English

The Windhover

LibriVox volunteers bring you 11 recordings of The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins. This was the Weekly Poetry project for March 12, 2017. Read in English by annie70; Bruce Kachuk; David Lawrence; Eva Davis; fshort; Greg Giordano; KyoBlanchett; Lee Ann Howlett; Scotty Smith; Tony Addison and Tomas Peter. "Windhover" is another name for the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). The name refers to the bird's ability to hover in midair while hunting prey. In the poem, the narrator admires the bird as it hovers in the air, suggesting that it controls the wind as a man may control a horse. The bird then suddenly swoops downwards and "rebuffed the big wind". The bird can be viewed as a metaphor for Christ or of divine epiphany. Hopkins called "The Windhover" "the best thing [he] ever wrote". It commonly appears in anthologies and has lent itself to many interpretations. ( Wikipedia) For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording. For more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit LibriVox.org . M4B Audiobook (8MB)

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