dappled things Here dappled things means things with spots or colours Hopkins praises God for creating the sky with mixed colours spotted cows and the dots on swimming trout a kind of fish He also praises the red-brown fallen chestnuts and the beautiful wings of finches All these images show variety and beauty in God s creation Hopkins also writes Swift slow sweet sour adazzle dim These images show us that all things in nature fast or slow sweet or sour bright or dim and good or bad all are God s creation Imagery of the Windhover In The Windhover Hopkins uses the image of a falcon windhover flying in the sky He describes the falcon s beauty and power as it flies It is riding the wind It dives glides and turns beautifully in the air The poet depicts it as the morning s favorite and the prince of daylight Morning's minion king- dom of daylight's dauphin This detailed image of the windhover gives us an idea of the bird s beauty and majesty The bird's stunning flight is like a sign pointing towards God's glory Imagery of Fire and Light Hopkins often uses fire and light as images of God s beauty In The Windhover he draws an image of fire coming out of Jesus Christ He says this fire is lovelier and more dangerous This fire means Christ s divine beauty and power In the same poem Hopkins talks about embers pieces of burning coal The embers break and show bright red inside This image shows that hidden beauty can be found inside simple things like embers glowing when they break This image also shows us God s hidden glory in the world Imagery of People and Work In Felix Randal written in Felix was a farrier a blacksmith for horses He made horseshoes He was a young and strong man before his illness and sudden death To show us Felix s youthful energy Hopkins uses the imagery of great grey drayhorse and hardy horseshoes A drayhorse is a big strong horse that can pull heavy loads The poet also describes Felix as Mould of man big-boned and hardy-handsome This image shows us Felix was a strong and lively man before his death In this way Hopkins suggests that death can come for anyone at any time Imagery of Seasons and Leaves In Spring and Fall Hopkins uses the image of falling leaves to talk about death and human life The child Margaret cries when she sees the leaves falling in autumn Hopkins writes It is the blight man was born for The image of falling leaves shows that human life like nature must face death and change This is a part of God s plan In conclusion Hopkins s poems use rich and beautiful imagery to show nature God s glory human life and spiritual truths His images of birds colors fire leaves and daily work help us see God s presence in the world His use of imagery makes his poems lively and meaningful His poetry touches the heart of the reader