Armitage as Narrator

A Bit Belated… But Lauren Blakely Impressions

Posted on by jholland

80kb_wanderlust_amazon-641x1024

Hereby “outing myself” as a one who partakes of so-called “trashy” romance novels on a regular basis. I’m not ashamed of my reading habits, but I will say that there are some romance novels I might recommend to almost anyone, including Hubby and other non-romance fans, but a great many more that I would not. I never read except for entertainment, so you won’t often find incredibly literary material on my reading lists. I only read fiction, and I tend to skip around between historical and contemporary romance, (with occasional forays into steam punk, fantasy or sci-fi romance), mysteries/detectives/police procedurals, action thrillers (espionage/counterterrorism), historical fiction, and the very occasional straight fantasy or sci-fi, and other fiction that has some kind of buzz. I consume so many books that it’s not unusual for me to forget what I’ve read within a week or two of reading it. Before I had a smart phone, I would typically have 3 books going at once- my book at work, my book at home, and my audiobook in the car. Since getting the smart phone, I’ve transitioned to one book at a time, almost exclusively in audio format, and I listen all the time- I start in the morning during my hair and makeup routine, continue whenever in the car, during my lunch breaks, when I’m sewing, and when I’m cooking, doing laundry or dishes, etc. My audiobook habit has actually really broadened my horizons, as I will frequently try new authors and even genres, based only upon the narrator.

For many years, I have visited a website called All About Romance, which offers reviews on mostly romance novels. Over the years, this AAR site has expanded from historical and contemporary romances, to now include many reviews of subgenres (romantic suspense, sci-fi romance, M/M romance, YA) as well as some “women’s fiction”, and after some sleuthing into my Audible library date of purchase information combined with an author search on the AAR website, I am certain that I first tried Lauren Blakely after reading a review of Mr. O in June 2016. Another AAR review of Lauren Blakely coincides with the next book purchased, Full Package in Jan 2017, (B+ overall ratings by the AAR reviewers for both, and narrator Sebastian York is one I like). I remember the broad outlines of Mr. O and that I enjoyed it, don’t remember much of anything about Full package, but evidently I didn’t hate it because I later purchased Big Rock in May 2017, and Joy Ride in June 2017, and The Sexy One in Sept 2017. For whatever reason, I listened to Joy Ride next, and after reviewing the blurb, I recall I didn’t connect with the characters or story, and my failure to connect may have something to do with why I hadn’t downloaded any Lauren Blakely titles in my library since.

Therefore , Big Rock and The Sexy One were untouched until a couple of weeks ago, when news of RA’s new audio project reached me. I get emails from Audible on a regular basis, and I remember that there was an email with a link to a Romance Editor’s Select page, and Wanderlust is at the top of the page, with a hint from the Audible editor that fans will “freak out” when the male narrator is announced. Funnily enough, I distinctly remember thinking something along the lines of “I doubt I will FREAK OUT because I doubt it will be Richard Armitage”, but I did wonder if it might be a celebrity narrator, and then low and behold, it WAS Richard. So now I’m just as excited as the editor!

After finishing The Drowned Girls by Loreth Ann White, which was too suspenseful to abandon even in pursuit of Lauren Blakely research, I did go and listen to Big Rock and The Sexy One, but I was too busy catching up on my charts from work to write reviews while they were still fresh in my mind, and I have since listened to 4 more audiobooks (the sequel to The Drowned Girls, my first Anne Perry Inspector Monk novel, the newest Deanna Raybourn novel, then a really long one called The Verdict by Nick Stone)… all that to say, there were many words since I listened to the Lauren Blakely novels, and all I can recall is that I thought they were both decent, but not even close to memorable. For comparison, I can immediately recall the plot and the characters names for all four of the intervening audiobooks, but I’m having trouble remembering the Lauren Blakely novels. So they failed to make a big impression.

I do recall that the first few paragraphs in Big Rock had me shocked. It’s a male-only POV, and the main character starts right off with an ode to his genetalia. What was so shocking was that I was thinking about it in the context of Richard Armitage reading similar material, and I was just completely flabbergasted that he would “go there”…. of course, since that time, Ms. Blakely has made efforts to reassure her followers (or Richard’s?) on Twitter that Wanderlust will not be as “bawdy” as her male POV books, and I confess that while this type of language doesn’t bother me, per say, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of Richard narrating similar material. Why?

I mean, really… why? I can’t say. It’s not as if I’ve never considered him in an erotic context, and I have a strong feeling that he is going to deliver a wonderful performance no matter the material. I love his Georgette Heyer narrations; I love the sensual nuances he has often delivered there, as well as in Romeo and Juliet, and even at times, to Uhtred’s thoughts in Lords of the North. But somehow, explicit “cock talk” from RA was borderline alarming to me, so I confess I was glad to hear that Wanderlust is going to be a little “tamer” by comparison. LOL

Anyway, back to Big Rock. The premise is pretty silly- the main character, Spencer, knows his father is trying to sell his big jewelry franchise to a buyer who is all about “family values” and is having reservations about buying the business because the seller’s son (Spencer) has a reputation as a “player”. That in itself was pretty unrealistic, as Spencer isn’t involved in the business at all- he owns several bars in NYC with his best friend and business partner, Charlotte. But somehow Spencer is roped into having dinner with the two families involved in the jewelry store purchase, and he ends up telling everyone that he recently and at long last has entered a committed relationship; he tells them he is, in fact, engaged to Charlotte. His parents, who know and love Charlotte, are really excited, though his sister (who I remember as the heroine in Mr. O) suspects he’s lying. He figures that as best friends, he and Charlotte can fake an engagement for the next week or two until the deal is signed for his father, and then break it off.  It’s a friends-to-lovers romance from Spencer’s POV, with a lot of sex along way. It was funny in a few places, but definitely not one that I would place on my “keepers” list.

I liked The Sexy One less. I listened to that just a couple of weeks ago, and yet at the time of this writing, I still had to go back to the audible blurb to remember what it was even about. This one was a dual POV, and it was a “nanny/single father” scenario, which just didn’t work for me. I don’t tend to like books about certain taboos, and boss/employee is one of those. I can’t think why I even bought it, but looking my library and the fact that there were 4 other books purchased on the same date, I think it must have been on sale. Anyway, it was really short, only about 5 hours, and it was just barely ok.

Confession- when I’m wanting to take a nap on my lunch hour, I listen to Lords of the North, because it doesn’t matter if I drift off to sleep- I don’t have to back up and figure out where I was in the story, since I know the story forward and backward. I’ve been doing quite a lot of that recently, mainly due to my MS fatigue, and I can confirm that LOTN is my all-time favorite RA narration. Today, Lauren Blakely released a couple of short excerpts from Wanderlust, and fresh from drifting off to Uhtred’s adventures, I could perfectly hear Richard’s voice delivering the lines from Wanderlust. I’m quite confident that this one is going to be the most memorable Lauren Blakely title in my library. While I may not want to hear him rave about his boy bits, I’m extremely willing to hear that voice in a seductive context. Pretty sure I’ll be substituting a slightly different image than the one above in my head as I listen, too….

2014-daman2-contentspage-richardarmitage-reclining_jul2615ranet-sized

 

Richard Armitage Achieved The Impossible, Or: I Loved David Copperfield

Posted on by jholland

RA narrating DC

Richard Armitage in narration mode.

Yes, so as a huge fan of Richard Armitage, and a huge fan of audiobooks, I was pretty underwhelmed with excitement when the news first broke that Richard was to narrate the Charles Dickens classic David Copperfield. In fact, I expressed my frustration with the choice of material in a spoof in which I suggested that I had previously read the novel, but couldn’t remember much about it. I know I read Great Expectations all the way through, and disliked it intensely, and at the time I wrote the spoof, I really did think I’d also read DC, but now that I really have, it’s clear to me that instead at some point I must have been assigned to read some excerpts… probably in high school English, which is why some of the story seemed familiar to me. However, after the first several hours, I was certain that I had never read the entire book!

There. That paragraph has been in my drafts folder for WEEKS. Why!? I really did love David Copperfield– the narration was superb and it was the best storyline from Dickens that I’ve encountered to date, definitely kept me engaged and eager for more. It took me about 3 weeks to listen all the way through, starting almost as soon as it was released. Which means it’s been about a month since I finished it, and have nothing but good things to say… but I’ve been struggling, really struggling, with motivation to blog lately. And damned if I haven’t forgotten most of what I thought I’d write about.

So let’s see… if I had to pick a favorite characterization (meaning, Richard’s voicing of the character rather than Dickens’ descriptions here) I would have to go with one of the villains. I loved his Edward Murdstone voice- so low, and darkly sinister, and controlled. I particularly loved it when he’d reprimand his sister, the way he’d say “Jane Murdstone” with such careful, vicious enunciation when she’d interrupt him. Fabulous! I hated and dreaded that character to the fullest degree. But then there was also the villain of the latter part of the novel, Uriah Heep. Oh, what a weird, “writhing” and undulating voice Richard created for this character when in the throes of his overwrought humility! I would have loved to see what kind of neck and mouth contortions Richard might have used to achieve such strange tones! (When I try to re-create them I become almost lantern-jawed in the effort!)

Really, there was not one voice that he chose from an enormous cast of characters that was not consistently and instantly recognizable! Another thing I’m pretty sure I wanted to mention was his ability to deliver humorous content- makes me so wish to see him take on if not a comedy, then a somewhat comedic role. I was surprised at the number of times I smiled and even snorted out a laugh. Something about his delivery of Betsy Trotwood’s eccentricities, in particular her war on donkeys! And the ups and downs in the life of Wilkins Micawber… very entertaining… especially the heights of passion achieved when Wilkins Micawber finally blew his gasket over Uriah Heep’s embezzlements.

I was definitely leery when we learned it was to be 36+ hours, but by the time I’d been through about a 3rd of it (the average length of most of my audiobook material), I was fully involved and just grateful to have all that time of sublime narration out in front of me. I think RA himself suggested that he’d been the one to choose this book to narrate, and at the time I couldn’t imagine why, but now I understand. It’s a massive undertaking, but I thought, an outstanding achievement. Bravo! The Audible Editors were spot on to include this one in their list of February selections (and I’ve since listened to several of their list, and enjoyed this one the most!)

Who would have ever thought that the best audiobook of 2016 to date would be a Charles Frickin’ Dickens? LOL

All I have to say is… when is the next one?

 

On The Chimes as Narrated by Richard Armitage.

Posted on by jholland

Well, hello there! I feel like I’ve been pretty remiss lately. (So you call yourself an Armitage blogger?) Yes, well… it just seems that there’s not a whole heck of a lot going on at the moment, and when I was racking my brain trying to think of non-quilt-related topics, the best I could come up with was that, although I’ve listened to it twice, I haven’t commented on Richard’s sort-of recent narration of The Chimes by Charles Dickens. I think it’s a little telling, the fact that I have listened to it, more than once, but haven’t had much motivation to talk about it. Every time I’d sit down to write my impressions, I’d find my mind wandering back to my quilting.

So let’s start with why that is. On the one hand, I LOVED the narration. Totally, and unequivocally. Richard has never yet let me down in one of his narrations, and this was no exception. On the other hand, as much as I’d love for his narration to have made of me a “Dickens convert”… I just can’t say that he has. Luckily for them, Richard Armitage and Charles Dickens together have another crack at that coming up in less than a week, when his narration of David Copperfield is due to be released by Audible on Feb. 9. Naturally, I’ve pre-ordered that book and I’ve every confidence that I will, at the very least, enjoy one aspect of it. Richard.

I’m not the only one looking forward to David Copperfield despite it being, well, David Copperfield. A couple of days ago, I got an e-mail from Audible with a link to the “Editor’s Select: Books We’re Most Excited About in February.” Here’s what I found when I followed that link: “There are some authors whose genius is so legendary, whose body of work is so vast, and whose renown in the literary world is so immeasurable, that to make a step into their catalogue becomes a daunting task. For me, this was Dickens. What if he didn’t live up to the hype? What if I didn’t get it? To make the plunge, I needed some assistance. Enter Richard “Ear-Candy” Armitage, as he’s become known around the Audible office. As always, his narration is immaculate, bringing Dickens’ extraordinary tale to great heights and voicing its diverse cast with unmatched verve. But Armitage succeeded in bringing David Copperfield to life for me and I can’t wait to dive deeper into Dickens’ brilliance.” — Doug (Audible Editor)

“Ear-Candy” is right. Stepping into Dickens’ catalogue as “a daunting task” is also right. For me, at least. And that’s why I haven’t had the motivation to blog about The Chimes. Can I recommend it to Armitage lovers? Absolutely. I think it’s safe to say that 3 hours of listening to Richard’s voice, in all it’s many nuances, bringing to life such a wide variety of characters and such a scale of emotions, through peaks of happiness and joy to valleys of loss and desolation, will appeal to most of the fandom. Can I recommend it to friends and family? I doubt it. I loved the performance, but the story, for me, was a bit of a struggle.

I listened to it primarily at the sewing machine. I tried to listen to it at other times, (packing for vacation, on the airplane, etc.,) but I just kept getting distracted and losing the thread of the storyline. I needed to be a captive audience in order to stay focused, and the sewing machine provided that. Even so, I would find my mind wandering, and have to back-track. Or I’d get caught up appreciating the voice Richard was doing, picturing his facial expressions or hand gestures as he sat in the studio, and have to back-track. I had to back-track so many times that by the end, I wasn’t even certain exactly where the story had gone. I had a vague notion that an alternate universe had been entered, in which the lead character, Trotty Veck, had died, and the supporting characters had gone down unfortunate paths into ever-more-impoverished circumstances, but I don’t think I had even completely grasped certain details, like the little girl (Lilian) had ended up as a prostitute.

Therefore, I decided to listen again, and that time I was able to stay more focused on the story itself, and recognize the cautionary themes therein. I think what I took away from the actual story was something along the lines of “it is best to trust in the goodness of humanity, the importance of loving relationships, and the hope for a better future, or that better future will be lost” … and this theme was very so-so for me. Not that I disagree necessarily, I just had trouble navigating and wasn’t entirely compelled.

I did love a few parts, entirely due to Armitage’s narrative capabilities. The scene where Trotty Veck’s daughter, Meg, brings him a surprise- a warm meal on a cold winter afternoon- and wishes him to guess the contents of the covered basket on smell alone. Lots of smiles and warm-fuzzies on my part- just a heartwarming scene, and Richard’s ability to bring the scene to life, the deep inhales, Trotty’s eager guesses, Meg’s giggles- it was lovely! Another stand-out scene for me was later in the story, in the alternate universe, when Meg’s former fiancé (Richard), now a broken wreck of a man, comes to visit her on behalf of Lillian, who has evidently fallen from grace but wishes to give Meg some of her earnings. RA’s portrayal of the middle-aged, alcoholic version of Richard, imbued with disappointment and broken dreams, but with a husky undertone of tenderness still reserved for his former love, was just brilliant.

All in all, it was a wonderful performance of a somewhat lackluster story. The fact that I listened to it twice, basically just to relive the joy of Richard performing in all his many voices, bodes well for the upcoming rendition of David Copperfield. Whether I love the story or not, I’m sure to appreciate Richard giving his best to his craft.

So bring it on!

Serial Killer To Serial Filler: Armitage Reassures Fandom

Posted on by jholland

A huge change is in store for fans of Hannibal guest star Richard Armitage, sources say. The actor’s recent electrifying six episode run as serial killer Francis Dolarhyde was critically acclaimed, but many fandom insiders acknowledge the controversiality of the role within the ranks. In a recent poll investigating the fandom’s reaction to Hannibal, 30% of devoted Armitage respondents claimed they either did not watch at all, or emphatically disliked the show, while another 36% claimed they only watched for Armitage, but would not revisit the show should it ever return for a 4th season.

“I suspect these numbers have been troubling to Armitage,” said one fandom spouse in response to his wife’s confession of unprecedented ambivalence for his latest rumored project, an audiobook rendition of the classic Victorian novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. “My guess is Richard’s looking to offer up more wholesome fare for those who were put off by Francis Dolarhyde. To show that not all biters wind up murdering entire families.”  Her husband’s comparison came as a surprise to the Armitage blogger, who evidently forgot key details of the novel since she was compelled to read it in 9th or 10th grade.

“I hear there’s going to be at least one bite. That’s more action than I remembered, to be honest,” said the blogger with an unmistakable sigh. When asked what she did remember about the novel that Armitage is rumored to be recording for Audible, a long silence ensued. “Um…. I…. ah…. well, mostly fatigue.” According to a review of Armitage blog commentary, she is not alone in experiencing a state of torpor when confronted with Dickens’ classic prose. Another blogger wrote, “I like to listen to [Armitage’s] audiobooks (and others, too) as I fall asleep. I think Dickens may do the job faster than most.” A third commentator, while praising other works by Dickens, confessed, “But there were scenes and chapters that really drag. Geez, he can really blabber on.”

Other members of the fandom attempted to rally spirits by asserting that no matter the reading material, simply listening to Richard Armitage’s deep, alluring voice was certain to appeal. One comedic fandom member expressed this sentiment vividly in a Twitter response to Audible’s #AskArmitage thread: “For voice work, do you aim for a simmering pot of chocolate fondue, or black velvet?” Indeed, some ladies asserted that they’d happily listen to Armitage recite the phone book, while others chimed in that they’d privately wished to hear Richard’s lovely delivery of cookbook recipes, prescription medication side effects, computer software user manuals, and even on-the-job material safety data sheets. “That voice of his is soooo delectable. Who cares what he chooses? I’d quite joyfully listen to Richard Armitage recite the decimals of pi until infinity!”

Still other members of the fandom defended the choice of Charles Dickens, pointing out that the profusion of characters and subplots afforded by the author’s verbose prose will provide ample opportunity for Armitage to display his narrative prowess. “His [Dickens’] books are populated with characters that have to be SEEN. I believe that makes him an interesting choice since Richard’s such a visual and kinetic performer even when using just his voice as an instrument.” This declaration suggests that Armitage’s narration could have profoundly beneficial ramifications in educational arenas.

When asked to recall the disagreeable memories surrounding her adolescent era “required reading” of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, our contact bristled and appeared to be on the brink of becoming combative. Her husband quickly intervened, saying mildly only that “I think my wife’s main recollection of that book was the sound of it hitting the wall when she threw it.” However, the blogger conceded that had she the opportunity to have listened to an Armitage narration of the same infuriatingly dull text as a youth, the outcome might have been different. “Maybe there’s hope for today’s beleaguered freshmen. The idea of Thorin F-ing Oakenshield presenting even a story as painfully long-winded as Great Expectations should diminish the feelings of hopelessness and despondency that I experienced after the first several hundred pages. Right?”

One thing is certain: if the rumors of a Charles Dickens novel are accurate regarding the beloved actor’s impending audiobook narration, the Richard Armitage fandom is certain to have a much-needed change from thriller, to filler. For some, it may be a move from one genre of horror to another, but for most, the portrayal of David Copperfield is sure to make fandom members everywhere sleep easier, come the night.

Looks More And More Like It’s To Be David Copperfield

Posted on by jholland

He picked a more humorous quote this time. If you’re on twitter, you can #AskArmitage anything you like… he’s headed to the studio “soon” according to @audible_com.

No clear time frame as far as I can tell… I don’t think it’ll be a live tweeting session, but perhaps he’ll answer a few questions. I guess we’ll just follow their feed or his.

Never thought I’d have cause to embrace a Dickens book, but life is full of these little surprises. LOL

What’s With These Charles Dickens Quotes, #RichardArmitage?

Posted on by jholland

Trying to figure out whether, as so many on Twitter seem to believe, there is a clue in RA’s trio of tweets from today,

  1. “Never be mean in anything; never be false; never be cruel. Avoid those three vices and I can always be hopeful of you” Dickens D Copperfield

  2. .@audible.com  “There can’t be a quarrel without two parties, and I won’t be one. I will be a friend to you in spite of you…

  3. .@audible.com  So now you know what you’ve got to expect” ― Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

Hmmm. Is he offering literary quotes for some kind of Cybersmile initiative? Why did he tag Audible.com? I immediately went on over to Audible to see whether there is any news there, as my preferred interpretation would always be an unabridged audiobook, and an unabridged David Copperfield is probably adequate for 30 or more hours of Richard-time… but they have at least 25 different audio versions of this book, and some are relatively recent and by narrating heavy-weights. That is to say, some pretty amazing narrators. Simon Vance, Nicholas Boulton are both so good I’ve listened to new authors just to hear them narrate a book.

I guess we’ll wait and see. I must admit, another audiobook, no matter the book, narrated by Richard Armitage is on my highly-hoped-for list. I hope that’s what we’ve “got to expect” because it would be awesome. I’ve missed that voice.

You Captured the Obsessive Lover, Richard Armitage

Posted on by jholland

Passionflower

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but my Preoccupation with Classic Love Poems has yet to subside. Probably my most listened to poem on the list of classic love poetry narrated by Richard Armitage was Chapter 5: “Maud” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. When I searched for the text of this poem, it became quickly apparent that the “Come into the Garden, Maud” narrated by Richard is only a small part of a much larger epic… we’re talking page after page after page of this poem. I read it. Mostly. The narrative covers everything from the death of the narrator’s father, to his relationship with Maud, which is first fraught with contempt on his part for Maud’s higher station in life, then mellows toward her, and spirals into almost a state of delirium over her, that really treads a fine line between love and obsession, passion and delusion. It goes on to detail the narrator’s hatred for Maud’s father and brother, especially the brother as he disapproves of the narrator, and winds up dead at the narrator’s hand, shortly after the garden scene. The narrator flees, never to see Maud alive again. Now the narrator does topple completely over into insanity and eventually goes to war… that part I confess I skimmed. Anyway, I found out that this poem was Tennyson’s own favorite, and one that he often recited extemporaneously, but that it was not well-received at the time, and was only later celebrated when parts of it, especially the “Come into the Garden, Maud” were turned into ballads.

I didn’t need to do all that reading to perceive the undercurrents of infatuation and instability present in the poem, however. No, Richard Armitage once again got that exactly right, and that’s what interested me about the poem enough to want to read it for myself. Clearly Tennyson was exceptionally adept at painting pictures with words, and even I, no expert on poetry, can hear how carefully crafted the verses are with respect to linguistics. No matter how lyrical the words may be, on Richard’s tongue they became all the more captivating for the dark undercurrents in his tone.

This is as it should be, when you consider what’s being told. Maud’s household is hosting an entertainment, a ball… and her admirer was not invited. He stands in the garden all night, the brooding outsider. He has questionably lucid conversations with the blossoms, which he imagines to be as bewitched by Maud as he… and every now and then, the darkness in him surfaces…

* * *

Excerpt from Maud by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

gardengate1Come into the garden, Maud,
For the black bat, Night, has flown,
Come into the garden, Maud,
I am here at the gate alone;
And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad,
And the musk of the roses blown.

fadingmoon1For a breeze of morning moves,
And the planet of Love is on high,
Beginning to faint in the light that she loves
On a bed of daffodil sky,
To faint in the light of the sun she loves,
To faint in his light, and to die.

nightgarden1All night have the roses heard
The flute, violin, bassoon;
All night has the casement jessamine stirr’d
To the dancers dancing in tune:
Till a silence fell with the waking bird,
And a hush with the setting moon.

dancingI said to the lily, “There is but one
With whom she has heart to be gay.
When will the dancers leave her alone?
She is weary of dance and play.”
Now half to the setting moon are gone,
And half to the rising day;
Low on the sand and loud on the stone
The last wheel echoes away.

sheismineI said to the rose, “The brief night goes
In babble and revel and wine.
O young lordlover, what sighs are those
For one that will never be thine?
But mine, but mine,” so I sware to the rose,
“For ever and ever, mine.”

souloftheroseAnd the soul of the rose went into my blood,
As the music clash’d in the hall;
And long by the garden lake I stood,
For I heard your rivulet fall
From the lake to the meadow and on to the wood,
Our wood, that is dearer than all;

violetsFrom the meadow your walks have left so sweet
That whenever a March-wind sighs
He sets the jewelprint of your feet
In violets blue as your eyes,
To the woody hollows in which we meet
And the valleys of Paradise.

acaciablossomThe slender acacia would not shake
One long milk-bloom on the tree;
The white lake-blossom fell into the lake,
As the pimpernel dozed on the lea;
But the rose was awake all night for your sake,
Knowing your promise to me;
The lilies and roses were all awake,
They sigh’d for the dawn and thee.

sunningoverQueen rose of the rosebud garden of girls,
Come hither, the dances are done,
In gloss of satin and glimmer of pearls,
Queen lily and rose in one;
Shine out, little head, sunning over with curls,
To the flowers, and be their sun.

PassionflowerThere has fallen a splendid tear
From the passion-flower at the gate.
She is coming, my dove, my dear;
She is coming, my life, my fate;
The red rose cries, “She is near, she is near;”
And the white rose weeps, “She is late;”
The larkspur listens, “I hear, I hear;”
And the lily whispers, “I wait.”

blossominpurpleandredShe is coming, my own, my sweet;
Were it ever so airy a tread,
My heart would hear her and beat,
Were it earth in an earthy bed;
My dust would hear her and beat,
Had I lain for a century dead;
Would start and tremble under her feet,
And blossom in purple and red.

* * *

This one really whet my appetite for Richard Armitage in another darkly brooding lover role. Maybe with an edge of obsession and instability.