"The Flea" by John Donne. Performed by Julian Glover

[vinylrecordcollector]

Donne was better than Shakespeare.

[friulano]

Very good reading

[friulano]

Very

[0alifish0]

lol what a creepy.

[caseyliveknight]

hahah, this is excelent, and awful.

[MissMofet]

I kinda wish he was reciting it in the bed.

[WanderingWarg]

Classic reading, but for a more theatrical version check out mine :)

[thallassocracy]

Glover's reading sorts out the semantic tangles that perplex most modern readers. This in itself is a very good thing, and will be invaluable to some readers.

But this is also a very funny poem, and a very dirty one at moments.

Julian Glover seems to read it with an exaggerated respect - as if he were reciting Exeter Cathedral.

I don't think that this is quite fair on Donne:- who is more like Lady Gaga than Placido Domingo.

[TheLungpipes]

Take a look at

The Lungpipes

[radiowriter]

This is the kind of thing that gives poetry a bad name. Thespian twat.

[poet57]

It's read with such clarity that it throws light on the sense of every phrase. Not really sure you understand it yourself!

[ghotay3]

Poorly read I think with weak inonation and lack of empahisis at key points. This is a poem by a young blade trying - whimsically - to get some legover. He's not expecting too much but is out to enjoy a bit of fun in any event. He has a sense of humour and hopes that his sense of fun just might succeed when all else fails. It does not warrant dignitas or refinement at all. Don't be too impressed by a bed and an English accent.

[MolaRam015]

Walter Donovan!

[keepthemusicplaying0]

Wonderful performance, thanks for posting!!

[patrickgradym]

Do you know that this is Glover, not Donne reading? Donne was much older. Hahah!

[poet57]

Actually, Donne wasn't older when he wrote it. He was born in 1572 and by the the time he was 43 he was a priest - and not likely to be writing about seduction ! He later became Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London, incidentally.

[grcirca1985]

It is so nice to hear Donne read properly. I, on the other hand, cannot seem to read his poetry without getting tripped up at some point.

[rachelsmith1990]

lol, fabulous. he's got the tone right and everything! i love the fact he's casually sat next to a bed...

[Palomablanca2008]

Beautiful ... at last poetry as it should be read. Five stars!