A Century of Roundels
by
Algernon Charles Swinburne
(1837-1909)
A roundel (not to be confused with the rondel) is a form of verse used in English language poetry devised by Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909). It
is a variation of the French rondeau form. It makes use of refrains, repeated according to a certain stylized pattern. A roundel consists of nine lines each having the same number of syllables, plus a refrain after the third line and after the last line. The refrain must be identical with the beginning of the first line: it may be a half-line, and rhymes with the second line. It has three stanzas and its rhyme scheme is as follows: A B A R ; B A B ; A B A R ; where R is the refrain. Swinburne had published a book A Century of Roundels. He dedicated these poems to his friend Christina Rossetti, who then started writing roundels herself, as evidenced by the following examples from her anthology of poetry: Wife to Husband; A Better Resurrection; A Life’s Parallels; Today for me; It is finished; From Metastasio. (Summary by wikipedia)
This project is a bit of milestone for me, as it’s my first solo project.
This project is catalogued at:
LibriVox and Internet Archive.
The book can also be found at Project Gutenburg.
The whole book can be downloaded as a zip file from here.
The zip file size is 46MB.
Total running time: 01:38:30
All the files contained inside the zip are mp3, all with a bitrate of 64kb.
Book Coordinator:ravenotation
Meta Coordinator:David Lawrence
Proof Listener:Algy Pug
Download Locations
Section No. |
Audio Files |
Running Times |
Ogg Vorbis |
128Kbps MP3 |
64Kbps MP3 |
00 |
Dedication to Christina G. Rossetti |
1:26 |
|||
01 |
In Harbour |
2:05 |
|||
02 |
The Way of the Wind |
1:04 |
|||
03 |
‘Had I Wist’ |
1:13 |
|||
04 |
Recollections |
3:00 |
|||
05 |
Time and Life |
2:06 |
|||
06 |
A Dialogue |
3:10 |
|||
07 |
Plus Ultra |
1:21 |
|||
08 |
A Dead Friend |
4:06 |
|||
09 |
Past Days |
2:52 |
|||
10 |
Autumn and Winter |
3:34 |
|||
11 |
The Death of Richard Wagner |
3:21 |
|||
12 |
Two Preludes; Lohengrin & Tristan und Isolde |
1:46 |
|||
13 |
The Lute and the Lyre |
1:27 |
|||
14 |
Plus Intra |
1:19 |
|||
15 |
Change |
1:04 |
|||
16 |
A Baby’s Death |
4:49 |
|||
17 |
One of Twain |
2:05 |
|||
18 |
Death and Birth |
1:14 |
|||
19 |
Birth and Death |
1:14 |
|||
20 |
Benediction |
1:12 |
|||
21 |
Etude Realiste |
2:30 |
|||
22 |
Babyhood |
2:38 |
|||
23 |
First Footsteps |
0:58 |
|||
24 |
A Ninth Birthday |
2:35 |
|||
25 |
Not a Child |
2:15 |
|||
26 |
To Dora Dorian |
1:00 |
|||
27 |
The Roundel |
1:20 |
|||
28 |
At Sea |
1:10 |
|||
29 |
Wasted Love |
0:56 |
|||
30 |
Before Sunset |
1:07 |
|||
31 |
A Singing Lesson |
1:14 |
|||
32 |
Flower-pieces; Love Lies Bleeding & Love in a Mist |
2:20 |
|||
33 |
Three Faces; Ventimiglia, Genoa & Venice |
3:11 |
|||
34 |
Eros |
2:33 |
|||
35 |
Sorrow |
1:05 |
|||
36 |
Sleep |
1:07 |
|||
37 |
On an Old Roundel |
1:59 |
|||
38 |
A Landscape by Courbet |
1:20 |
|||
39 |
A Flower-piece by Fantin |
1:11 |
|||
40 |
A Night-piece by Millet |
1:18 |
|||
41 |
Marzo Pazzo |
1:08 |
|||
42 |
Dead Love |
1:05 |
|||
43 |
Discord |
1:10 |
|||
44 |
Concord |
1:11 |
|||
45 |
Mourning |
1:06 |
|||
46 |
Aperotos Eros |
1:16 |
|||
47 |
To Catullus |
1:12 |
|||
48 |
Insularum Ocelle’ |
1:16 |
|||
49 |
In Sark |
1:25 |
|||
50 |
In Guernsey |
7:12 |
|||
51 |
Envoi |
1:14 |