WINDHOVER--To Christ our Lord

WINDHOVER--To Christ our Lord

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844 - 1889)

I caught this morning morning's minion, Kingdom

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 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: sheer plod makes plough down sillion

Shine, and blue --bleak embers, ah my dear,

Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.

Glossary:

The windhover: a kestrel, a small hawk that hovers in the wind

minion : wings of a pet bird

dauphin: heir (figuratively)

rolling level underneath him steady air : this refers to the buoyancy of the air to lift up the bird while flying.

how he rung :  the line brings out the poet's joy and surprise

'rung upon the rein' : checked at the rein's end i.e., the speed of flying.

Buckle: to fasten

chevalier: a knight of the medieval times

sillion: furrow made by ploughing

ah, my dear: refers to Jesus Christ as the subtitle of the poem indicates.

fall …. Vermilion: this is a reference to Christ's bleeding on the crucifix.

Summary:

                           

Gerard Manley Hopkins was the pioneer of the Modern English verse. Like many other poets he too was highly experimental in writing the modern verse. As a poet, he has the originality of thought and style. His poems are capturing at the beauty and splendour of the Nature, which he saw as a manifestation of God's glory. His concepts of inscape, instress and sprung rhythm gave rise to new aesthetic theory and today he is seen as the first of the moderns. But his critics often commented that his poetry was imperfect in many ways.

As a parson G. M. Hopkins glorifies the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the poem The Windhover. The windhover, the falcon, symbolises the spiritual majesty and the glory of Jesus Christ.

One day, early in the morning Hopkins saw a falcon flying. It seemed the steady air held him up in his flight. The flight of the bird and gliding with its stretched wings was so majestic. He sails smoothly and glided over. It is just a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend.  The majesty of the brute beauty and valorous act appease our eyes and gladden our hearts. The chivalrous heroic deeds are lovely though it sounds dangerous. The furrows made by plough while ploughing reminds us the past activities of Jesus Christ and suffering himself on the Cross.

Jesus Christ suffered the inexplicable pain inflicted on him at the time of crucification was a supreme sacrifice. This indicates the glory and spiritual height he attained. Thus G. M. Hopkins poems are full of religious with pure spiritual experience.

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