0:00:00 > 0:00:00- 888
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- 888- - 888
0:00:07 > 0:00:09- 888
0:00:14 > 0:00:16- 888
0:00:21 > 0:00:23- 888
0:00:28 > 0:00:30- 888
0:00:38 > 0:00:41- Rising above us - is Craig Cwm Dulyn.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43- A hundred yards from its summit...
0:00:43 > 0:00:47- ..R Williams Parry - saw the fox, "that rare wonder".
0:00:47 > 0:00:50- Over there is Talysarn, - where the story begins.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53- It's the story - of the Summer Poet, as he's known.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56- It's also the story - of the Poet of Fear and Doubt.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01- How much do we know - about R Williams Parry himself?
0:01:02 > 0:01:05- Why do some sour critics - accuse him of being too sugary?
0:01:06 > 0:01:09- Why do so many of his fans - disagree with them?
0:01:09 > 0:01:14- He heard "the ocean's roar - on the peninsula of great eternity".
0:01:21 > 0:01:25- The ocean's roar - on the peninsula of great eternity.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41- On 6th March, 1884, - in this house...
0:01:41 > 0:01:43- ..R Williams Parry was born.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48- From an early age, he experienced - success at both chapel and cymanfa.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50- Up the street lived Owen Edwards.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53- Anant was his bardic name.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58- Young Bob visited him - to learn all about cynghanedd.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03- Before long, he competed - at the National Eisteddfod.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05- He had no luck in 1907 nor 1909...
0:02:05 > 0:02:09- ..but in 1910, - he won with his ode to The Summer.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14- He stood on this wall - as the village acclaimed him...
0:02:14 > 0:02:17- ..when he returned - from Colwyn Bay with the Chair.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22- Its home was to be - Rhiwafon, 37 Station Road, Talysarn.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29- The summer always dies to live.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42- It's worth hearing - about the competition.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- He and two friends - stood on this bridge.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47- R Williams Parry said...
0:02:47 > 0:02:51- ..he wasn't going to send - his ode to the Eisteddfod.
0:02:51 > 0:02:57- He feared it was too new, - too romantic for the adjudicators.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02- His two friends pleaded with him - to change his mind.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- A few days later, he agreed.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07- He sent his ode to the Eisteddfod.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10- After that, of course, - there was the wait.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15- At the time, the victorious bard - wasn't told in advance of his win.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18- A spy was needed.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22- Owain Llewelyn Owain - was a journalist from Talysarn.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25- He sent a telegram - from the Eisteddfod.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- Five past twelve, Wednesday.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34- "Nothing definite, - bright weather, wire later."
0:03:35 > 0:03:37- In a while, another message.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42- "Have found rooms for you." - That was the code.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46- R Williams Parry - knew that he had won the Chair.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11- From what I remember, - he was an extremely amiable man.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16- He was very gentle, - and was, of course, easily hurt.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19- He didn't like the night.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24- He didn't care much for driving, - believe it or not.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28- As a driver, - he wasn't especially committed.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31- Such are the stories - about him anyway.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38- Nantlle Valley is best enjoyed - on foot, not by car.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42- This was the boyhood home - of R Williams Parry.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56- That ancient dale - stimulates this, my song.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01- One lake alone in Baladeulyn now.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08- This valley abounds with tales - from the Mabinogi.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13- As the name Baladeulyn suggests, - there were two lakes here once.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17- Those same two lakes - feature in the story of Blodeuwedd.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23- On an oak branch by the lakes, - Gwydion turned Lleu into an eagle.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29- Lleu will return not - to Nantlleu Valley.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33- Here's the place itself, - the valley of Nantlleu.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37- It was named after that same Lleu, - Lleu Llaw Gyffes.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- At the mouth of the River Llyfni...
0:05:40 > 0:05:44- ..you can see the submerged ruins - of the old Caer Arianrhod.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49- In my view, it's no surprise - that a place so rich in history...
0:05:49 > 0:05:51- ..produced such a great poet.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- When Williams Parry - started to write his poems...
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- ..he wrote in a style - that was popular at that time.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06- It was the romantic style.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- He continued in this vein - until his ode to The Summer.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13- Then, a change happened.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17- In a sonnet home, he vows - to turn his back on such themes.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- He would write - about the things all around him.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- The quiet valley - of the Mabinogi was no more.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38- Some 200 years ago...
0:06:38 > 0:06:40- ..the quarries arrived.
0:06:40 > 0:06:46- Villages such as Llanllyfni, - Cesarea, Carmel and Talysarn grew.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51- The population trebled - from 4,000 to 12,000.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01- Who fall down narrow ladders - o'er frightful Dorothea quarry?
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- Inevitably, - industrial accidents occurred.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17- An early englyn by Williams Parry - was written in memory of a friend.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- David Williams - was killed in the quarry.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- The loss of young men - became a painful theme in his work.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35- Dear Dafydd in your lonely grave, - You grieve so many broken hearts.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41- But the marshland will shed - Its sadness and blossom again anew.
0:07:42 > 0:07:48- Strangely enough, he only wrote - two poems about his own valley.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53- Y Ddol A Aeth O'r Golwg - and Dyffryn Nantlle Ddoe A Heddiw.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57- In both, - he longs for the valley of old.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01- It disappeared - when "the old clay quarry spewed".
0:08:09 > 0:08:13- Across our virgin meadow - the old clay quarry spewed.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28- He also discusses - the area's two new civilizations...
0:08:28 > 0:08:31- ..the quarry and the chapel.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37- His work suggests a difficulty - in his total acceptance of either.
0:08:41 > 0:08:50- Two new civilizations - to our two parishes came.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02- What came of the oak in the dale?
0:09:24 > 0:09:30- The Wooded Way, near Cricieth
0:09:32 > 0:09:37- Unsurprisingly, R Williams Parry - had to escape from time to time.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- Visits here, - to see his mother's cousin...
0:09:41 > 0:09:45- ..at Hendre Cennin farm, - by the Wooded Way...
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- ..was his happy form of escapism.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- Far from the sight of Progress - On the sad face of the Works
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- There's a place - between sea and mountain
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- Without any stain or scar
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- Except the furrow - on the mountain field
0:10:07 > 0:10:10- Where the plough - tore spring from the soil.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18- Far from the bitter rat race - Of the spiteful modern world
0:10:18 > 0:10:23- The taste of antiquity lingers - Like precious vintage wine.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- Old, old is the murmuring
0:10:27 > 0:10:29- Between two rivers in Rhoslan.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44- There's perfection in this peace - The peace of the Wooded Way
0:10:45 > 0:10:49- From the arch of its latticed roof - To the green grass underfoot
0:10:49 > 0:10:51- It's not a road to church or town
0:10:52 > 0:10:54- But that doesn't bother me.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- Oh! It's heaven to reach the heart
0:11:05 > 0:11:07- Of this quiet neighbourhood
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- From my industry-scarred valley - And the ways of the world I know
0:11:12 > 0:11:14- To walk its peace all by myself
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- Or with a soulmate in sweet accord.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09- R Williams Parry wanted his poetry - to be understood by all.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13- He wanted people to understand - most of it at first reading.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17- He would occasionally - read a poem to some friends.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- If they didn't understand it...
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- ..he would make some changes.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- This was very important to him.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30- His poetry is clear...
0:12:30 > 0:12:33- ..if you know what the words mean.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- Even so, - there are deeper meanings.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- R Williams Parry - felt very close to nature.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44- He loved taking his holidays - in the "great tranquillity".
0:12:44 > 0:12:49- Nature instils fear in him, - but is also a source of comfort.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51- He knows that death awaits us all.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56- But in the world of nature, - he would see the best of everything.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59- He saw the fox, "that rare wonder".
0:12:59 > 0:13:03- Then again, he knew - that such beauty was short-lived.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07- "He came, he went, a shooting star."
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- There's perfection in this peace - The peace of the Wooded Way.
0:13:35 > 0:13:35- .
0:13:41 > 0:13:41- 888
0:13:41 > 0:13:43- 888- - 888
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- As a boy in my bed in days of yore
0:13:56 > 0:14:00- Restless summer nights had no breeze
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- Three things I feared as I lay alone
0:14:04 > 0:14:08- Lightning, earthquake - and the end of the world.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- Since childhood, he had been one - of a timid disposition.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- Faith in the eternal life - of a heavenly father...
0:14:20 > 0:14:23- ..failed to offer him much solace.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26- "Death does not die, - More is the pity."
0:14:30 > 0:14:34- Death does not die, - More is the pity.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- But the Bible - had been part of his upbringing.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42- These agnostic periods - confused him enormously.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46- On the one hand, he claimed to be - an unassuming member of the flock.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49- On the other hand, he said this.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- "I wish to perform - a worthy deed for Christ...
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- "..that he may not look upon me - so sadly."
0:14:56 > 0:14:59- Then came the war - to confuse him further.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18- Winchester
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- In a barracks, here in Winchester...
0:15:23 > 0:15:25- ..R Williams Parry - trained to be a soldier.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- He described himself - as a pitiful failure.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31- But he left behind a notebook.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- This showed - that he took the work seriously.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- Lloyd George visited the soldiers.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42- He recognized the Summer Poet, - so the story goes.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- Within a week, R Williams Parry - was no longer on front line duty.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- A coincidence? Well, maybe.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- One not spared was Hedd Wyn.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58- During a service at Jewry Street - congregational church...
0:15:58 > 0:16:03- ..R Williams Parry composed - the famous memorial englynion.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07- He claims to have written - all eight verses at one sitting.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13- The 'Amen' at the sermon's end - awoke him from his trance.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- The dead bard in a foreign field
0:16:19 > 0:16:23- The two hands - that will never again be separate
0:16:23 > 0:16:25- The grave eyes under the grave door
0:16:26 > 0:16:28- The eyes that cannot open more.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32- Your life has been lived
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- Your race has been run too.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38- The hour has come to become dust
0:16:39 > 0:16:41- Travelling the world has ended.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- Gentle is the moon tonight
0:16:46 > 0:16:48- Rising over Trawsfynydd's bog.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50- And you so sadly in your grave...
0:16:51 > 0:16:57- # Gentle is the moon tonight
0:16:57 > 0:17:02- # Rising over Trawsfynydd's bog
0:17:05 > 0:17:11- # And you so sadly in your grave
0:17:12 > 0:17:17- # By the black Trench resting
0:17:21 > 0:17:27- # A lonely Chair stands yonder! #
0:17:28 > 0:17:33- Its arms as though listening.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- Today, reaching so quietly
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- In peace for the one that's gone.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- # Today, reaching so quietly
0:17:43 > 0:17:54- # In peace for the one that's gone #
0:17:58 > 0:18:01- Inevitably, - the War left its mark on the poet.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- The Nationalist movement - jolted him too.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09- The Penyberth Bombing School - arson affected him.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14- The tone of his work changed, - from summer to winter poems.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19- But wasn't this dark side - present from the very start?
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- He wrote this as a young man.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27- "Oh, grave, you frighten me today, - I am frightened and tearful."
0:18:29 > 0:18:34- Oh, grave, you frighten me today, - I am frightened and tearful.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53- He's a truly sensitive bard.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57- In his sonnet Dinas Noddfa, - he sees the stars.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02- He hears "the sea's sad rhyming" - and he feels the wind.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- After awakening the senses, - he gives advice.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- "Follow the wise."
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- Do something! - It's earnest, but difficult.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17- Follow the wise, - and build yourself a fort.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23- Dolbadarn Castle
0:19:28 > 0:19:30- It was 50 years ago, - and I was at the back.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35- I was at an evening class.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39- There was an evening class - in every village years ago.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- Religion, politics - and social matters were discussed.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45- I'd sit at the back, listening.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48- I heard these words.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51- "When the stars - send shivers through your blood
0:19:52 > 0:19:56- "To shake your credo - just like leaves."
0:19:56 > 0:19:58- Now, that couplet.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00- I thought... wow!
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- Over the years, - I've gone back to it.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06- I've never recited it aloud.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09- In this location today...
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- ..not far from my home...
0:20:11 > 0:20:13- ..to tell you the truth...
0:20:13 > 0:20:16- ..I could get quite emotional.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19- I could.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- R Williams Parry's work - affected Kate Roberts too.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28- Her novel Tywyll Heno - uses the sonnet Dinas Noddfa.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34- Years later, - I played Bet in Tywyll Heno.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36- I was really delighted.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- It was an opportunity, a challenge.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41- It was one of my biggest challenges.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44- Bet's health is failing slowly.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- It's a mental illness, - and a loss of faith.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52- Losing her faith - leads to her losing her identity.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- She and her husband, - Gruff, go for a picnic.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- It's a fine day and they're happy.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- She asks Gruff to read Dinas Noddfa.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07- He has a marvellous voice, - and he reads it well.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10- But she couldn't find - her own city of refuge.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15- While listening, she realized - that only a black wall faced her.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25- When the stars - send shivers through your blood
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- To shake your credo - just like leaves.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32- When the night tests the clay - from which you're made
0:21:32 > 0:21:37- Its fear - searching your being to its core.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42- Or when you listen - to the sea's sad rhyming
0:21:43 > 0:21:45- Reciting darkly its bewitching moan
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- And the wind which comes and goes - about your door
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- Hoarse through the woods - and husky through the reeds.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- Follow the wise, - and build yourself a fort
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- Where you'll find refuge - from their tyranny.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10- Lord of your nothingness, - the architect of your own heaven
0:22:11 > 0:22:13- Or will you follow him
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- Who built a temple - not made with human hand
0:22:17 > 0:22:21- Above the mystery of nature - and beyond?
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- Above the mystery of nature - and beyond.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47- Williams Parry was a sick man - in his final decade.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51- He suffered from what, I suppose...
0:22:51 > 0:22:56- ..was a condition - that we would call Alzheimer's.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00- Very few were allowed to see him.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04- Mrs Parry was extremely protective.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07- This was particularly so - in his latter years.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13- This was probably - one of the last photos taken of him.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19- To me, his affectionate nature - shines through.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- But perhaps you can also see...
0:23:22 > 0:23:27- ..a sign of the condition...
0:23:29 > 0:23:31- ..that ruined his life...
0:23:31 > 0:23:33- ..in this photograph.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- R Williams Parry had lived - through a time of great change.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51- Industry came and went, - two world wars erupted.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55- You're right, - but his poetic legacy...
0:23:55 > 0:23:59- ..is the voice that he gave - to our constant aspirations.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08- He knew that we all inhabit - "a medley of confusion."
0:24:15 > 0:24:19- A medley of confusion.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:24:41 > 0:24:42- .