La Belle Dame Sans Merci read by Ben Whishaw

[tangoseven70]

Well read. Nice double-tone of earnestness and despair.

[janishani1]

Sounds like the one and only born to do that reading. Utterly magic and unique! Personally, none else was, is or will be that close from perfection declaiming that specific poem. *

[swaggerjaggerable]

do Tithonus by Tennyson, your voice is so soft

[pingguo2]

Weird pronunciation of "sojourn."

[pingguo2]

@pingguo2 Also, somebody do Ode on a Grecian Urn.

[linalou22]

Beautiful but so sad. Very well read.

[ThomasPinching]

we can all agree: he nailed it

[kellyspaghetti1]

ben wishaw truly has a beautiful voice. his intonations are so subtle, and the way he reads the words are truly entrancing. i can spend all day listening to his voice.

[blackwayfarers]

gorgeous reading!

[culturevulture123]

i use this as my lullaby

[janishani1]

@culturevulture123 :) Lovely. 

[lobo40136]

So Lovely!

What else more can I say!

Thank you

[livingsadstorys]

This is a much different version that what I have and though its lovely either way I think I prefer my own.

[GhostPlanetFilms]

I think Ben Whishaw is a great actor. I first heard of him in Taymor's version of "The Tempest" (he plays Ariel).

If another film of "Moby-Dick" were to be made, Whishaw would be PERFECT as Ishmael.

[missjamesonx]

Never have a experienced such a perfect combination of two of my favourite things: Ben Whishaw and La Belle Dame Sans Merci... The paramedics are on their way...I hope! x

[vickiehill1]

Beautiful poem. All of Keats's poems are beautiful. I can honestly say that I do not have a favorite. I love them all equally, no matter how long or short. ....Ben Whishaw has raised the bar way too high for anyone else to play Keats in future. His voice is like velvet. ....He was just so spectacular in Bright Star & I watch it everytime it's on.

[Beatmyguest001]

There are three possible interpretations. She's evil and lures him into a faery realm that will suck the life out of him. Or; he's dominating her and taking away all that makes her natural and pure. OR that they are both genuinley in love but she saves him by placing him away from the faery realm which will kill him. And he forever lingers on the ''cold hill side'' waiting for her, while she resides in the realm of the faeries. What's your favourite interpretation? Mine's the melancholic latter.

[pitchjazz]

why am i not poet i'm much much better! granted i drink too much but i'm still good

[fadilozofi]

I could listen to the narrator FOREVER and never get bored

LOVE IT, splendidly read!!!

[moonlightsorajja]

on a cold hill side ... breathetaking, emotional, stunning, simply spectacular ♥ and that´s exactly what will happen, when the best actor ever meets the masterpiece of the best writer so far .. :´)

[midasisking]

i love his voice, ahhh

[OldFashionedLover]

my alltime favourite poem!!!! <3 ... and Ben Whishaw reads it beautifully, you can put feelings in every word... that's what it's about.. the meter doesn't make it necessary to run through the poem.... beautiful! thx for uploading! :)

[kimitchell]

wtf is this...

[celticrose67]

The pic at 2:00 is so beautiful.

[EndRhym3]

This reader is horrible. It should be faster. It would compliment the meter. It just sounds better. He's killing it's pace. Murder! "And no birds sing." Continuity is crucial the first "no birds sing should sound like the last." No no no.

[BarefootBaby]

@EndRhym3 Each to their own. Personally, I think it's read beautifully.

[TheLizToronto]

@EndRhym3 Maybe not the best but I don't think it's horrid. Considering that the poem is about a man stuck between passing time and dreamscape, I think it fitting that the speaker slow it down. It was also read within the context of the movie, and if he recites too fast, the audience wouldn't be able to catch and savour all the words.

[darktrailAAA]

@EndRhym3 Stop being a douche.

[96chocoholic]

@EndRhym3 then you don't have to listen.

[bb3840]

so beautiful yet so sad and helpless!

[EmilyOlgs]

absolutely beautful

[JennyKenobi]

I love this poem, I loved the movie and I like very much this actor!

[diachotic]

Ben could read a remote control manual and I would still love it. But when he reads this poem it's almost a metaphysical experience. I might not ever recover:)

[boxertest]

I had to do this for a literature course in College...it never left me

[lekdendorji6a]

nice

[lekdendorji6a]

nice

[grinner76]

I wish Ben would record an audiobook of him reading Keats' poems. He's got such a lovely, soothing, expressive voice.

[fireking345]

Jane Campion...brilliant directed movie.

WIth great intelligence, especially in matching with the same intensity as keats work

[reddpost]

Thank you for a lovely memento of a lovely, haunting film.

[Bnesque]

Beautiful and haunting!

Ben is a pure gift for us.

Thank you for　posting this:d

[ItaliaKat44]

oh.

my.

god.

how did i not find this earlier?!

[theuninspiredpoet]

My favourite poem read by my favourite actor - bliss.

[lions969]

bb ben's voice. so precious

[sunnytreebee]

Thanks so much, beautiful. Keats moveS me so deeply and the reading is expressive and has this touch of melancholy endowed with beauty.

[MonaLisaTime]

Movie released today on DVD...finally. Will be added to my collection and savored.

[symphonycostello]

awe...

[maisgenre08]

magnifique..

[al17b]

que c'est beau mmmm

[hettie91]

Beautiful, thank you :)

[isildae21]

Guh my fave poem...*dies*

[zadie]

adore him. fantastic voice and actor