Monday, August 4, 2014

Book Review 'The Poetic World of Emily Bronte: Poems from the author of Wuthering Heights' By Laura Inman

The Poetic World of Emily Brontë by Laura Inman 4 Stars

     I have received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
     I had originally expected this book to be simply a compilation of Emily Bronte's poetry, but it was much better than that. While it is a book of her poetry, it also has commentary on the poems as well as a bit of what you could call backstory. 
     The beginning chapter of this book told about the lives of the Brontes, and, specifically, of Emily. It spoke of the differences between the sisters' personalities and of how certain events in their lives may have influenced their writing. 
     Something that I found very interesting about Emily's poetry, is that much of it takes place in a fictional world which she and her sisters had created. Many times the names of the residents of this world are used in the poems. I loved the idea that they had a world which they had created and shared, and within which characters had ever growing stories. However, the poems can be enjoyed even without knowing the characters.
     At the end of each poem, the author gives a bit of insight as to the meaning of it, so that you could also hear someone else's perspective.And if you didn't understand it, you would still be able to know what it was about. Because of this, the book could be enjoyed by those who are new to poetry as well as people who are veterans to it.
     Many times Wuthering Heights was mentioned in the commentary, as it was Emily's sole work, other than poetry. Wuthering Heights was often compared to the poems, and since I am a fan of Wuthering Heights, I enjoyed this.
     Lastly, all of the poems gave insight into Emily's personality. She was not one to keep a diary, and because of this not a lot is known about her or her opinions. But the author explains how Emily's poems give insight into her mind, and what we can learn about her through them.
     The poems themselves were great. I enjoyed Emily's poetic writing style. The chapters are grouped by topic of the poems, such as Love, Spirituality, and others.
      I would recommend this book to anyone who has even the slightest interest in poetry, as well as to those who would like to expose themselves to something new and learn about it.

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