Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Pied Beauty
I know that I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to seeing the beauty that is all around us in nature. In Gerald Manley Hopkins poem "Pied Beauty," he states, "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 all trades, their gear and tackle and trim" (775). This poem in general is talking about the beauty of God's creation. What I find interesting about this quotation that I have presented is that Hopkins is able to describe the colors of nature in such detail and in a way that is extremely creative. I have several writings where the writer is trying to describe nature or even an typical day, and I believe that Hopkins way of doing it is probably one of the best that I read. As I read this passage, I seemed to be taken to the many different places and seeing the different things that Hopkins is describing. This is probably driven from the love of nature that seemed to be disappearing before everyone's eyes as it is today. Most of his poems seem to be religious in context which is a lot different then many of them that have been read so far in this class. It is one thing to try to describe nature. It is another to help the reader see it.
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4 comments:
Robert,
Good focus on this poem by Hopkins, and good choice of a passage within it to discuss. Your discussion would be more effective, though, if you connected it more specifically to the passage you just quoted, looking at the individual words and images it contains.
rob,
you continue to impress me with the quotes that you pick from the text. I couldnt agree with you more about Hopkins' ability to paint a vivid picture of the beauty in nature. It is truely an art to be able to take the reader to a visual place in his mind. Like you said, many people can describe a scene but not many people can create a mental image in the minds of anyone who reads their words. Good job rob
Hopkins definitely painted a beautiful picture of the world to me. It made me think about all of the little details which God puts into this world to make it beautiful. I enjoyed reading your post and your ideas on the poem. Nice work.
I also enjoyed this particular poem by Hopkins. I must say that I do not stop to smell the roses so to speak. We all should stop to enjoy the nature around us. I enjoyed reading this blog.
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