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Windhover

Public domain audiobook

Windhover

by Gerard Manley Hopkins

English· 00:17:28· 11 chapters
"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

LibriVox recordings are public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ elsewhere.

Chapters

  1. Chapter 1

    The Windhover - Read by AF

    01:43
  2. Chapter 2

    The Windhover - Read by BK

    01:48
  3. Chapter 3

    The Windhover - Read by DL

    01:27
  4. Chapter 4

    The Windhover - Read by ED

    01:46
  5. Chapter 5

    The Windhover - Read by FS

    01:31
  6. Chapter 6

    The Windhover - Read by GG

    01:34
  7. Chapter 7

    The Windhover - Read by KB

    01:29
  8. Chapter 8

    The Windhover - Read by LAH

    01:38
  9. Chapter 9

    The Windhover - Read by SWS

    01:29
  10. Chapter 10

    The Windhover - Read by TA

    01:25
  11. Chapter 11

    The Windhover - Read by TP

    01:38