SONNET REVIEW #100, The Hollow Crown: Richard II, BBC Two
Quiet. The bard speaks not as on the stage,
But in the hush of microphonic detail,
Boomed inside, ADRed over the hail
& farewell, voice, of beachwind’s snatching bray.
Adaptation has sliced much of the play –
A third at least, a half? – but to bewail
As impure space the silence is to rail,
Logicless, ‘gainst this production’s case.
The words that from the text are cut release
Actor & hearer alike from strain of speed,
No great shame the losses here. I defy,
After Gaunt’s England, its sceptre & lease,
The listener to find aught but flat history
Save all Richard’s part; his Ay, No, Ay, No, Ay.
(Source: hillsgreen.blogspot.com)
