READ: 10.08.17 - 11.08.17

BOOK: As kingfishers catch fire

AUTHOR: Gerard Manley Hopkins

GENRE: Poetry

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: 'O let them be left, wildness and wet'

As Kingfishers Catch Fire is a selection of Gerard Manley Hopkins' incomparably brilliant poetry, ranging from the ecstasy of 'The Windhover' and 'Pied Beauty' to the heart-wrenching despair of the 'sonnets of desolation'. (Penguin Little Black Classics No. 2) 

REVIEW: If I am brutally honest, this selection of poems and journal extracts bored me massively. Poetry is still something I am getting to grips with, and so throughout this whole book I was extremely confused and wondering what the hell he was talking about. The lines are all very lyrical, but also very specific and talking about things that I have no knowledge about.

I think my experience reading this selection is more to do with my tastes and ability rather than a reflection on the work. If I had a little more knowledge and knew how to understand this type of poetry I think I would have enjoyed this selection a little more. There were a few poems I did like, and some lines I really loved, but in general I didn't enjoy this book.

FINAL VERDICT: I found this book very difficult to get into and to understand. I think I would prefer to read them at school where I can have help analysing and understanding the poems rather than me just scrunching up my brow and sitting there feeling like an idiot.

RATING: 4/10