Gerard Manley Hopkins’s Poem “Pied Beauty”, Book Review Example

In Gerard Manley Hopkins’s poem “Pied Beauty,” we are immediately shown that the author is paying homage to God for everything that He has created.  From the beginning of the story to the very end, he describes the world and how he sees it, and gives credit to God as the Father of the Earth.  The author describes that “nature is ‘stippled’ with good and bad” (Hinkson, par. 1).  Through this description of nature, we gain a deeper understanding of the postivie and negative impacts that nature has on us.  As we continue to read, we find out that “God ‘fathers-forth’ as any parent would, letting his creations grow and struggle to become what he has intended.  By using a ‘pied’ form, Hopkins successfully reinforces his theme that ‘brinded’ beauty surrounds us” (Hinkson, par. 1).  We come to understand that God is a Father who chooses to step away from the action of the world he created, and just watches as the fish swim, trees grow, and mankind evolves.  Hopkins’ use of vocabulary is very typical for his era.  Words such as “brinded”, “pied”, and “stippled” are very seldom used in our current English language here in the United States, but we can still gain an understanding of the sonnet when closely reading it.  This vocabulary helps set the stage for the tone of the poem and continues to evolve as the theme of God’s grace and glory is spread throughout the poem.

The author’s choice of words is very unique and requires a deeper analysis in order to further understand the complexities of the poem.  The sentence structure within Hopkins’ sonnet is quite different than some of the more modern poems that exist today.  The final stanza of the sonnet provides the best example of the word usage throughout the poem:

“All things counter, original, spáre, strange;

Whatever is fickle, frecklèd (who knows how?)

With swíft, slów; sweet, sóur; adázzle, dím;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is pást change: Praise Him.”

Many of the adjectives that Hopkins opts to use within this stanza are very unique and are used to help describe the characteristics that are specific to nature and the glorious creations of God.  By using the word “strange”, we understand that the author does not believe that everything is glorious and beautiful in this world.  There are many things that we do not completely understand, and there are horrible things that exist that may “adazzle” or “dim” our view on the world.  Still, the author chooses to give credit and glory to God for his creation and enabling us with the opportunity to live in His world.

There is one major incidence of metaphorical usage that is clear in the first stanza of the sonnet.  This comes from the line “gear and tackle and trim”; whereby, we can draw a very deep understanding from this line.  “This definition offers a possibility that Hopkins was writing figuratively, using a fisherman as a metaphor for all mankind waiting to meet his maker.  The tackle and trim represent any tool that man is using to sustain his existence” (Hinkson, par. 2).  The use of a metaphor here enables us to step back from the poem and consider the multiple ways that we use tools and to maintain our everyday lives.  Here, the author succeeds in connecting the real world with the world in which he is attempting to describe through his sonnet.  In this scenario, the metaphor is a powerful tool that helps the reader gain a deeper appreciation for the work and examine the complexities, faults and beauty associated with the world.  Perhaps, it was Hopkins’ goal all along to convince the reader to give glory to God for everything He has created.

A second poem entitled “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns is very similar in that is contains very different verbiage and wording that what we are typically accustomed to hearing or reading today.  There are several words that are used to help suggest the time period in which the poem was originally written.  Words such as “twere” and “play’d” are included within this poem and are typical of works that were written before the 20^th Century.  This choice of words can sometimes be a deterrent for readers today because of the lack of their usage in our everyday conversations and modern literature.  However, the choice of words is very important for the reader to understand the overall theme that Burns is attempting to portray.

The overall theme that Burns uses throughout the poem is the narrator’s cry to a lover that is being deeply missed from the thousands of miles that separates them.  The tone of the poem is very up-beat and energetic as the narrator continues to recall all of the wonderful things that help describe his “luve.”  It is clear that the word “luve” is meant to be a play on the narrator’s accented-language, as well as a possible nickname that the narrator has for his lover.  In the third stanza, we are able to gain a much deeper appreciation for the theme:

“Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o’ life shall run.”

Here, the narrator is explaining that he will never stop loving his “luve”, despite the fact that time will go on and life will never stop.  The author uses phrases like “till a’ the seas gang dry” to help illustrate that the narrator’s love will not cease, even if an impossible action like the seas running dry should occur.  The author is able to maintain his theme throughout the entire poem and the reader gains a deeper appreciate for his work because of the choice of words that help amplify the overall theme.

References

Burns, R. (n.d.). Robert burns country: a red, red rose. Retrieved on October 20, 2009, from Web site: http://www.robertburns.org/works/444.shtml

Hinkson, M. (n.d.). Patriarchal Wisdom in “Pied Beauty”. Retrieved on October 20, 2009, from Web site: http://www.ayjw.org/articles.php?id=695623

Hopkins, G. (n.d.). Pied beauty – Hopkins. Retrieved on October 20, 2009, from Web site: http://www.potw.org/archive/potw162.html

Rice.edu. (1999, May 04). A red, red rose — robert burns. Retrieved on October 20, 2009, from Web site: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/81.html