On WH Auden (3) Reciting September 1, 1939

On this day Hitler invaded Poland and WWII broke out. Thucydides was an honest historian, the originator of Political Realism which observes that the relationship between countries is based on strength and not which is in the right. His work is still studied in military academies.

Tom O'Bedlam, evidently an alias name behind the YouTube channel Spoken Verse, recites this poem with serious, resonating voice and careful attention to its rhythm, pace and pronunciation.  There is an intriguing story on this gentleman and this name, which I will come back to.  But for now, in his response to a YouTuber who said he didn't pronounce Thucydides correctly, we get a glimpse of the scholarship and care he put into his recitation:

I'm glad you're interested. Here's what an Oxford scholar said: 'The ancient pronunciation would actually be something like "Too-kü-deé-days." Which pronunciation would be "more accurate" would of course depend on usage. For example, in the conferences I've attended recently, the historian has consistently been referred to as "Thoo-síd-id-eez," rather than Thoo-kíd-id-eez."' Auden had a classical education. I used the pronunciation that seemed [to] suit the line. Thanks for posting.

Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953) - yes, he of Do not go gentle into that good night - recites this poem with eloquent flare, as if he were a herald standing on the precipice of World War II.  One YouTuber spoke, in good measure, to my sentiment about this recitation:

the delivery owes a great deal to Laurence Olivier playing Richard III and is very dated and grand now - it sounds so affected and self-important great poem tho

Another YouTuber referred to something I will also come back to, namely, Auden's sentiments about his own poem:

There are two editions of The Collected Poetry of WH Auden: a 1945 and a 1967. Thomas is reading from the 1945 edition. The above text [i.e. in the description box on YouTube], the text most widely disseminated on the internet, is from the 1967. The currently published Collected Poetry of WH Auden (Modern Library, 2007) omits the poem entirely.