yeah! I've been listening to them each repeatedly. Amazing the subtle (or not-so) differences. God I love this poem - I always have, but as I age it seems to be speaking even more to me.
I think Eliot's reading is really funny, even though I think I like it better than Hopkins's. I had a poetry prof play this for us, and asked us, "Where do you think Eliot was from?" The answer turned out to be Missouri, which is a far cry from the Eton-ish diction he's sporting here. It works though; the languor.
It's also funny how this poem grows on you. I loved it when I was a lass, but it's certainly not speaking to youth, but that lonely middle age. Sometimes I wonder why things impressed me at all at an age I couldn't (exactly) understand them.
It's also funny how this poem grows on you. I loved it when I was a lass, but it's certainly not speaking to youth, but that lonely middle age. Sometimes I wonder why things impressed me at all at an age I couldn't (exactly) understand them.