The Windhover
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
"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. - Summary by Wikipedia (0 hr 17 min)
Chapters
| The Windhover - Read by AF | 1:43 | Read by Anne Fletcher |
| The Windhover - Read by BK | 1:48 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
| The Windhover - Read by DL | 1:27 | Read by David Lawrence |
| The Windhover - Read by ED | 1:46 | Read by Eva Davis |
| The Windhover - Read by FS | 1:31 | Read by fshort |
| The Windhover - Read by GG | 1:34 | Read by Greg Giordano |
| The Windhover - Read by KB | 1:29 | Read by KyoBlanchett |
| The Windhover - Read by LAH | 1:38 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| The Windhover - Read by SWS | 1:29 | Read by Scotty Smith |
| The Windhover - Read by TA | 1:25 | Read by Tony Addison |
| The Windhover - Read by TP | 1:38 | Read by Tomas Peter |
Reviews
Ráj
The fourth reading by ED seemed to me the perfect voice for this poem with the correct rhythm