Hello everyone and welcome to this British English accent training video.
This one is called "Poetry Corner" because I'm going to read two poems for you. Poetry
corner is an expression we use sometimes to describe when people who are interested in
poetry create a group to read or share, they might do a club or something and they
might call it "Poetry Corner".
So please look below the video in the notes section. It will be in the Youtube description
or below the video on the other websites.
The two poems are very old and very famous.
The first poem is called "A Poison Tree" by William Blake, and William Blake is one of
the most famous English poets of course. You might have heard of him.
The second one is called "A Valediction: Forbidding Morning" by John Donne. John Donne maybe is
not so famous but he's one of the great poets also and some of his poems are very famous
even though he himself is not.
So I hope that you enjoy these. I'm doing them because I think they are a bit different
than the other lessons, and I hope that they will be useful so that you can learn some
new kind of vocabulary and language, but please leave me some comments and feedback after
to let me know if you enjoy this type of video.
The first one is slightly easier in terms of language. The second one has some
complicated things, so if you check where I've pasted the poem, below the video, I have
included some notes on some of the difficult words and explained what the equivalent would
be in modern English in brackets beside some of the lines. Please check that for the second one.
But the first one I'm going to read now is called "A Poison Tree" by William Blake.
Please read along as the poem is below the video:
I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears, Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine. And he knew that it was mine,
And into my garden stole When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
That poem is about anger.
I don't want to explain the meanings of these poems now because it's too complicated, but
if you want to understand more please send me messages and comments afterwards and I
can try to help you.
So now I will go to the second one, also check the notes section.
"A Valediction: Forbidding Morning" by John Donne.
This one's a bit more complicated, but here we go:
As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say, "Now his breath goes," and some say, "No."
So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move ;
'Twere profanation of our joys ('Twere = It were)
To tell the laity our love.
Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears ; (th' = the)
Men reckon what it did, and meant ; But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent.
Dull sublunary lovers' love - Whose soul is sense - cannot admit
Of absence, 'cause it doth remove (doth = does) The thing which elemented it.
But we by a love so much refined, That ourselves know not what it is,
Inter-assured of the mind, Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss.
Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to aery thinness beat. (aery = airy)
If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two ;
Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show (Thy = your; fix'd = fixed)
To move, but doth, if th' other do.
And though it in the centre sit, Yet, when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that comes home.
Such wilt thou be to me, who must, (wilt = will) Like th' other foot, obliquely run ;
Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun.
So that second one was really quite difficult. I got confused myself near the beginning.
But I hope that this was useful and that it wasn't too difficult. I think that it is always
quite interesting to study as many different things as possible in other languages and
I hope that this is helpful for you, but please tell me because I could do more or less in the
future videos depending on what you like.
So please be reminded about the other websites, they are at the top of the notes section (in
the Youtube description.
The Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/CJWorkman17 You can leave me comments there.
Or also I have the website blog: http://www.learnbritishenglish.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/UKEnglishTweets
Everyone is welcome to join.
The Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_154326444624084 You can send your requests and I will accept everyone.
Or like my British English Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BritishEnglishPage
So please do check all those out if you haven't already, you are welcome to use them.
Please give me comments and feedback about these videos.
Let me know what you like and what you don't so I can improve future ones, and also if
you send me ideas or questions about stuff you want me to explain, then I can do that
for you also.
So I hope that today has been useful again. I read those two poems.
And thank you for watching. I will see you next time.