Pied Beauty
Poetry
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Gerard Manley Hopkins
Pied Beauty Main Text
Pied Beauty
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By Gerard Manley Hopkins
Glory be to God for dappled things –
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 áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle,...
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Pied Beauty Key Info
Key Facts
Author: Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
Title of the Author: English poet and Jesuit priest
Full Title: Pied Beauty
Total Lines: 11 lines
Stanza: 1 stanza (called a curtal sonnet)
Genre: Poetry (Religious / Nature poem)
Published Date: 1918 (posthumously)
Written Date: 1877
Form: Curtal Sonnet (shortened sonnet form by Hopkins)
Meter: Sprung Rhythm (Hopkins’ own st...
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Pied Beauty Character
The Speaker: The speaker is Gerard Manley Hopkins himself, a priest and poet. He praises God for the beauty in all things, especially the varied and “dappled” aspects of nature.
God: Though not a character in the usual sense, God is the central figure being praised in the poem. God is the creator of all the colorful, unique, and changing things in nature.
Nature (The “Dappled Things”): Nature itse...
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Pied Beauty Summary
The Diverse Beauty of Nature: The poem is about the diversity and variety of nature’s forms. The poet praises God because He has created many colors, patterns, spots, and unique things in the world. Right at the beginning, he praises “dappled things,” meaning those things that are mixed or spotted with different colors or patterns.
The poet talks about the different colors of the sky, like a “brin...
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Pied Beauty Themes
God’s Creation and Praise: The poem shows how the poet feels happy and thankful for all the different and colorful things in nature. He praises God for making everything beautiful, even things that look strange or mixed up.
Beauty in Variety and Imperfection: The poet tells us that beauty is not only in perfect or plain things. Even things with spots, colors, and different shapes are beautiful....
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Pied Beauty Literary Device
Figures of Speech
Alliteration: Hopkins repeats the same consonant sounds at the beginning of words to give the poem a musical rhythm. Example: “With swift, slow; sweet, sour” — the repeated ‘s’ sounds make the line smooth and musical. It also shows the contrast in nature in a flowing way.
Imagery: Hopkins uses vivid and descriptive words to help us see and feel the beauty in nature. Example:...
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Notes
Explore 6 detailed notes related to Pied Beauty. Each note provides in-depth analysis, explanations, and critical insights.