1978 Pearl (Hugh Dickson)

Broadcast: 1978.05.19
Reader: Hugh Dickson
Language: English
Writer: JRR Tolkien
Organisation: BBC Radio 3
ISBN: n/a
Duration: ~75 minutes
Unabridged: Yes
Country: UK
Licenced: Yes
Formats: Broadcast only

Unlike the 1936 broadcast which featured fragments, this was a comprehensive presentation of the poem. It was part of the BBC’s Late-Night Poetry programming on Radio 3, which focused on high-fidelity verse speaking.

This broadcast marked the first time the entire Tolkien translation of Pearl was heard by the general public. The poem was split across three episodes to allow the listener to digest the intricate theological and allegorical imagery.

1. Episode 1 (Fri 19 May 1978, 21:35): Covered the narrator’s loss in the “erber” (arbour) and his entry into the dream-state where he finds the Pearl-maiden across the water.
2. Episode 2 (Fri 26 May 1978, 21:15): Focused on the theological debate between the dreamer and the maiden, specifically regarding the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.
3. Episode 3 (Fri 2 June 1978, 21:35): Concluded with the vision of the New Jerusalem and the dreamer’s unsuccessful attempt to cross the water, ending with his return to the world and his resignation to God’s will.