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The hero of Ted Hughes's Crow is a creature of mythic proportions. Ferocious, bleak, full of anarchic energy and violent comedy, Crow's stor...
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Dec 19, 2007
Xio
rated it: 
February 17th
A lamb could not get born. Ice wind
Out of a downpour dishclout sunrise. The mother
Lay on the muddied slope. Harried, she got up
And the blackish lump bobbed at her back-end
Under her tail. After some hard galloping,
Some manoeuvering, much flapping of the backward
Lump head of the lamb looking out,
I caught her with a rope. Laid her, head uphill
And examined the lamb. A blood-ball swollen
Tight in its black felt, its mouth g More...
A lamb could not get born. Ice wind
Out of a downpour dishclout sunrise. The mother
Lay on the muddied slope. Harried, she got up
And the blackish lump bobbed at her back-end
Under her tail. After some hard galloping,
Some manoeuvering, much flapping of the backward
Lump head of the lamb looking out,
I caught her with a rope. Laid her, head uphill
And examined the lamb. A blood-ball swollen
Tight in its black felt, its mouth g More...
Oct 09, 2011
minnie
rated it: 
Everywhere there is desolation, pain and human despair, there is Crow perched, laughing, musing on all around him. An ancient force like some commentator on creation.These poems are harsh but also have black humour, and with each reading I found myself understanding them better.
Crow's Song Of Himself
When God hammered Crow
He made gold
When God roasted Crow in the sun
He made diamond
When God crushed Crow under weights
He made alcohol
When God More...
Crow's Song Of Himself
When God hammered Crow
He made gold
When God roasted Crow in the sun
He made diamond
When God crushed Crow under weights
He made alcohol
When God More...
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May 20, 2007
Paul
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In native American culture in particular, the Crow was seen as the eternal trickster, even a figure of malice in the forms of the Universe. In this pivitol collection, Hughes appropriates the Crow's mythic role and uses it as a mocking narrator to journey the horrors of the Twentieth Century, including the repressive events of Eastern Europe and the violent incursion of technology and post industrialisation into nature's den. There is a sadism in these poems, that initially arrests the reader, b
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Sep 21, 2011
Leonard
rated it:
Crow again ..... and again. This is probably the sixth to tenth time I've read this collection of poems which is one of the most original and impressive ever written. I remember how moved I was the first time I read it. It opened up poetry for me to new possiblities that I had not imagined before, and it still has a similar impact after reading it several times before. This is one of a handful of books that I regularly re-read. Another is "The Book of Questions" by Pablo Neruda whic
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Nov 03, 2010
Andrew
rated it:
I rarely read poetry, but I enjoyed this strange little book by Ted Hughes. It's full of dark imagery, violence and unexpected humour. The poems read like myths of the origins of the world, except that at the middle of them all is Crow, this anarchic, chaotic, ugly, violent figure, playing tricks on God and turning creation upside-down.
I was reminded of the Anansi figure in West Indian Folk Tales, himself of course of West African origin. I suspect Hughes drew on a lot of mythological More...
I was reminded of the Anansi figure in West Indian Folk Tales, himself of course of West African origin. I suspect Hughes drew on a lot of mythological More...
Jun 08, 2011
Kasandra
rated it:
One of those "classics" I'd not yet gotten around to reading, this is an amazingly dark and intense book, full of surreal and haunting imagery, but not without wry humor. It contains real horror and real emotion, and is mostly spoken in the voice of "Crow", who feels like a cross between a dark/negative Holy Ghost and a primal energy of the death that resides in all life -- not God, but a god, one who's ultimately a reflection of all that is egotistical, ugly, unc More...
Aug 27, 2008
Benito
rated it:
the finest cycle of poetry I've ever read - warm, meaty, harsh and crawing likes it's title suggests - bullets wouldn't through this fleshy example of what one could do with verse, just don't forget to turn the gas off...
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Sep 20, 2011
Cameron
rated it:
Dark, visceral collection of poems by Hughes. Completely changed my opinion of a poet I'd known as Plath's less-talented former husband and the author of the regrettable Birthday Letters. Below is one of my favorite passages, from Two Legends:
Black is the wet otter's head, lifted.
Black is the rock, plunging in foam.
Black is the gall lying on the bed of the blood.
Black is the earth-globe, one inch under,
An egg of blackness
Where sun and moon alternate their More...
Black is the wet otter's head, lifted.
Black is the rock, plunging in foam.
Black is the gall lying on the bed of the blood.
Black is the earth-globe, one inch under,
An egg of blackness
Where sun and moon alternate their More...
Dec 08, 2009
Chris
rated it:
My all time fav - the book that got me 'into' poetry while a teen. I realised that poetry wasn't all airy-fairy girlie stuff but can be dark, violent, sad, funny, spooky.... TH's masterpiece written under very dark circumstances. Crow's one of my fav literary characters too. No matter what man, other creatures and God Himself throws at Crow, he bounces back. A true survivor.
I managed to track down the old cassette recording that TH made. Playing this while reading the book makes the More...
I managed to track down the old cassette recording that TH made. Playing this while reading the book makes the More...
Aug 10, 2011
Really? I found this to be very ingenuine, very cliched. Maybe its my dislike of things that are overly fanciful, but to take a beautiful creature like the crow, and reduce it to a steteotypical symbol in order to exorcise his teenage school-boy demons...well, it just doesnt strike me as very good poetry.
Im open to having my mind changed, but Im,currently unimpressed!
Im open to having my mind changed, but Im,currently unimpressed!
May 11, 2010
Christina
rated it:
Sinfully decadent and disrespectful of the Divine. But, seriously, don't we all have the same underlying doubts and questions as Crow? Unlike Crow, we have the decorum not to show just how dark and ugly such doubts really are. So is Crow true to himself, thereby embodying the very truth he denies? Are we true to ourselves, thereby manifesting the depravity of man that Crow represents?
May 08, 2010
Rosa
rated it:
The book has been dedicated to the memory of Assia Wevill and her child Shura. I think Assia Wevill was really a challenging dramatic figure we can't ignore. The book starts with a poem called "Two Legends" I suppose these two legends are the legends of Sylvia Plath and Assia Wevill. The second legend is much darker and more tragic. A woman who commits suicide seven years after Plath's death and kills her child not to leave a trace. I think she was charming and impressive who caused
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Mar 30, 2009
Chris
rated it:
This is, quite simply, my favourite book of poetry.
How to entice you into reading it.....
Well, it's muscular, passionate and abstract. Hughes wields his verse like weapons, and carves himself a new landscape still bloody around the edges. It is a fantastical meditation on life through the black burned psyche of crow.
It can also be pretty funny.
How to entice you into reading it.....
Well, it's muscular, passionate and abstract. Hughes wields his verse like weapons, and carves himself a new landscape still bloody around the edges. It is a fantastical meditation on life through the black burned psyche of crow.
It can also be pretty funny.
Sep 10, 2007
James
rated it:
These must be my favorite of Hughes' poems. Myth-making at its best, Hughes creates a creation myth that can encompass the whole sadness of the earth, a sadness that includes the extreme joy and general devastation we've created for ourselves. Crow must be some archetype for the soul, whatever it is, but also the human, the child, God, the godhead. Crow is before God, but after; before man and woman, but after; before earth, and even sky, but dependent on them, and after. He is born of the screa
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Mar 22, 2010
Michael
rated it: 
I have tried rereading this recently, and find I cannot. The poems seem to so obviously set up a situation with the sole intention of knocking it down. There is no leeway: here it is, smash it. Is that all it has to say?
The Trickster figure is not solely an Amerindian cult motif, we also find it in Scandinavia (Loki), Greece (Prometheus), even Wales (Efnisien), and I should think amongst the Australian song cycles too.
The Crow is undifferentiated: normally the raven is consider More...
The Trickster figure is not solely an Amerindian cult motif, we also find it in Scandinavia (Loki), Greece (Prometheus), even Wales (Efnisien), and I should think amongst the Australian song cycles too.
The Crow is undifferentiated: normally the raven is consider More...
Jun 02, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
The ultimate collection of poetry by ted hughes, avid fans and critics alike should procure a copy to both sate and educate their opinions of hughes at his best. There should be a copy of this book in every poets arsenal.
Jul 17, 2009
Wayne
rated it:
I am dying to reread this book.
A fellow teacher loaned it to me several years ago and I have never forgotten the experience of these dark, cruel, violent,bizarre,clever,funny, unexpected poems.I expected to be finally bored, wondering for just how long Hughes could sustain this persona, this line he had chosen to take...and he never let up, never disappointed. It just rolled on, poem after poem after poem.
I realise I have never quite recovered from it.
I want to test the More...
A fellow teacher loaned it to me several years ago and I have never forgotten the experience of these dark, cruel, violent,bizarre,clever,funny, unexpected poems.I expected to be finally bored, wondering for just how long Hughes could sustain this persona, this line he had chosen to take...and he never let up, never disappointed. It just rolled on, poem after poem after poem.
I realise I have never quite recovered from it.
I want to test the More...
Jan 13, 2011
Nick
rated it:
The most fantastic collection of poetry which darkly brings together sex, love, death, philosophy and horror.
The character and concept of the crow are both genis in my opinion
The character and concept of the crow are both genis in my opinion
Oct 27, 2011
Annie
rated it:
If you are celebrating National Poetry Month, this is definitely a book to read. Dark poetry that brings you to the edge of the abyss of illusory human existence.
Jan 12, 2011
Lori
rated it:
This is one of those books that haunts you. The story of Crow and his fight with God and humanity, the beauty of the story. I believe these poems. I love these poems.
Mar 04, 2009
Janet
rated it:
I hate to see people dismiss Ted Hughes as "the man who killed Silvia Plath." He was a fine poet, whatever their pernicious effects on each other.
Nov 08, 2011
Aaron
rated it:
Ted Hughes' irreverent avatar "Crow" goes on an interesting odyssey. Hughes' lean adjectiveless prose contrasts with his heavy subject matter.
Jul 30, 2011
brilliantly dark and completely gripping poetry that takes you to the edge of night and stands you on the bleakest of precipices
Jan 18, 2010
Mezeinelli
rated it:
One of the best poets in the 20th century. Strong pictures and feelings. It's a must read.
Apr 20, 2009
Marian
rated it:
Discustingly genius. It would make a smart person hate themselves for days. Genius. Genius Poetry.
Dec 09, 2010
Kiddo
rated it:
If I could wholesale plagiarize anything, it would be this collection of poems.
Mar 08, 2010
Shasta8sisyphus
rated it:
pure genius, obviously. And definitely one to be savored repeatedly...
Apr 24, 2009
Sazuru
rated it:
A basic book, the way I see life on the planet now and poetry in English.
