Gerard Manley Hopkins' Pied Beauty

Analysis of Gerard Manley Hopkin's Pied Beauty

Summary:

Line1: Glory be to God for dappled things –

Hopkins' Pied Beauty is a tribute to the beauty of nature as the work of the creator God. As a Jesuit priest, Hopkins often introduced the theme of God's magnificence in his poetry. Line 1 clearly rings with fervour for God for creating "dappled things". Dappled means patches of differing colours. Hence it can be inferred that Hopkins is grateful for the variety in hues. For Hopkins was obssessed with the concept of "inscape" a term which means the individual essence of an object. It celebrates the uniqueness in the subject. If we read the entire poem and apply the principle of Gestalt, the dapples of colour could refer to the many facets of nature, be it visual beauty, diligence and unconventionality. It may be noted that God is associated with the heavens. In fact line 1 summarises the message of the poem.

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;