Hopkins was extremely hard to understand for me. That is weird since he is a “modern” writer or should I say a “late Victorian/early modern” writer as mentioned at the top of page 773. I felt as lost as I did on some of the hard Romantic poems. I would have assumed word choices for a modern writer would have been easier to comprehend. I decided to write on “Pied Beauty” which inspired me the most. This sonnet is a tune of praise to God the Creator. The sonnet begins by stating this clearly, “Glory be to God for…” (1) and has a nice straight-forward end by concluding with, “Praise him.” (11). Hopkins is concerned with reflecting the splendor and diversity of the created world. For example, we are asked to consider the beauty of the “skies of couple colors as a brinded cow” (2) and then shortly after, we are directed to the minute detail and beauty of “rose-moles” (3) on swimming trout. Moreover, on the following verse, the beauty of “finches’ wings” (4) is contrasted with that of an entire landscape. Hopkins uses a particularly effective metaphor to describe the beauty of cankers: “Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls;” (4)
Here he is describing cankers that have just dropped from the tree. He is particularly trying to point out their shiny, red beauty when they first come out of the tree. He compares them to red hot coal burning in a fire. This effectively conveys both their brightness and their red color. However, we know that for Hopkins the presence of God is symbolized by light. So the presence of God in his creation is conveyed here in the fire metaphor and brings to mind the opening lines of the sonnet, “God’s Grandeur” (line 2-3 on page 774, other poem), for here the presence of God does “flame out” in the shiny, new cankers.
Moreover, this short poem keeps praising the infinite variety found in creation. However, the poet now gives emphasis to contrasting qualities rather than scale. We find opposing qualities put side by side for example, “swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim” (9)
Finally, we notice that throughout this entire sonnet, the poet has chronic succession of two words starting with “f”: ‘Fresh firecoal (4)… falls, finches’ (4) … fold, fallow (5) … fickle, freckled (8)… fathers forth (10).” Is there any significance behind that? A subliminal message he wants to convey? Perhaps the answer lies in the final phrase. It seems that the ‘ff’ is a kind of symbolism for God the Father (starting with F) whose creative hand is to be found everywhere in this world down below.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Ivan,
Many native English speakers find Hopkins difficult, so don't feel bad that you struggled with him. You do seem to have done a fine job of comprehending his point in this poem, though, as indicated by your explication of "Pied Beauty." (One error, however, is that the chestnuts that fall are not cankers.) As for the observation you make about Hopkins's tendency to pair words that begin with "f", perhaps the alliteration is supposed to suggest the pervasiveness of God's insistent presence, or maybe he just liked the overt artfulness (and non-"naturalness") of the repeated sounds.
I know what you mean when you say you felt lost... I dont really like reading poetry because it seems like I barely know whats going on.
Post a Comment