Every once in a while I like to reveal little known secrets about myself. Well, this review of the great resource Working it Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert from Everyday Education, LLC actually combines two of my favorite things. One that I'm pretty sure most of my readers already know about and the other probably not.
Most of you know that I love reading the Bible and spending time with the Lord. As I read more and more of God's Word I love it even more. I will spend as much as three hours a day devoting and praying.
However, what a lot of you may not realize is that I love poetry. No, I'm not one to go to the park, sit under a tree and read poetry aloud or something like that, but I still love poetry. I think it's because of the great teaching I had in high school. I remember one class where we spent a good part of a semester reading great poets and learning how to write poetry. I loved it and still pick up books to read some of my favorite poets.
So, when the opportunity came to review Working it Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert I jumped at the chance. You see, I found out when doing my research, this book isn't just about his poetry, it is actually a devotional book that uses his poetry and combines it with great Biblical truths. It seemed like a great match for me and, thankfully, we were invited to use it ourselves and not just with our kids if we wanted, so I decided to do this review on my own.
I'm not sure if I had ever heard of George Herbert or not, at least I don't recall reading his poetry, but the more I have used this devotional the more I am liking him and his work. He was a Christian poet and his poems, at least the ones in the downloaded ebook that I received, are full of great Biblical themes and meaning. The themes that are touched upon in Working it Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert are:
Looking Back, Moving Forward
Letting Go
Confession
Grace
Separation
Petition
Praise
Depending on God
Grief
Special Blessings of the Church
and more
In each section, there are several poems that represent each theme.
George Herbert is very deep and his poems can be sometimes difficult to understand and follow at first glance, but with the help of this great book I am beginning to learn to not only understand his work but to apply it to my Christian living as well.
I love how the author, Joseph L. Womack has organized this devotional. For each poem there are five steps:
The Big Picture
The Parts of the Picture
The Parts of the Picture Come Together
Reflections
Scriptures for Further Reflection
After reading the poem, the author gives us The Big Picture. The Big Picture is just a basic overview of the poem, what it is about and how it applies to God's Word. He then breaks the poem into parts and explains each stanza in "The Parts of the Picture". After breaking it down, he puts them back together once again to talk about how it fits all together. In he Reflections section, there are questions asked for us to reflect on what the poem is saying and how it applies to our Christian walk. Finally, the author supplies several scriptures if we want to explore the topic even more. It's all one complete package and works wonderfully. It is suggested that you take about a week per poem to work through each section.
Lest you think that this is all there is to this wonderful devotional, let me explain that there is much more. Although this isn't a complete poetry course, it is designed to help students understand poetry and how to analyze poetry. The method that the author uses to break down each poem can be used to analyze and learn from other poets and their writings.
As I said above, this is all one big package and it is awesome. I plan on turning to this resource over and over again in my Christian walk. To find out more about Working it Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert from Everyday Education, LLC just click on any one of the highlighted links above. Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed this item plus other items from Everyday Education, LLC and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Devoting!
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