Cataract of Lodore

by Robert Southey

Poet Laureate Southey's classic Georgian poem leads readers on a rollicking trip down Cumberland, England's famous waterfall, in an illustrated picture-book version of the poem.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate. Although his fame tends to be eclipsed by that of his contemporaries and friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey's verse enjoys enduring popularity. Moreover, he was a prolific letter writer, literary scholar, historian and biographer. His biographies include the life and works of John Bunyan, John Wesley, William Cowper, Oliver Cromwell and Horatio Nelson. The latter has rarely been out of print since its publication in 1813 and was adapted for the screen in the 1926 British film, Nelson.

Southey was also a renowned Portuguese and Spanish scholar, translating a number of works of those two countries into English and writing both a History of Brazil (part of his planned History of Portugal which was never completed) and a History of the Peninsular War. Perhaps his most enduring contribution to literary history is the immortal children's classic, The Story of the Three Bears, the original Goldilocks story.

Reviews

[Rochelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the idea behind the book, as well as Catrow's illustrations.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in my version (by Mordicai Gerstein) were delightful, but I really loved the poem. The poem, however, MUST be read out loud to appreciate it. My third-grade son, who loves words and rhythm, loved this poem. I was trying to get him to see how the words mimicked the waterfall, so as the rhythm of the words sped up, I asked him what he thought it was trying to show. He understood it was the water, flowing slowly at first and then faster and faster, but he said it also sounded like a heartbeat that speeds up during excitement. I think my son might have understood the poem even better than I did.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about water coming down a waterfall. It is really hard to read. It seems just a rhyming poem, which it does well, but really lacks a story to tell. It’s illustrated by David Catrow, and you can see his signature style. But his signature color is missing. It’s almost like he knew the story was boring, and couldn’t give it a proper scoring.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Southey had some fun with onomatopoeia.
"The Cataract of Lodore" is also found online at: poetrysoup.com

[Courtney Raymer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response: I had never heard of this poem before I picked it up off the shelf for this class, but I really liked this poem. It is a narrative poem so it not only tells a story but it is in a different style of writing which makes it interesting. I would definitely recommend reading it to a class because of the variety of elements within it.

Purpose:
-sounds: shows a lot of rhyming throughout the book that makes it fun for children to follow
-shape: on certain pages the writing looks like water flowing and that's what the story is about how the water flows through Lorde. This can show students that not all writing is in straight lines.
-personification: Since the whole story is describing the water and how it flows through out the book the the author gives the water human like characteristics. This will introduce this type of writing to children and they can see new ways of describing inanimate objects

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok this version I'm reading was done in 1991 by Dial Books for Young Readers, but it was the closest one to this version. It is illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein (who also did "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers"). It is a poem composed by the author for his three children, to describe at waterfall at Lodore (in the Lake Distict of England). It definitely has the most adjectives I've ever seen in one poem, to describe the waterfall itself, which seemed neverending (you will see what I mean when you read the poem).

[SARAH · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and the poetic format. I just wish that I knew more of the history of Lodore.