Pied Beauty

"Pied Beauty" is a poem written by Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1877. The poem celebrates the beauty of diversity and the natural world, and calls on the reader to praise God, the creator of all these beautiful things. The poem is structured around a series of examples of "dappled things," or natural phenomena that are multi-colored or marked with a range of patterns. These include the sky, the markings on certain animals, various aspects of the landscape, and the tools and equipment used by different trades or professions. The poem emphasizes the variety and unpredictability of these things, and describes them as "counter, original, spare, strange." The final stanza shifts to a more general reflection on the beauty and diversity of the natural world, and calls on the reader to praise God for this beauty.

Here is an analysis of "Pied Beauty" by Gerard Manley Hopkins, line by line:

Line 1: "Glory be to God for dappled things"

The speaker begins the poem by praising God for the existence of things that are multi-colored or marked with a range of patterns.

Line 2: "For skies of couple-color as a brinded cow"

The speaker lists the sky as an example of a "dappled thing," comparing its multicolored appearance to the markings on a brinded cow (a cow with a coat of two different colors).

Line 3: "For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim"

The speaker describes the reddish markings on the skin of trout as "rose-moles," and says that they are arranged in a stippled pattern.

Line 4: "Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings"

The speaker lists the falling chestnuts that have been freshly roasted and the colorful wings of finches as additional examples of dappled things.

Line 5: "Landscape plotted and pieced--fold, fallow, and plough"

The speaker describes the landscape as being composed of a variety of different pieces, including fields that are "fold," "fallow," and "plough."

Line 6: "And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim"

The speaker mentions the various tools and equipment used by different trades or professions as further examples of dappled things.

Line 7: "All things counter, original, spare, strange"

The speaker emphasizes the diversity and unpredictability of the dappled things listed in the first stanza. They are "counter," or opposite; "original," or unique; "spare," or rare; and "strange," or unusual.

Line 8: "Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)"

The speaker suggests that the dappled things are constantly changing and difficult to fully understand or describe.

Line 9: "With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim"

The dappled things can exhibit a wide range of qualities, including swiftness and slowness, sweetness and sourness, and brightness and dimness.

Line 10: "He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change"  

The speaker attributes the creation of these diverse and beautiful things to God, whose beauty is unchanging.

Line 11: "Praise him." 

The speaker calls on the reader to praise God for the beauty of the natural world.

Overall, "Pied Beauty" is a celebration of the diverse and colorful natural world, and a call to appreciate and praise the creator of these beautiful things.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, Poetry analysis, Literary criticism, Nature poetry, Victorian poetry, Sprung rhythm, Dappled things, Beauty in diversity, Praising God, Natural world, Landscape, Changing beauty, Unchanging beauty