact, Bridge's journey is a meandering, rather than a goal-oriented path. Each sonnet is a window thro...
Eros and Psyche
Bridges’ Eros and Psyche retells the Eros (= Cupid) and Psyche myth first recorded by Lucius Apuleius in his book The Golden Ass.
The poem is divided into twelve cantos – one for each of the twelve months of the year – which gives the poem a certain, almost “pastoral” feel. The number of stanzas in each canto equals the number of days in that month: so the first canto March has 31 stanzas, the second canto April has 30 stanzas, and so on. Each stanza is a septet (ie comprises exactly seven lines) which follow the same end-rhyming schema of a-b-a-b-c-c-b.
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