Saturday, March 10, 2018

The Waste Land: More Voices and Interpretations

So I was on YouTube the other day and I found a couple videos about The Waste Land, specifically more videos of people reciting the poem since I've had a hard time understanding it. The two videos below feature Craig Swanson performing The Waste Land to some university students (at least I think they're students) and Jeremy Irons reading the poem out loud with Eileen Atkins (Jeremy Irons and Eileen Atkins are among some of my favorite actors and actresses so this was pretty cool for me to find).
Craig Swanson had difficulty understanding the poem when he first came across it so when he read it several years ago, he opted to recite the poem to himself in different voices for different characters within the five vignettes. His interpretation of the poem is a little too excitable and abrupt for my liking but nevertheless, as a performer myself, I found it very intriguing and I admire how he gave each of the characters their own personalities.
About the next video: Jeremy Irons and Eileen Atkins read the Waste Land for BBC Radio 4, where it was broadcasted. Both of their voices are so emotive and I love how they illustrate the poem using their voices. When listening to them read the poem, I can easily visualize what's going on whereas in Craig Swanson's performance, I'm more focused on his movements and less attuned to what T.S. Eliot might actually be saying.
Both recitations helped me out regardless of their differences (or might I say, because of their differences). The first video is shorter than the second, but I would watch a few minutes of both if you're the least bit interested.
Here's hoping we all do well on Monday's test! Have a good weekend y'all (:




No comments: