Summary of the Poem, The Windhover for BA students

 

Summary of the Poem, The Windhover

The Windhover is a sonnet written by Gerard Manley Hopkins in the year 1877. Hopkins dedicated the poem "to Christ our Lord". Hopkins is famous for his usage of sprung rhythm. He expresses his religious thoughts by highlighting the beauty of nature. He was inspired by nature and the manifestation of God in every living thing. In this poem Hopkins describes the beauty of a windhover, a bird of prey. This bird hovers around the mid -air during its hunt.

In the first stanza of the poem the poet admires the beauty of the bird. He hails the bird as the Prince of daylight. The bird flies in the mid – air with its majestic wings.  During flight it keeps full control over the air like a man controlling his horse. The bird motionlessly glides downwards like a man sliding in a snow. The way the bird dived exposed its buff over the strong wind. In the poet’s imagination, the windhover sits at a great height, looking proud, with authoritative look.

A Windhover has the attributes of beauty, honour, air, and feather. The ability and incredible beauty of this Falcon is designed by God’s mastery over his creation. The poet readily surrenders to Christ the creator of this Universe. The poet is able to see the grandeur in the falcon after surrendering himself to God. The sight of the bird is billion times lovelier than is visible at a superficial view. The speaker addresses the bird (Christ) as Chevalier.

Hopkins in his poem The Gods Grandeur explores the greatness of God in creating this wonderful universe,

“The world is charged with the grandeur of God

 It will flame out, like shining from shook foil.”