The Windhover
"The Windhover" is a sonnet by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889). It was written on 30 May 1877,[1] but not published until 1914, when it was included as part of the collection Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hopkins dedicated the poem "To Christ our Lord".
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird, – the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!
No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.
"Windhover" is another name for the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). The name refers to the bird's ability to hover in midair while hunting prey. In the poem, the narrator admires the bird as it hovers in the air, suggesting that it controls the wind as a man may control a horse. The bird then suddenly swoops downwards and "rebuffed the big wind". The bird can be viewed as a metaphor for Christ or of divine epiphany.
"The Windhover" is an example of sprung rhythm, a poetic rhythm designed to imitate the rhythm of natural speech. Sprung rhythm "is metrical system devised by Gerard Manley Hopkins composed of one- to four-syllable feet that start with a stressed syllable. The spondee replaces the iamb as a dominant measure, and the number of unstressed syllables varies considerably from line to line. According to Hopkins, its intended effect was to reflect the dynamic quality and variations of common speech, in contrast to the monotony of iambic pentameter. His own poetry illustrates its use; though there have been few imitators, the spirit and principles of sprung rhythm influenced the rise of free verse in the early 20th century".[2].
Line one, for example, has 10 syllables and 5 beats (stressed syllables): I cáught this mórning mórning's mínion, kíng- while line two has 16 syllables but also 5 beats (stressed syllables): dom of dáylight's dáuphin, dapple-dáwn-drawn Fálcon, in his ríding.[3]
Hopkins called "The Windhover" "the best thing [he] ever wrote".[4] It commonly appears in anthologies and has lent itself to many interpretations. It was recited by the title character in the Simpson's episode Diggs (The Simpsons) "Diggs"
References
External links
- Foundation, Poetry. "The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins". Poetry Foundation.
- "The Windhover" study guide
The Windhover public domain audiobook at LibriVox (multiple versions)
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