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Yes, a real slog. I suspect I'm about half-to-two-thirds of the way through this one but not enjoying it very much at all. How are you meant to know where to start focussing your energy, short of some PDM completely from the blue? I'm sure I'll eventually see what's going on and be forced to glumly admit "well, yes, I guess that is quite clever" with a sigh.

Verlaine, in the bottom half there are only 3 normally entered across answers, not counting 39 which is wordplay only. In the top 4 rows, every row has 1 normally entered across answer.

It is a slog to get to the point where you have enough of the line of the poem to make it identifiable. The line may not make much sense at first, it's written in old English. But if you have a problem with it, it's been split into the correct words in 2 previous comments on this thread. From there it can be discovered online, the 2 thematic characters identified, and all will become clear.

Done - eventually. I could not make out any usefully searchable words in the letters of the line of the poem I had so was forced to look a line at a time for the first word which I did recognise. Mercifully found it about a fifp of the way in.
An hour of my life I will never get back. Should have come to this forum first.

I did polish it off without too much difficult thereafter - I think I was being a bit mean to it, as I'd just finished a very tiring trip back from Scotland with two ill and fractious children, so was in no mood for extra stumbling blocks in my puzzle catch-ups!

This was clearly a very impressively constructed puzzle, the acrostic element and down clue amends elicited a certain sense of "how on earth did the setter manage that?!" that one gets from the very best Listener puzzles. I do think that there should have been some easier ins though - it's quite maddening not being able to put *anything* into the grid with confidence that it's correct until a PDM hours later. Also, surely the puzzle would have worked better if the across clues had been the downs and vice versa? Based on the line of the poem, I mean?

Not for me this one. At least it was so impenetrable that I didn't waste most of the week on it. Gave up after a couple of hours, with a good few across clues solved, but not able to be entered, and no down clues solved, due to them needing amending, which could have meant almost anything.

Sounds like a clever construction, but would it have made the puzzle any worse to give more of a clue as to how the down clues needing amending?

Hopefully something a bit less gruelling next week.

I liked this one very much: it is science- rather than art-led but still a crisp and clever solution. also, smiþsax, your gag was delightful. A slight pity that 13 couldn't be SHO, like the famous PSI/SAI curiosity. Anyway I'm finally all done except for 20d/32a, I think it has to be (NETS), can't quite justify how nets can be a synonym for difficulties though, even though the wordplay is an open goal.

Fairly new to Listeners-really struggled.. Almost finished after several hours - same problem with 'nets' as 'difficulties' ? Not given as a meaning in Chambers.
Stuck on 24d and 28a and 20d only now. Assistance would be wonderful as on verge of giving up which would be a shame after so many hours

Net is defined as "a difficulty" in the current version of Chambers.
24d ce is removed and you need a 3 letter abbreviation for a type of light plus a word for elder and an abbreviation for son.
28 starts with e and is simply some of the clue.
20d - not totally sure how this parses but the definition is "a good appetite". Maybe a Dickensian connection.....

20 : T (Thailand), w (with), It (Italian) with S (pole) in. The last definition in 2008 Chambers gives "good appetite (slang)."

Everything is denying me 24! I can't find a suitable word for elder ending ne or a word the suitably fits the other 6 letters I have! Please put me out of my misery.