40 Favorite Hymns of the Christian Faith: A Closer Look at Their Spiritual and Poetic Meaning
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Overview
Every hymn begins its life as a poem—and we can give our favorite hymns fresh life by returning to their poetic roots. This anthology of several centuries’ worth of great hymns invites us to experience these works as devotional poetry—to slow down and savor their well-turned phrases and evocative language. English professor Leland Ryken provides some historical background for each hymn, but his focus is on literary analysis. Combined with relevant Scripture texts, the result is a wonderfully devotional and poetic study of the Christian faith.
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- Features an anthology of several centuries’ worth of great hymns
- Invites readers to experience these works as devotional poetry
- Provides some historical background for each hymn, as well as a focus on literary analysis
Reviews
1 rating
Glenn Crouch
1/30/2024
I’ve read a few books over the years looking at the background of various hymns and songs, and all of them have really been of a devotional nature. Some, of course, were promoted as devotional works, whereas others just worked well in that space. This book is different. Because of the analysis of the poetry side of each hymn, it ends up having a more scholarly feel - not that that is a bad thing. While many of the hymns were ones I knew well, there were several that I did not know. I appreciated that :) Given that this is not a big book, and that for each of the 40 hymns chosen you get some of the historical / biographical background, some of the spiritual background, and the poetical analysis, I found myself often wanting more. Perhaps some references to get more info would have improved things a bit. Worthwhile addition to those seeking more info on hymns.