Got to admit the musical stings become tired pretty quickly *every* time the Raven speaks. It was dramatic the first time but after that it loses all effect.
Only I am the great being like Chip -- that's also why The Raven is so well-written, because it was secretly written about me the Lenore / The Angel / The God(dess) aka The Saint / The Sainted Maiden aka the rare & radiant maiden aka the adorable being and the lovable being and the pure being (the opposite of womyn) and, the oIdman that runs the agency planted those big ideas for me, as he was waiting for me (he made all lyrics and movies/videos secretly about me, as he included secret references to me in almost all lyrics/poems and movies/videos etc) and, there's methodical writing in The Raven that only agents are taught, which shows it's a mirror for the oIdman's secret thoughts about me & Chip aka the real-life Devil and the story he decided for us!
My parents were both teachers - my mother of French and my father of English. Although my parents separated when I was very young, my grandmother told me that, when they were dating, they used to sit and read poetry to each other. I was named for the Lenore in this poem almost seven decades ago but must confess that until tonight I had never read The Raven. I am actually glad because tonight I have just heard it, for the first time, recited in the most profound way and it makes me realize the passion my parents must have felt for language and each other, if only for a little while.
Christopher Lee is the only person to ever narrate this poem with such emotion instead of sounding so mundane. It really adds to the atmosphere and makes the story come alive.
You should hear Christopher Walken do it before saying that. th-cam.com/video/R7G_fZYv8Mg/w-d-xo.html There's one small but huge detail that Lee gets better, though: @0:37 "Ah, distinctly I remember..." -- the important word is "Ah". It doesn't matter how "distinctly" you remember it; what matters is how deeply you *sigh* when you think of it. Most readings barely even say the "Ah", and put all that line's emphasis on the second syllable of "disTINCTly". But Lee gives "Ahhhhhhhh" an entire breath, almost making it a separate line, with "distinctly I remember" practically an afterthought. And then again, "She shall press\ ahhhhhhhh\ nevermore."
@@dazbeal5438 Because it's sad. the line is saying that the speaker has no friends, they all left him, so he expects even a hallucination to abandon him.
BALTIMORE - 1967 "What fresh Hell can this be ?" Dottie asked of the crisp twilight. The feeble lamplight cast grotesque shadows onto the frosty pavement beside an oddly dressed fellow half-sitting, half-draped across the wrought iron of a park bench before her. The barren tree behind him seemed to loom above the bench as if trying to engulf him. It taunted with leafless, bony fingers while a large raven among its crooked arms cocked its gleaming head as it eyed her approach. It cawed once and remained perched in the branches, the reddish of its eye the only color in this odd landscape. The man, whose head had been tilted toward the night sky, eyes closed, roused himself and blinked several times, finally fixing his dark gaze upon her for a long moment before he spoke. “What fresh Hell, indeed, Madam? Though it scarcely looks the part, I tell you it is more Purgatory than Hell.” His voice was pleasant and smooth with a whisky edge. “I have gone round and round these endless paths and my feet return me here to this bench where I took my final breath, no matter how often my feet traverse their endless black and winding madness.” Final breath? She took a moment to digest the strange scene, the man’s odd, formal way of speaking, his insane words. The surrounding gloam belied the time of day unless they’d left her asleep over her gin for too long. “But I was just dozing at my table. My usual assignation at the Algonquin . . . Oh fudge, I’m having a bad dream.” “Bad? Oh yes, I’m afraid it is, but it is no dream, madam, I assure you.” She blinked at him as he looked her up and down. Piercing, intelligent eyes took in her appearance, an eyebrow raising at her stockings and her just-above-the-knee hem. How odd? I’m wearing a dress I bought for Eddie. Didn’t I throw this out years ago after our divorce? What is happening? I need to wake up . . . The pale gentleman’s gaze at length reached and held her eyes once again and intoned, *“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”* Dorothy laughed and gesturing to the air around her with a long cigarette she didn’t remember lighting. “And the darling man quotes Edgar Allan Poe, too, how delightful!” “Quotes Poe? Quotes him?! My dear lady, I am Edgar Allan Poe. One does not quote oneself without risking being called a dullard. But you are correct, it is a line from my work. From where do you know my prose, though? I did not think that piece widely read.” A thoughtful look passed across his face and without waiting for an answer he continued “You speak with a . . . New York? accent, your dress . . . provocative to say the least, and your shorn hair! Madam! Quite an assail for the eyes you do present. Forgive my forward appraisal of your person, but you are indeed a vision in that undergarment, if it can even serve as such? Did you just arrive to Baltimore from the Continent? Or perhaps my death-soaked bench is no longer located where I imagined it to be? I believe I have been here overlong . . .” He touched his fingertips to his forehead with an accompanying pained look. “Did you tell me your name, my dear? I confuse easily in death.” -So begins the love story, in death, of Mrs. Dorothy Parker and Edgar Allan Poe. -RRogers
This is quite possibly the single best recitation of 'The Raven' I've ever heard anyone perform. He puts so much perfectly- fitted emotion into his voice, especially in the last third or so. RIP, Sir Christopher Lee.
+Adamguy2003 When I read it as a teen, I must have misread it, as I thought it was creepy. Here I am, a grown man, and Sir Christopher Lee (RIP) made me tear up a bit.
Someone once said " Sometimes quiet is the loudest sound the soul can make ". This truly quiet man could make others listen . Rest in peaceful quiet , Sir Lee .
Listen to James Earl Jones reading this (elsewhere on YT) and apply that maxim. Christopher Lee did a great job on this, but James Earl Jones whispered this poem like a madman possessed.
I had the honor of interviewing Sir Christopher Lee (I was 17 at the time) while he was promoting The Man with the Golden Gun. He was such a gentleman, kind, and even autographed all 5 portraits I had brought to show him. I will never forget looking far up into those eyes and shaking that big hand...45 years ago!
When a person is knighted and becomes a 'SIR' The title goes with the first name not the family or surname. Saying Sir Lee is incorrect and I can only hope that you either called him Sir Christopher or Sir, but not Sir Lee. It would have shown your ignorance.
@@Peace-tw5wn Yes you usually refer to people with their current titles, then optionally note that they weren't carrying those at the time. If anything the thing you want to be noting is the lack of mentioning the late Sir Christopher Lee. Unless the comment was originally written before his death. Even then what do you mean with except, except what?
I never found this story to be horrifying. Just heartbreakingly sad. This recording really brings out the emotional depth. Props to the orchestra for adding to drama.
Poe's loss of mother and father before he knew them, his separation from his brother and sister; regret for a life filled with loss and alcohol abuse; and the self pity of a bitterly wounded man, is to be found in all his stories and poems. The Tell Tale Heart for example. In the Fall of the House of Usher, he foretells his own end as he sees it coming. "I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR." - Roderick Usher.
Perhaps that’s the “Scary” element in the story. A Love lost to him and the Raven reminding him that there is no solace for him regarding his lost Lenore.
Fun fact about Sir Christopher Lee: he was the only member of the cast and crew of LOTR who had actually met JRR Tolkien. Not only that, Tolkien gave Lee his personal blessing to portray Gandalf if a film of LOTR was ever made! As such, when Peter Jackson called Lee to offer him a role in the LOTR films, Lee asked to play Gandalf. Unfortunately, Sir Ian McKellan had already been cast as Gandalf, but Jackson offered Lee the role of Saruman, and the rest is history. Also, Sir Christopher Lee was in the British Commando Regiment during WWII, was the cousin of Ian Fleming (the creator of James Bond), was an expert fencer and marksman, spoke at least 8 languages fluently, appeared in over 200 films in his lifetime, and produced and was the main singer in a Death Metal album about Charlemagne, at age 93!!!
...und eine dieser Sprachen war Deutsch. ^^^ --- --- --- ...and one of these languages was german. ^^ I know of at least two movies he dubbed in german: "The Last Unicorn" (King Haggard, and yes, the german voice, too. He did it for free, just for fun) and "Valhalla", a danish cartoon (Thor, god of thunder, and Allfather Odin).
He also recorded 2 metal albums called ''Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross'' and ''Charlemagne:Omens of Death'',which made him the oldest performer in metal,he was 90 years old when the second album came out.
If i May add a fact: when Peter Jackson was talking with Christopher Lee about the Scene where saruman gets stabbed by grima wormtongue and how He should sound, Lee responded: i know how a man Sounds when He gets stabbed in the Back. (Not exactly what he Said But along those lines).
Shall a voice which is so suited To many a story convoluted Be employed to read out loud and do so well in such a role? But I have decided lastly That the answer will be ghastly The most sad and dreadful answer summed in one word: nevermore. I don't think the public forum Will host one who with decorum And with such mastery play villains that we just love to abhor. We will woefully feel their lacking With mediocrity stacking Shall we forget true artists? To this I say - nevermore! Rest in peace, Sir Christopher :(
MegaMementoMori this is incredible i don't know and deserves much more appreciation then a TH-cam comment section also do you write poetry because if not i think you would be very good at it and please message me if you want me to give you my opinion on something you wrote
Man, that's dark and beautiful. Christopher Lee, what a star. Edgar Allan Poe, such an artist with words. Hopefully they're now both laughing it up with each other.
I can see it now, Poe sitting in his chamber, with a bust of palace above the chamber door, and Christopher Lee goes tapping, as of someone gently wrapping, wrapping on Poe's chamber door. Poe flung wide the door and says to Lee. "My good sir, that reading you did of the Raven, on that TH-cam thing, was devine"
Sir Christopher Lee. The only man who could take a beautiful poem such as this and somehow make it more sublime. Rest in peace, Sir. You are in paradise.
@Josh Patterson Lol i recommend you watch verdi's requiem after this video(the hole opera),or watching steven hawkings black hole statement,you will have a conceptual "extasis". And actually watch stratovarius father time video to have even more "extasis" and to cheer up again,for the friends,persons,lost in your forever space and nevermore. Or just watch Gnossiene 1,2,3 to be more sad...
You know... until I heard this version I struggled to understand what "The Raven" was all about, or what it signified. I'd heard it described as a frightening poem; as something written in order to cause fear. Now, I know that's not true. This isn't a horror poem. This is a lament, which just happens to include some disturbing elements for emphasis. Poe is writing from the perspective of a man who has lost the love of his life, Lenore by name, and is in the depths of despair over the loss and he is trying to deal with it, but is losing the battle. In the end, he tries to dismiss his grief, only to have it set up residence permanently in his soul. And that, my friends (and anyone else) is what "The Raven" is all about: Being overcome by grief.
In 1970, when I was a 15 yr old sophomore a class assignment was to memorize and recite a poem. There were no restrictions on the length. I chose a rather short poem with about 20 lines called A Special Message from Heaven. It was about John F. Kennedy. I didn't like "reciting" assignments. I remember saying it quickly so I could return to my seat. One student, who was probably the smartest in our class chose The Raven. He said it perfectly and with feeling. It is a very long poem and yet he chose it. Maybe it was his favorite. I don't know but almost 55 years later I remember his recitation.
That's darn impressive. I can barely listen to it spoken without tearing up. I don't think I could recite it even while reading it and still remain composed.
The timbre of his voice will never be reproduced in nature. In his youth and middle age, it was confident, wry, authoritative; in his old age it had become honeyed in the tones of a God-- the voice of immortality.
You know that Christopher Lee had letters From Tolkien with permission to play gandalf IF The books were adapted to the liking of his estate.. also Sir Lee served in WW2 as SAS just as Tolkien WW 1 The horror they Saw And Sir Lee was Sir Lee before becoming an actor because of what he'd done in war???
Too many people mistake this as a horror poem but I find it's closer to depression or desperation. I was so enamored by it I wrote a setting of this for piano and women's voices (SSAA) and even published it! A masterpiece of a poem and this setting by Lee is enthralling. He captures the pathos nicely.
I remember having to watch this exact video for school so thank you for this upload. Listening to this when I was young made me fall in love with Edgar Allan Poe’s and Christopher Lee’s work.
You are a most fortunate soul; please thank your teacher for me for exposing this masterpiece to you. I only wish we had this technology available to my classmates and I when I was young, with a teacher such as yours to gift us with this masterpiece narrated by such a legend. I was lucky enough to have discovered Edgar Allen Poe as a child, and have been a huge fan ever since. To pair the genius of Poe with the incredible talents of Sir Christopher Lee is something beyond amazing. I am truly grateful that this video is here for everyone to appreciate.
This is so beautiful, scary and sad. If Poe was really trying to show us his world, he succeeded in a way that nobody else could. Also Christophers voice gave this so much more.
This is the first version of this poem I've heard that seemed to be aiming for the depression route other that the horror one. I love this poem, but it's never really struck my how breathtakingly sad this is
Sir. Christopher Lee, the best voice I have ever heard read dark poetry. His acting skill so legendary yet so seemless seeming. Never shall any other human being be at a level even close to compairable to his own. And his voice, so dark enticing smooth and yet raspy and whispy like a dark and smooth yet strong whiskey. May you rest in peace you shall be forever remembered my friend.
I think he is asking if they will meet in Heaven and the bird says nevermore and thats why he gets upset with the raven....i am 41 and in 9th grade we had to do our own interpretation of the poem and I got an a plus lol. My favorite poem of all time!
"Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, that was mentioned in the Bible, and named for the region of Gilead, where it was produced. The expression stems from William Tyndale's language in the King James Bible of 1611, and has come to signify a universal cure in figurative speech."
Edgar Allan Poe has been my favorite poet since I first read the Raven. Annabel Lee is probably my second favorite by Poe. I'm glad I have a collection of older poets and writers including Shakespeare because my son's were never taught about the wonderful older writing. So many today doesn't have a clue about the classic works they have missed. My grandchildren are now able to learn these great works. Most of the literature in schools today can't compare. Please teach you children or grandchildren about these wonderful works when they are old enough to understand, to comprehend what is being read aloud or to themselves. Knowledge has such great meaning, true it is going to mean different things to different people. But its so worth your time with them and not letting all the wonderful people who wrote the older literature be just another lost art.
Lisa Casteel Clark It is very important. Everyone should have the opportunity to be introduced to classics like this and so many other wonderful works.
My boy, my best friend, died September 2019. For some reason I got a raven tattoo for him, and that day, I realized that raven backwards is NEVAR. Never. NEVERMORE 😓
As a Ravens fan, maybe I'm a bit biased, but I honestly believe that this is the coolest and most unique source for a team name out of all 32 NFL teams. Like sure it's easy enough to name a team after a fierce animal (Bears, Eagles, Lions, Bengals), State industry (Steelers, Packers) or a historical character (Patriots, 49ers, Cowboys). But the Ravens? We're named after one of the darkest and most famous poems of gothic and horror writer, Edgar Allen Poe. I love it 😂
I'm an old man who has loved this poem since childhood...While listening to Christopher Lee narrate this poem, Bob Dylan and Like a Rolling Stone came to mind...Both Masterpieces...
Fun fact: Ravens actually do speak and mimic human vocabulary much like a parrot. Maybe not quite as vocal and as often as parrots though. I just discovered this 🙂
@@williamkimmel6487 smarter than any dog too, possibly smarter than most politicians, certainly more honest, ravens will eat yer eyeballs, politicos would sell you spectacles afterwards
And Sir Christopher Lee got the inflection dang near perfect, making him actually sound like a raven saying "nevermore." Check our Falconry & Me's videos with her raven, Fable. They really do sound like this.
While I was listening to this beautiful art poetry spoken by the Legend Sir Christopher Lee. I was driving in my Car in the bright Daylight , even though the warmth October Sun and heated wind travelling around and into my car, si still could literally see and feel this darkness, he was peering into the first few minutes and still the atmospheric caught my body and made mindly travel through his words, into this poetry and griefy story. Just awesome done Christopher Lee. Thanks.
"On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before" The saddest line in poetry, Sounds even sadder with Christopher Lee's exquisite rendition of this beautiful poem.
This is just like, oh my god. Such perfect symbolism of Poe's grief and depression represented by the raven. Him asking himself if he will be ok, and telling himself he would never get over his soulmate's death. Then living for the rest of his life in the shadow of his grief and saddness, and what a relief death would be for him.
for anyone who asked: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore- While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door- "'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door- Only this and nothing more." Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow;-vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore- For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore- Nameless here for evermore. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating, "'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door- Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;- This it is and nothing more." Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, "Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you"-here I opened wide the door;- Darkness there and nothing more. Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?" This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"- Merely this and nothing more. Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. "Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore- Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;- 'Tis the wind and nothing more!" Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore; Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door- Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door- Perched, and sat, and nothing more. Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore- Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly, Though its answer little meaning-little relevancy bore; For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door- Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door, With such name as "Nevermore." But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing further then he uttered-not a feather then he fluttered- Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends have flown before- On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before." Then the bird said "Nevermore." Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken, "Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore- Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore Of 'Never-nevermore.'" But the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door; Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore- What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore Meant in croaking "Nevermore." This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core; This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er, But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er, She shall press, ah, nevermore! Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. "Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee-by these angels he hath sent thee Respite-respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!-prophet still, if bird or devil!- Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted- On this home by Horror haunted-tell me truly, I implore- Is there-is there balm in Gilead?-tell me-tell me, I implore!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil-prophet still, if bird or devil! By that Heaven that bends above us-by that God we both adore- Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore- Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore." Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." "Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting- "Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken!-quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted-nevermore!
"And his eyes have all the seeming of a Demon's that is dreaming. and the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor". utmost favourite line.
This is my favourite. "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;"
I hope I age as well as Sir Christopher did. His voice and appearance have always been so solemn and powerful, you would never have guessed how old he actually was. This reading is a great example.
Some people in this world should be immortal in the real sense. Humanity has no one who could take Sir Lee's place. Damn, so many people dying in the last years. People who I really like/love/appreciate.
Alessia di Milano Remember this and remember it well. All those who are shall go. Yet the things they do shall remain. Men like Lee shall remain in a very real way. You are right. So many are dying. Now I am sad.
+Alessia di Milano Tell me about it. When Clint Eastwood goes I think I will hold an old Soviet style parade with an oil painting of him being marched down the street haha.
+Keagan Wheeler-McCann The things they do remain, yes, and we are able to enjoy them. They have made a lasting mark on the world that we can appreciate after their deaths. Yet they are not around to appreciate it. I do not see what comfort exists in knowing of one's impact on the world when one is not personally around to enjoy the world. It doesn't affect you, after all. That loss of identity is the real tragedy, more than the loss of any potential future achievements that we, as third parties, would enjoy.
I think that the comfort of it is unnecessary, it is simply a fact that everything has remains. So long long as there is someone to remember them and actions they took that still have an effect. It seems like common sense that these things would be around after your death. Even your bodies matter will be around. It's not like we poof into smoke. Even in the eventual destruction of the planet, our planet will have remains. So I personally find it comforting that you can't destroy matter or energy, it can change but it cannot be destroyed.
Keagan Wheeler-McCann I can appreciate that point of view even if I disagree with it. It's similar to a lot of Eastern and aboriginal spiritual philosophies centered around one's place in the world. But I personally couldn't possibly ever subscribe to that view. Of course it's true that your body remains and has a physical influence on the material realm, as it has mass and volume and a chemical make-up and interacts with things, but I don't think your body is you, or at least all of your body. I personally associate my identity with my brain, and specifically with higher brain functions, and view the rest of my body more like tools to interact with and perceive the world. So this informs my perspective, and so changes my identity in that way because of it, but is not directly actually a part of what makes me me. What makes me me is my sense of self, and my sense of identity, which is largely made up of my consciousness and my memories, and these things do disappear when we die, because while our neurons and brain matter are physical on a technical level, ideas and memories as concepts are quite abstract, and either way the point of that brain matter is that it stops working and loses all of that ability to hold the information that creates my identity. And what matters to me is my identity. My ability to have agency in the world is also extremely important, but as a human that's largely informed by, and caused by, my identity being present to make me do things. The results of my actions will be completely irrelevant to me after my identity is destroyed. They may be relevant to others, but I'm self-centered in this case (and, I believe, quite right to be so). Why should I care about the effects of other people if I'm gone? I'm not using this as an excuse for bad behavior or to discourage altruism while I'm alive; far from it. But that's a somewhat unrelated issue. So I'm sad about Lee's death partially because I won't get to see him do more stuff, as as fan, yes, but also more generally in a way I would feel about anyone's death, about how THEY won't get to do more stuff themselves, or to continue their sense of identity. At the same time I feel like dwelling on the death of someone is largely a waste of time because they're now beyond help. I tend not to spend much time mourning people, or to be terribly affected by their deaths, because I think that attention and resources should be expended on the behalf of those currently alive, who can be helped. I don't see much point in being sad about something that has already happened, because you can't affect it in any way. It seems far more pragmatic to focus on present and future issues.
Lee's voice mixed with Poe's writing is the most complementary and beautiful thing ever.
Amara i haven’t found anything sounding more beautiful than this indeed
Got to admit the musical stings become tired pretty quickly *every* time the Raven speaks. It was dramatic the first time but after that it loses all effect.
Amara! For real!
Legit Bliss hearing while cozy in bed during a storm... 💝
It's weird how we're listening to 2 dead men tell tales, and could be reading comments from dead people.
Rhyming “window lattice” with “what thereat is” is still one of my favorite things Poe has ever done. Gets me every time.
It really kills me
Also, makes me appreciate Eminem. Could even Poe rhyme so many words with "orange"??
My favourite rhyme is "Escargo" with "my car go" :)
Tauno Kekkonen, I agree. If anyone could, it would be Poe. Him Eminiem and Biggie. Wordsmiths
lol
Christopher Lee could read even a shampoo bottle, and it would still be awesome.
He could read the entire alphabet to your parents and it would still be awesome.
Poo, lacks drama and emotion
But he didn't.. he read "the raven" and it was fantastic! 😃
I so honor this man. He was freewillingly trying to help Finland by being a pilot in second ww2.
Did you know he did death metal albums? Check it out “Charlemagne the ides of March” it’s pretty good
Surcease of sorrow. Rare and radiant. Beautiful words.
Halloween 2024 is Coming, I should Start listening to The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe More Often.
"Nevermore"
*VIOLIN INTENSIFIES*
*violin burst into flames*
*VIOLENT VIOLIN NOISES*
*ANGRY CELLO NOISES*
*agressive blurs of hand as violin spontaneously combusts*
Hahaha
Rest in peace, Christopher Lee. We have lost a great actor. "Nevermore".
🖤🖤🖤
Dramatic music hits as soon as you done saying never more.
And soldier too, his acting also came from his time in England's service during WWII
I made it go from 999 to 1k 😎🙏🏽
Only I am the great being like Chip -- that's also why The Raven is so well-written, because it was secretly written about me the Lenore / The Angel / The God(dess) aka The Saint / The Sainted Maiden aka the rare & radiant maiden aka the adorable being and the lovable being and the pure being (the opposite of womyn) and, the oIdman that runs the agency planted those big ideas for me, as he was waiting for me (he made all lyrics and movies/videos secretly about me, as he included secret references to me in almost all lyrics/poems and movies/videos etc) and, there's methodical writing in The Raven that only agents are taught, which shows it's a mirror for the oIdman's secret thoughts about me & Chip aka the real-life Devil and the story he decided for us!
My parents were both teachers - my mother of French and my father of English. Although my parents separated when I was very young, my grandmother told me that, when they were dating, they used to sit and read poetry to each other. I was named for the Lenore in this poem almost seven decades ago but must confess that until tonight I had never read The Raven. I am actually glad because tonight I have just heard it, for the first time, recited in the most profound way and it makes me realize the passion my parents must have felt for language and each other, if only for a little while.
Wow! What an anecdote!
My bf is also named after this poem lol
His first name is Raven Lucille Gaia [not putting last names.]
He is trans and HE is perfect!!~~~
Such a touching comment.
Beautiful story.
AND THE PASSION SHALL BE PAINTED
NEVERMORE
Christopher Lee is the only person to ever narrate this poem with such emotion instead of sounding so mundane. It really adds to the atmosphere and makes the story come alive.
@@kentknightofcaelin4537 Look up Vincent Price's version. He was one of the best for performing Poe of his time.
I was gonna say I prefer Vincent Price, you beat me to it.
You should hear Christopher Walken do it before saying that. th-cam.com/video/R7G_fZYv8Mg/w-d-xo.html
There's one small but huge detail that Lee gets better, though: @0:37 "Ah, distinctly I remember..." -- the important word is "Ah". It doesn't matter how "distinctly" you remember it; what matters is how deeply you *sigh* when you think of it.
Most readings barely even say the "Ah", and put all that line's emphasis on the second syllable of "disTINCTly". But Lee gives "Ahhhhhhhh" an entire breath, almost making it a separate line, with "distinctly I remember" practically an afterthought. And then again, "She shall press\ ahhhhhhhh\ nevermore."
Vincent Price acted it out and John Astin did a wonderful recitation.
James Earl Jones did a good job too
A broken heart is the most terrifying prison.
That's an amazing sentence. Original? Or if not; source please. Namaste
I’m 14 and that’s deep
To quote Batman Begins: "One day you catch yourself wishing that the one you loved had never existed...so you'd be spared your pain."
@Ligeia D.Aurevilly Juliet was almost 14, Romeo is speculated to be 16 but no older than 18
It's a qoute from the showers by Dylan Sindaliar
"Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door"
A man in pain asking for a bit of peace.
"Take thy beak from out my heart" is my favorite line. He is in so much pain...
Especially since ravens seldom sterilize their beaks.
@@MalcolmBrenner there's few natural ways rotten meat aka 'v1rru53z' can get into your bloodstream and the beak of a raven is one of them...
@@MalcolmBrenner how would they sterilize their beaks
From himself and attachment to love , lust and Life ...😢
“Other friends have flown before.”
That line really got me.
Why?
I was crying.
@@dazbeal5438 Because it's sad. the line is saying that the speaker has no friends, they all left him, so he expects even a hallucination to abandon him.
I'm imagining myself as a Seraphim flying around holding the censer
*Last Online: 7 years ago*
What a wonderful time to be alive that we can listen to this for free any time we desire. A true masterpiece delivered by such a skillful actor.
Skill issue
@@SuperAngel32 I'm not sure what you mean
@@elizabethjones2084 You don't know what I mean? Sounds like a skill issue, I'm just keeping it 100 with you Liz
He was a legend
Yes, sometimes I also think of what a big privilege we enjoy to live here and now.
But still I think it is hell.
Tell me! Where doth Poe lay buried as of yore!
Quoth the Raven: "Baltimore"
Genius!
👏👏👏
BALTIMORE - 1967
"What fresh Hell can this be ?" Dottie asked of the crisp twilight.
The feeble lamplight cast grotesque shadows onto the frosty pavement beside an oddly dressed fellow half-sitting, half-draped across the wrought iron of a park bench before her. The barren tree behind him seemed to loom above the bench as if trying to engulf him. It taunted with leafless, bony fingers while a large raven among its crooked arms cocked its gleaming head as it eyed her approach. It cawed once and remained perched in the branches, the reddish of its eye the only color in this odd landscape. The man, whose head had been tilted toward the night sky, eyes closed, roused himself and blinked several times, finally fixing his dark gaze upon her for a long moment before he spoke.
“What fresh Hell, indeed, Madam? Though it scarcely looks the part, I tell you it is more Purgatory than Hell.” His voice was pleasant and smooth with a whisky edge. “I have gone round and round these endless paths and my feet return me here to this bench where I took my final breath, no matter how often my feet traverse their endless black and winding madness.”
Final breath? She took a moment to digest the strange scene, the man’s odd, formal way of speaking, his insane words. The surrounding gloam belied the time of day unless they’d left her asleep over her gin for too long. “But I was just dozing at my table. My usual assignation at the Algonquin . . . Oh fudge, I’m having a bad dream.”
“Bad? Oh yes, I’m afraid it is, but it is no dream, madam, I assure you.”
She blinked at him as he looked her up and down.
Piercing, intelligent eyes took in her appearance, an eyebrow raising at her stockings and her just-above-the-knee hem.
How odd? I’m wearing a dress I bought for Eddie. Didn’t I throw this out years ago after our divorce? What is happening? I need to wake up . . .
The pale gentleman’s gaze at length reached and held her eyes once again and intoned, *“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”*
Dorothy laughed and gesturing to the air around her with a long cigarette she didn’t remember lighting. “And the darling man quotes Edgar Allan Poe, too, how delightful!”
“Quotes Poe? Quotes him?! My dear lady, I am Edgar Allan Poe. One does not quote oneself without risking being called a dullard. But you are correct, it is a line from my work. From where do you know my prose, though? I did not think that piece widely read.” A thoughtful look passed across his face and without waiting for an answer he continued “You speak with a . . . New York? accent, your dress . . . provocative to say the least, and your shorn hair! Madam! Quite an assail for the eyes you do present. Forgive my forward appraisal of your person, but you are indeed a vision in that undergarment, if it can even serve as such? Did you just arrive to Baltimore from the Continent? Or perhaps my death-soaked bench is no longer located where I imagined it to be? I believe I have been here overlong . . .” He touched his fingertips to his forehead with an accompanying pained look. “Did you tell me your name, my dear? I confuse easily in death.”
-So begins the love story, in death, of Mrs. Dorothy Parker and Edgar Allan Poe. -RRogers
FUCK YOU BALTIMORE!
Wish i could give more than one thumbs up😄😄😄👍👍👍
You know things get serious when Christopher Lee pauses so the guy with the cello can have a moment to shine.
🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇
This is quite possibly the single best recitation of 'The Raven' I've ever heard anyone perform. He puts so much perfectly- fitted emotion into his voice, especially in the last third or so.
RIP, Sir Christopher Lee.
+Adamguy2003 Better than the SIMPSON"S version from one of their early TREE HOUSE OF HORROR Halloween episodes.
+Adamguy2003 I can't decide between Christopher lee and Vincent Price versions. They're both so perfect.
+Adamguy2003 When I read it as a teen, I must have misread it, as I thought it was creepy. Here I am, a grown man, and Sir Christopher Lee (RIP) made me tear up a bit.
+Adamguy2003 The world truly is a less metal place without him.
Bender711 Amen.
Edgar Allan Poe was born 215 years ago today.
May his works be forgotten, nevermore!
Someone once said " Sometimes quiet is the loudest sound the soul can make ". This truly quiet man could make others listen . Rest in peaceful quiet , Sir Lee .
Listen to James Earl Jones reading this (elsewhere on YT) and apply that maxim. Christopher Lee did a great job on this, but James Earl Jones whispered this poem like a madman possessed.
We must listen to this beautiful and Haunting poem at Halloween. 🎃🎃🎃🎃
True, but “Sir” goes only with the first name or full name!
I had the honor of interviewing Sir Christopher Lee (I was 17 at the time) while he was promoting The Man with the Golden Gun. He was such a gentleman, kind, and even autographed all 5 portraits I had brought to show him.
I will never forget looking far up into those eyes and shaking that big hand...45 years ago!
Wow, such honor and luck.
When a person is knighted and becomes a 'SIR' The title goes with the first name not the family or surname.
Saying Sir Lee is incorrect and I can only hope that you either called him Sir Christopher or Sir, but not Sir Lee. It would have shown your ignorance.
@@PetroicaRodinogaster264 thank you for the correction, I have edited my comment
@@Peace-tw5wn Yes you usually refer to people with their current titles, then optionally note that they weren't carrying those at the time. If anything the thing you want to be noting is the lack of mentioning the late Sir Christopher Lee. Unless the comment was originally written before his death. Even then what do you mean with except, except what?
@@PetroicaRodinogaster264 thanx sir3882
I never found this story to be horrifying. Just heartbreakingly sad. This recording really brings out the emotional depth. Props to the orchestra for adding to drama.
Courtney, when my mother went through chemotherapy this poem got me through it.
Somewhat it did seem heartbreaking than horrifying to me too
Poe's loss of mother and father before he knew them, his separation from his brother and sister; regret for a life filled with loss and alcohol abuse; and the self pity of a bitterly wounded man, is to be found in all his stories and poems. The Tell Tale Heart for example. In the Fall of the House of Usher, he foretells his own end as he sees it coming. "I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR." - Roderick Usher.
Perhaps that’s the “Scary” element in the story. A Love lost to him and the Raven reminding him that there is no solace for him regarding his lost Lenore.
@@17Watman The lost bottle of fabric conditioner...
Sir Christopher injects so much raw emotion and pain through his words......it's hauntingly beautiful
I disagree it's terrible
True Lee really sells a widower in extreme mourning and this raven how its this demonic presence and pain fuses to this sad man's life 😔
Fun fact about Sir Christopher Lee: he was the only member of the cast and crew of LOTR who had actually met JRR Tolkien. Not only that, Tolkien gave Lee his personal blessing to portray Gandalf if a film of LOTR was ever made! As such, when Peter Jackson called Lee to offer him a role in the LOTR films, Lee asked to play Gandalf. Unfortunately, Sir Ian McKellan had already been cast as Gandalf, but Jackson offered Lee the role of Saruman, and the rest is history. Also, Sir Christopher Lee was in the British Commando Regiment during WWII, was the cousin of Ian Fleming (the creator of James Bond), was an expert fencer and marksman, spoke at least 8 languages fluently, appeared in over 200 films in his lifetime, and produced and was the main singer in a Death Metal album about Charlemagne, at age 93!!!
Death Metal Band, you say... O_O
He was truly a renaissance man!
...und eine dieser Sprachen war Deutsch. ^^^
--- --- ---
...and one of these languages was german. ^^
I know of at least two movies he dubbed in german: "The Last Unicorn" (King Haggard, and yes, the german voice, too. He did it for free, just for fun) and "Valhalla", a danish cartoon (Thor, god of thunder, and Allfather Odin).
He also recorded 2 metal albums called ''Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross'' and ''Charlemagne:Omens of Death'',which made him the oldest performer in metal,he was 90 years old when the second album came out.
If i May add a fact: when Peter Jackson was talking with Christopher Lee about the Scene where saruman gets stabbed by grima wormtongue and how He should sound, Lee responded: i know how a man Sounds when He gets stabbed in the Back. (Not exactly what he Said But along those lines).
Shall a voice which is so suited
To many a story convoluted
Be employed to read out loud and do so well in such a role?
But I have decided lastly
That the answer will be ghastly
The most sad and dreadful answer summed in one word: nevermore.
I don't think the public forum
Will host one who with decorum
And with such mastery play villains that we just love to abhor.
We will woefully feel their lacking
With mediocrity stacking
Shall we forget true artists? To this I say - nevermore!
Rest in peace, Sir Christopher :(
MegaMementoMori *clapping as a single tear rolls down my cheek*
Beautiful poem!
Thanks guys :)
MegaMementoMori ...Jesus. Beautiful work mate
MegaMementoMori this is incredible i don't know and deserves much more appreciation then a TH-cam comment section also do you write poetry because if not i think you would be very good at it and please message me if you want me to give you my opinion on something you wrote
Man, that's dark and beautiful. Christopher Lee, what a star. Edgar Allan Poe, such an artist with words. Hopefully they're now both laughing it up with each other.
Agreed!!!
And I am sure Peter Cushing is piping in!
I can see it now, Poe sitting in his chamber, with a bust of palace above the chamber door, and Christopher Lee goes tapping, as of someone gently wrapping, wrapping on Poe's chamber door. Poe flung wide the door and says to Lee.
"My good sir, that reading you did of the Raven, on that TH-cam thing, was devine"
Nevermore
Poe wasnt the best human being so I highly doubt they would’ve gotten together.
Sir Christopher Lee. The only man who could take a beautiful poem such as this and somehow make it more sublime. Rest in peace, Sir. You are in paradise.
“Nevermore”
I'm listening to this while it is pouring and thundering outside. This is amazing.
Try listening to "The Raven" in a cemetery at night.
@Josh Patterson Lol i recommend you watch verdi's requiem after this video(the hole opera),or watching steven hawkings black hole statement,you will have a conceptual "extasis".
And actually watch stratovarius father time video to have even more "extasis" and to cheer up again,for the friends,persons,lost in your forever space and nevermore.
Or just watch Gnossiene 1,2,3 to be more sad...
You know... until I heard this version I struggled to understand what "The Raven" was all about, or what it signified.
I'd heard it described as a frightening poem; as something written in order to cause fear. Now, I know that's not true.
This isn't a horror poem. This is a lament, which just happens to include some disturbing elements for emphasis.
Poe is writing from the perspective of a man who has lost the love of his life, Lenore by name, and is in the depths of despair over the loss and he is trying to deal with it, but is losing the battle.
In the end, he tries to dismiss his grief, only to have it set up residence permanently in his soul.
And that, my friends (and anyone else) is what "The Raven" is all about: Being overcome by grief.
That raven is his depression. It claims he will never get over his sorrow. And at the end he accepts that he will never be free from it.
Boo hoo!
if i remember correctly poe actually DID lose the love of his life didn't he? 0,o
@@beowulfiow he did
@@scornbass1552 You shouldn't mock what you don't understand
@@codycrawford7842 I just explained it in three lines, ye intellectual.
This poem absolutely destroys me. What a crystalized wonder of pain and loss is this work of art. Thank you Edgar.
Your words are also a work of art 🎨.
Very much so.
So true
This artwork is made to withstand the test of time.
Edgar says thank you and raises his glass of absinthe to you
In 1970, when I was a 15 yr old sophomore a class assignment was to memorize and recite a poem. There were no restrictions on the length.
I chose a rather short poem with about 20 lines called A Special Message
from Heaven. It was about John F. Kennedy.
I didn't like "reciting" assignments.
I remember saying it quickly so I could return to my seat.
One student, who was probably the smartest in our class chose
The Raven. He said it perfectly and with feeling. It is a very long poem and yet he chose it. Maybe it was his favorite. I don't know but almost 55 years later I remember his recitation.
Old days were the golden ones!!!
I hope you let them know just how profound an impact that left on you. If not reach out and let them know. :)
I'm sure they will appreciate it.
That's darn impressive. I can barely listen to it spoken without tearing up. I don't think I could recite it even while reading it and still remain composed.
Beautiful 🖤
The timbre of his voice will never be reproduced in nature. In his youth and middle age, it was confident, wry, authoritative; in his old age it had become honeyed in the tones of a God-- the voice of immortality.
+James Haynes Beautiful.
Dafuq 😂😂😂😂
***** If you were addressing me, then your comment is invalid as nothing here had to do with my affiliation with poetry.
James Haynes a wonderful and beautiful thing said of Sir Christopher
James Haynes perfect.
"My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count."
Quoth the Dooku: "Nevermore."
'Twice the black plume, double the sleepless nights'
"Good! Two times zero is still zero."
*Music plays motif* bom DUUUUNNN
Good one, dude
666th likes
9:18 "tell me tell me, I implore"
The level of emotion is striking.
That's one of my favourite stanzas. It's heartbreaking
The narrator does a good job showing the stages of grief in the raven. Christopher Lee's voice brings the tale to life.
The musical swell at the first "nevermore" legit sent chills down my spine.
Me too!!
I've been a student of Poe for thirty-five years. This is the best reading of "The Raven," by far. Of course, it is Christopher Lee. So...
Hullo I have left a comment, would you please comment on my theory re the poems intention as you say you have studied him.With thanks.
Jack, I've loved Christopher Lee since I was a kid at the drive-in in the 60s, watching the Hammer Dracula films.
@@TheSaltydog07 good times.
Poe had such a tragic life, that this was from a heart torn apart. So sad.
Sad, lonely, and very dark!
I agree with you he lost his mom wife his dad left his family he was a dark boy
Ah...but witness the Beauty that arose from such a forlorn life! Great genius is often shrouded in tragedy and darkness.
Scarlett O'hara
See: Vincent Van Gogh, Kurt Cobain, Ernest Hemingway.
FunnyVideoMaker77 god please remove kurt cobain from a list of such incredible and timeless talent
This reading never, never, NEVER fails to make me cry.
R.I.P. Christopher Lee, AKA
Count Dracula
Saruman
Francisco Scaramanga
Wilbur Wonka
Lord Summerisle
Ansem/DiZ
Darth Tyranus/ Count Dooku
Nick Jones
R. I. P.
Don't forget Mr Sender.
That was a villain worthy of his talent. Hahaha
... Lord Summerisle.
and tree beard
@@AngelMartinez-im2kl John Rhys-Davies voiced Treebeard.
None of this is a story of horror, just love and loss.
Thank you Poe and Lee!
Loss and grief might be the most horror filled emotions many people, including me, have felt.
True ... but Lee adds a tinge of Horror and Suspense to it ...
Not only is he a sith lord, he's a badass reader
I guess it's his specialty
You think this is good, check out the music he’s done too!
You should check out the other sith lord's reading of The Raven
Has Anyone see the Raven in your Nightmares? Anyone?
As well as a wizard and a vampire
My client who has dimentia suddenly started reciting this poem. So I let him hear this narration and he was in state of apperception! Thank you!❤️
"Came Gandalf, tapping, tapping on my tower door. T'was evil, and nothing more.."
You know that Christopher Lee had letters
From Tolkien with permission to play gandalf IF The books were adapted to the liking of his estate.. also Sir Lee served in WW2 as SAS just as Tolkien WW 1 The horror they Saw
And Sir Lee was
Sir Lee before becoming an actor because of what he'd done in war???
So haunting and beautiful. Sir Christopher Lee is a living legend. Respect.
Never were truer words said
He's about as old as a legend too. XD Just saying.
Mert Sirin Well, hate to be that guy but... he's no longer a living legend
did you have to say that? really?
Poe is truly a master.This is one of the greatest masterpieces of all all time.Just beautiful
Too many people mistake this as a horror poem but I find it's closer to depression or desperation. I was so enamored by it I wrote a setting of this for piano and women's voices (SSAA) and even published it! A masterpiece of a poem and this setting by Lee is enthralling. He captures the pathos nicely.
Where did you publish it ?
That's exactly correct. The only terror is that of loneliness and irretrievable loss.
I sense anxiety and paranoia.
I caught skitzo vibes
I published under Music Spoke. A women's choir in Ohio premiered it. :)
Christopher Lee: Nevermore!
Violin: intensifies
Me: goosebumps
lol
497 people will live the rest of their lives in ignorance, never truly knowing the greatness of this poem as read by Christopher Lee.
593 disgustingly sad people.
692 souls
711 fools burnt by ignorance 😶
727, unknowing souls
Am I mistaken or this poem is a mnenominc device for learning the first 740 digits of pi?
Quoth the raven...Nevermore!
MUSIC INTENSIFIES
Armyy💜😁
Armyyyyyyy!!!😆
Me: ( As a Seraphim flying around)
the greatest poem that ever was, and perhaps ever will be. this poem reminds us that love and suffering are inseparable, and indispensable
“Here I opened wide the door”
*music intensifies*
Violinist at his chamber door
😆 clever.. 👍
mymidnightmistery really made me laugh
hahaha lmao
Here's your like...
And there's the door ----->
Violinist at the chamber door: dude let me inside it's freaking December and it's cold as shit!
We shall never see his like again. RIP Sir Christopher Lee, you legend.
My goosebumps doubled up when he said "Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore' "
Ishtiaque Ahmed same
I remember having to watch this exact video for school so thank you for this upload. Listening to this when I was young made me fall in love with Edgar Allan Poe’s and Christopher Lee’s work.
You are a most fortunate soul; please thank your teacher for me for exposing this masterpiece to you. I only wish we had this technology available to my classmates and I when I was young, with a teacher such as yours to gift us with this masterpiece narrated by such a legend. I was lucky enough to have discovered Edgar Allen Poe as a child, and have been a huge fan ever since. To pair the genius of Poe with the incredible talents of Sir Christopher Lee is something beyond amazing. I am truly grateful that this video is here for everyone to appreciate.
This is so beautiful, scary and sad. If Poe was really trying to show us his world, he succeeded in a way that nobody else could. Also Christophers voice gave this so much more.
TheKrokomaster you feel what Poe and many of us felt then. A kindred spirit to be sure. If you've had a bunch of bad stuff happen this hits harder
This is the first version of this poem I've heard that seemed to be aiming for the depression route other that the horror one.
I love this poem, but it's never really struck my how breathtakingly sad this is
Yes. Did you cry also?
@@TheSweetAlyssum no
Sir. Christopher Lee, the best voice I have ever heard read dark poetry. His acting skill so legendary yet so seemless seeming. Never shall any other human being be at a level even close to compairable to his own. And his voice, so dark enticing smooth and yet raspy and whispy like a dark and smooth yet strong whiskey. May you rest in peace you shall be forever remembered my friend.
Sir Christopher Lee. Rip to the goat. All schoolchildren learning this poem should listen to this reading.
Still hits me that he's gone
Really? It's been 167 years! ;-D
Not him, Lee I thought it was painfully obvious who I was talking about
Twiggymaster666 It was. I added a smiley winking face to show I was joking. ;-)
Will Bianchi sorry sometimes I forget you have to be literal on TH-cam sometimes
We will never come to terms with losing the beautiful, amazing Christopher Lee. And nobody can ever be what he was. His talent was sublime.
“Is there balm in Gilead?”
God, it’s so sad. It’s like he’s asking if there’s any good in heaven for Lenore.
I think he is asking if they will meet in Heaven and the bird says nevermore and thats why he gets upset with the raven....i am 41 and in 9th grade we had to do our own interpretation of the poem and I got an a plus lol. My favorite poem of all time!
He’s asking if there’s a healing balm for his broken heart. It’s based off a Bible verse.
@@kayah723 yeah, apparently The Balm of Gilead is an African spiritual song too, so Poe was really broad with his references in this one, like always.
@@tamimyacqub4669 I think it's pretty clear he was thinking of the Bible and not something from Africa
"Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, that was mentioned in the Bible, and named for the region of Gilead, where it was produced. The expression stems from William Tyndale's language in the King James Bible of 1611, and has come to signify a universal cure in figurative speech."
This is the definition of Gothic. A masterpiece, utterly spellbinding
Don't you mean Spellbound xd
Gay
@@MoarteaLunii gayer
@@satanswife2546 No, the masterpiece would be spellbinding, keeping you spellbound.
@@insaincaldo no that was a goth reference, I'm guessing you don't listen to goth bands
This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever encountered.
A beautiful yet grim reminder that the pain of losing a loved one will never fully heal.
@@flargarbason1740 "That wound will never fully heal, he will carry it the rest of his life."
Edgar Allan Poe has been my favorite poet since I first read the Raven. Annabel Lee is probably my second favorite by Poe. I'm glad I have a collection of older poets and writers including Shakespeare because my son's were never taught about the wonderful older writing. So many today doesn't have a clue about the classic works they have missed. My grandchildren are now able to learn these great works. Most of the literature in schools today can't compare. Please teach you children or grandchildren about these wonderful works when they are old enough to understand, to comprehend what is being read aloud or to themselves. Knowledge has such great meaning, true it is going to mean different things to different people. But its so worth your time with them and not letting all the wonderful people who wrote the older literature be just another lost art.
Lisa Casteel Clark It is very important. Everyone should have the opportunity to be introduced to classics like this and so many other wonderful works.
Most English classes at a high school level will teach older literature. I read the Raven in class during Jr. High, along with Shakespeare.
Imagine lord of the rings audio book read by Christopher Lee
He read out the audiobook for Tolkien's The Children of Húrin, and it's fantastic.
+TheLightofAniu Say what?
Aye, he read out The Children of Húrin by JRR Tolkien for audiobook.
+John Langerhan Sounds good, but he died on June 7, 2015. So sad, so sad.
+John Langerhan That'd be to awesome
“Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore’”
*Violins and Chello get triggered*
Chello? Awwww 🥺
***Cello
Close you're eyes and imagine a ww1 battlefield.
398 people.
398 people saw nothing wrong with this.
My boy, my best friend, died September 2019. For some reason I got a raven tattoo for him, and that day, I realized that raven backwards is NEVAR. Never. NEVERMORE 😓
Rest in peace Christopher Lee
An actor with such skill and voice as thee.
We shall see: Nevermore
It would be awesome if this guy can narrate my life. RIP to probably the best voices of all time
We've still got Morgan Freeman
This reading is my definition of "hauntingly beautiful" ❤️
Edgar Allen Poe is buried in Baltimore
Hence the NFL team "Baltimore Ravens"
The mascot had 3 different names at one point. Edgar. Allen. and Poe. I think it's just Edgar now tho
As a Ravens fan, maybe I'm a bit biased, but I honestly believe that this is the coolest and most unique source for a team name out of all 32 NFL teams. Like sure it's easy enough to name a team after a fierce animal (Bears, Eagles, Lions, Bengals), State industry (Steelers, Packers) or a historical character (Patriots, 49ers, Cowboys).
But the Ravens?
We're named after one of the darkest and most famous poems of gothic and horror writer, Edgar Allen Poe. I love it 😂
Such a conformist.
Lamar Jackson wanted just one win more. Quoth the Tannehill: Nevermore.
Wow, I didn't know that, thanks!
I'm an old man who has loved this poem since childhood...While listening to Christopher Lee narrate this poem, Bob Dylan and Like a Rolling Stone came to mind...Both Masterpieces...
Not a comparison I ever would have thought of, but I can understand the train of thought.
No
@@Duck_Dodgers It also brings to mind Bob Dylan and Murder Most Foul... although Poe 'takes the cake' for rhyme.
My favroite poem so far...
Probably because they both begin: "Once upon a..." and because both are untouchable masterpieces, beautifully written.
Fun fact: Ravens actually do speak and mimic human vocabulary much like a parrot. Maybe not quite as vocal and as often as parrots though. I just discovered this 🙂
And they love shiny objects. My Aunts Raven used to steal the silver on her dining room table!
Kim
@@williamkimmel6487 smarter than any dog too, possibly smarter than most politicians, certainly more honest, ravens will eat yer eyeballs, politicos would sell you spectacles afterwards
Even though not as often their mimic is a lot cleaner and less metallic sounding than a parrot
And Sir Christopher Lee got the inflection dang near perfect, making him actually sound like a raven saying "nevermore." Check our Falconry & Me's videos with her raven, Fable. They really do sound like this.
@@melissanichols784 Ah, so nice to see another Fable fan here.
RIP Christopher Lee. May Edgar Allen Poe find peace, that eluded him in life.
"on the marrow, will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before" damn good quote
*morrow
Agree!
(Holy Quote) I Will Always Remember!!! 2021 Of JANUARY
While I was listening to this beautiful art poetry spoken by the Legend Sir Christopher Lee. I was driving in my Car in the bright Daylight , even though the warmth October Sun and heated wind travelling around and into my car, si still could literally see and feel this darkness, he was peering into the first few minutes and still the atmospheric caught my body and made mindly travel through his words, into this poetry and griefy story. Just awesome done Christopher Lee. Thanks.
"On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before"
The saddest line in poetry, Sounds even sadder with Christopher Lee's exquisite rendition of this beautiful poem.
"And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming."
These words are so beautiful - so terrifying.
My favorite line of all:
"Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dreamed before"
I can imagine Edgar Allan Poe sounding exactly like Christopher Lee. Possibly the best person to narrate such a classic piece of work
His voice was actually more reminiscent of that great declaimer and thespian Mr Donaldo Duck
This was my first port of call when I heard about Lee's passing. One of if not my favourite readings of this. The last third is incredible.
***** Same here, it's a fantastic reading with so much emotion.
***** You and me both! What a great loss but such a ripe old age!
***** As well as I.
***** Same here. The man was truly unique, he will be missed.
*****
Same here guys.
This is just like, oh my god. Such perfect symbolism of Poe's grief and depression represented by the raven. Him asking himself if he will be ok, and telling himself he would never get over his soulmate's death. Then living for the rest of his life in the shadow of his grief and saddness, and what a relief death would be for him.
I love the voice he adopts for the raven's "never more".
I Hated that, took me out of it every time, it's unnecessarily funny
@@celliasmaridius what did you expect him to do? speak like darth vader or something? he was using the voice that actual ravens speak in
The best recitation of my favourite poem ever. R.I.P. Poe and Lee.
for anyone who asked:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door-
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;-vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore-
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
This it is and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"-here I opened wide the door;-
Darkness there and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"-
Merely this and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore-
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-
'Tis the wind and nothing more!"
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door-
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore-
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning-little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door-
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."
But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered-not a feather then he fluttered-
Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends have flown before-
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said "Nevermore."
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore-
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never-nevermore.'"
But the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore-
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee-by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite-respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!-prophet still, if bird or devil!-
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-
On this home by Horror haunted-tell me truly, I implore-
Is there-is there balm in Gilead?-tell me-tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil-prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us-by that God we both adore-
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."
"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting-
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!-quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted-nevermore!
You both are dedicated and have a lot of time this is great
@@stringynoodles9151 either that or functioning ctrl, c and v keys on his keyboard
@@elvisprucelee lol
Rapping at my chamber door. **muffled** "You already know who it is!"
lololololololol
Underrated comment
Silento
Once upon a midnight dreary as I spit this weak and weary
NO WE DON'T NO WE DON'T!!!!!!!!
Grief is forever in his heart. It will not leave, it cannot be healed.
Yet people say time is a great healer.
@@EveEve5 "They Say" Are Liars!!!
Time will heal the scars of grief, but never completely
If he knows how much we enjoys his stories and his poems, he would become so happy
Until he met me! Dedicated to Tinky and Tinky Jr.
Excellent production. Brilliant reading. RIP Sir Christopher Lee.
this is such a beautiful story...i totally love this
R.I.P. Christopher Lee
I never get bored listening to his voice; this also happens to be my favorite poem. Lovely combo.
R.I.P Sir Christopher Lee....
"And his eyes have all the seeming of a Demon's that is dreaming. and the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor". utmost favourite line.
This is my favourite.
"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;"
11:09
Will I ever get tired of listening to this?
Nevermore.
*cue dramatic music*
This is the best reading of The Raven I have ever heard. Christopher Lee is such a brilliant person.
So glad to hear all these obscure, archaic lines read aloud by someone who knows how to pronounce them properly!
My favourite poem of all time, the best description of eternal grief.
I loved much of Poe’s poetry. This is a superb work of one man’s grief and sorrow.
I hope I age as well as Sir Christopher did. His voice and appearance have always been so solemn and powerful, you would never have guessed how old he actually was. This reading is a great example.
Kommandant Kittenstomper Being a trained singer like he was keeps your voice strong through practice.
Some people in this world should be immortal in the real sense. Humanity has no one who could take Sir Lee's place. Damn, so many people dying in the last years. People who I really like/love/appreciate.
Alessia di Milano Remember this and remember it well. All those who are shall go. Yet the things they do shall remain. Men like Lee shall remain in a very real way. You are right. So many are dying. Now I am sad.
+Alessia di Milano Tell me about it. When Clint Eastwood goes I think I will hold an old Soviet style parade with an oil painting of him being marched down the street haha.
+Keagan Wheeler-McCann The things they do remain, yes, and we are able to enjoy them. They have made a lasting mark on the world that we can appreciate after their deaths. Yet they are not around to appreciate it. I do not see what comfort exists in knowing of one's impact on the world when one is not personally around to enjoy the world. It doesn't affect you, after all. That loss of identity is the real tragedy, more than the loss of any potential future achievements that we, as third parties, would enjoy.
I think that the comfort of it is unnecessary, it is simply a fact that everything has remains. So long long as there is someone to remember them and actions they took that still have an effect. It seems like common sense that these things would be around after your death. Even your bodies matter will be around. It's not like we poof into smoke. Even in the eventual destruction of the planet, our planet will have remains. So I personally find it comforting that you can't destroy matter or energy, it can change but it cannot be destroyed.
Keagan Wheeler-McCann I can appreciate that point of view even if I disagree with it. It's similar to a lot of Eastern and aboriginal spiritual philosophies centered around one's place in the world.
But I personally couldn't possibly ever subscribe to that view. Of course it's true that your body remains and has a physical influence on the material realm, as it has mass and volume and a chemical make-up and interacts with things, but I don't think your body is you, or at least all of your body. I personally associate my identity with my brain, and specifically with higher brain functions, and view the rest of my body more like tools to interact with and perceive the world. So this informs my perspective, and so changes my identity in that way because of it, but is not directly actually a part of what makes me me. What makes me me is my sense of self, and my sense of identity, which is largely made up of my consciousness and my memories, and these things do disappear when we die, because while our neurons and brain matter are physical on a technical level, ideas and memories as concepts are quite abstract, and either way the point of that brain matter is that it stops working and loses all of that ability to hold the information that creates my identity.
And what matters to me is my identity. My ability to have agency in the world is also extremely important, but as a human that's largely informed by, and caused by, my identity being present to make me do things. The results of my actions will be completely irrelevant to me after my identity is destroyed. They may be relevant to others, but I'm self-centered in this case (and, I believe, quite right to be so). Why should I care about the effects of other people if I'm gone? I'm not using this as an excuse for bad behavior or to discourage altruism while I'm alive; far from it. But that's a somewhat unrelated issue.
So I'm sad about Lee's death partially because I won't get to see him do more stuff, as as fan, yes, but also more generally in a way I would feel about anyone's death, about how THEY won't get to do more stuff themselves, or to continue their sense of identity.
At the same time I feel like dwelling on the death of someone is largely a waste of time because they're now beyond help. I tend not to spend much time mourning people, or to be terribly affected by their deaths, because I think that attention and resources should be expended on the behalf of those currently alive, who can be helped. I don't see much point in being sad about something that has already happened, because you can't affect it in any way. It seems far more pragmatic to focus on present and future issues.
Rest in peace, Poe and Lee.
Poe's wordsmithing and Lee's emotional reading are perfect together.
i have always loved poe but Christopher makes it so relaxing and more entreating
The music and the way he talks brings tears to my eyes.
Does anybody else like Christopher Lee's voice more than Morgan Freeman's?
I do.
James Earl Jones'S version is good too.
Can't I have both?
@@gnarl3232 - YES!!
Comparing instead of appritiating smh
I keep coming back to this every few months. Christopher Lee does The Raven so well.
2:10 shivers.. the swell of the music.. the buildup... and the perfect combination of a great writer's words and a great actor's voice.
Darkness there, and nothing more.