The Testament of Beauty
About this audiobook
The Testament of Beauty was Bridges’ last work and was first published in 1929. It is a long poem in four books: 1) Introduction 2) Selfhood 3) Breed 4) Ethick The poem describes a spiritual journey in which the author seeks to resolve philosophical and metaphysical issues raised in his earlier works, particularly in the sonnet sequence, The Growth of Love (1876, 1889, 1898). It is written in an unrhymed style that Bridges described as “loose alexandrines”, which are constructed on the basis of syllables rather than accents, a metrical structure developed by the author himself. The work reflects Bridges’ deep Christian faith and his interest in hymnody. Another notable feature is Bridges’ idiosyncratic approach to the spelling of English.
About the author
Robert Bridges (1844–1930) practiced as a physician until 1885 when he retired due to ill health. For the rest of his life his main occupations were as a poet and a literary critic. Bridges spent much of his retirement in seclusion and his works were not widely circulated during his lifetime. However, he was appointed Poet Laureate in 1913 and held the post until his death.
Denis Daly is an Australian audiobook producer and narrator.
