About this book
A Dark Month, from Algernon Charles Swinburne's Collected Poetical Works Vol. V, plunges listeners into the lush, sonorous world of a master of Victorian lyricism. This poetry collection gathers lyric cycles and formal experiments — Studies in Song, A Century of Roundels, Sonnets on English Dramatic Poets, and The Heptalogia — showcasing Swinburne’s command of form, rhythm, and musical language. Themes of loss and renewal, nature’s seasons, classical and dramatic allusion, and the tensions of longing and consolation recur across rondeaux, sonnets, and longer meditations. Set against the late-Victorian aesthetic movement, these poems reveal Swinburne’s daring use of meter and intense emotional coloring that challenged contemporary tastes and helped redefine modern English poetry. The audiobook emphasizes the musicality of the verse, allowing cadence, rhyme, and rhetorical flourish to resonate as intended. Ideal for fans of poetry and literature, students of nineteenth-century letters, and listeners who appreciate formal innovation and richly wrought language, this volume rewards repeated listening and close attention to voice and sound.
