Hopkins was a very religious man which was made obvious through his works. He payed tribute to both God and nature throughout his works. Hopkins was not my favorite author that we have read so far, and I thought many of his poems were very similar. I had trouble finding a meaning beyond what was written in the poems. Of all his works, I liked "Pied Beauty" the best.
In this poem, Hopkins is praising God for his wonderful creations. He recognizes that God is responsible for all of nature and Hopkins praises God for the beauty he sees throughout the world. The poem begins with, "Glory be to God for dappled things-"(1). Here Hopkins is thanking God for all the things that are different in the world. I think that Hopkins appreciates all of nature...including the things that many may see as imperfections. I think this is an important concept in society today. I don't think people can appreciate beauty in its rawest form, so many people want to try to change themselves to fit in and be considered "pretty" by the standards of society. In doing this, they lose the natural beauty that they already had.
Hopkins gives some examples of the things that he is so thankful for by writing, "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;/ Landscape plotted and pieced- fold, fallow, and plough;/ And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim."(2-6). Of all of the things listed, none are things that people would traditionally find beauty in, but Hopkins is able to find beauty in all of God's creations and he can appreciate these because of their differences. I believe Hopkins wants the reader to acknowledge the diversity that exists in people and in nature and try to appreciate that diversity because it is what makes certain things special and what makes them stand out.
In the end of the poem Hopkins writes, "He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:/ Praise him."(10-11). These two lines just bring the reader back to the original idea that God is the creator of everything beautiful that exists, and that there is a certain beauty to all that God has created whether it is easily seen or not. This beauty that God has created is meant to be appreciated and it is important to praise God for giving us such a wonderful place to live.
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3 comments:
Heather,
Good job of wrestling with the meanings in this challenging poet's works. I think you pursue the correct approach to Hopkins--focusing on the text and paying careful attention to particular passages. Sorry he was not one of your favorites, but I can't say he is for me, either.
I think you did a good job trying to figure out what Hopkins was trying to say and I also think you did a better job than me... When I read it, it didnt really make much sense.
This authors attention to nature is beautiful. I agree to him not being my favorite of the period. His descriptions are vivid.
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