GerardManleyHopkins

CompleteText

TheWindhover

ToChristourLord
Icaughtthismorningmorningsminion,king
domofdaylightsdauphin,dappledawndrawnFalcon,inhisriding
Oftherollinglevelunderneathhimsteadyair,andstriding
Highthere,howherunguponthereinofawimplingwing
Inhisecstasy!thenoff,offforthonswing,
Asaskatesheelsweepssmoothonabowbend:thehurlandgliding
Rebuffedthebigwind.Myheartinhiding
Stirredforabird,theachieveof,themasteryofthething!
Brutebeautyandvalourandact,oh,air,pride,plume,here
Buckle!ANDthefirethatbreaksfromtheethen,abillion
Timestoldlovelier,moredangerous,Omychevalier!
Nowonderofit:sheerplodmakesploughdownsillion
Shine,andbluebleakembers,ahmydear,
Fall,gallthemselves,andgashgoldvermillion.

Summary
Thewindhoverisabirdwiththerareabilitytohoverintheair,
essentiallyflyinginplacewhileitscansthegroundinsearchofprey.The
poetdescribeshowhesaw(orcaught)oneofthesebirdsinthemidstof
itshovering.Thebirdstrikesthepoetasthedarling(minion)ofthe
morning,thecrownprince(dauphin)ofthekingdomofdaylight,drawn
bythedappledcolorsofdawn.Itridestheairasifitwereonhorseback,
movingwithsteadycontrollikeariderwhoseholdonthereinissureand
firm.Inthepoetsimagination,thewindhoversitshighandproud,tightly
reinedin,wingsquiveringandtense.Itsmotioniscontrolledand
suspendedinanecstaticmomentofconcentratedenergy.Then,inthe
nextmoment,thebirdisoffagain,nowlikeaniceskaterbalancingforces
ashemakesaturn.Thebird,firstmatchingthewindsforceinorderto
staystill,nowrebuff[s]thebigwindwithitsforwardpropulsion.Atthe
samemoment,thepoetfeelshisownheartstir,orlurchforwardoutof
hiding,asitweremovedbytheachieveof,themasteryofthe
birdsperformance.
Theopeningofthesestetservesasbothafurtherelaborationonthebirds

movementandaninjunctiontothepoetsownheart.Thebeauty,
valour,andact(likeair,pride,andplume)herebuckle.
Buckleistheverbhere;itdenoteseitherafastening(likethebuckling
ofabelt),acomingtogetherofthesedifferentpartsofacreaturesbeing,
oranacquiescentcollapse(likethebucklingoftheknees),inwhichall
partssubordinatethemselvesintosomelargerpurposeorcause.Ineither
case,aunificationtakesplace.Atthemomentofthisintegration,a
gloriousfireissuesforth,ofthesameorderasthegloryofChristslife
andcrucifixion,thoughnotasgrand.

Form
Theconfusinggrammaticalstructuresandsentenceorderinthissonnet
contributetoitsdifficulty,buttheyalsorepresentamasterfuluseof
language.Hopkinsblendsandconfusesadjectives,verbs,andsubjectsin
ordertoechohisthemeofsmoothmerging:thebirdsperfectimmersion
intheair,andthefactthathisselfandhisactionareinseparable.Note,
too,howimportanttheingendingistothepoemsrhymescheme;it
occursinverbs,adjectives,andnouns,linkingthedifferentpartsofthe
sentencestogetherinanintenseunity.Agreatnumberofverbsare
packedintoashortspaceoflines,asHopkinstriestonaildownwithas
muchdescriptiveprecisionaspossibletheexactcharacterofthebirds
motion.
TheWindhoveriswritteninsprungrhythm,ameterinwhichthe
numberofaccentsinalinearecountedbutthenumberofsyllablesdoes
notmatter.ThistechniqueallowsHopkinstovarythespeedofhislines
soastocapturethebirdspausingandracing.Listentothehovering
rhythmoftherollinglevelunderneathhimsteadyair,andthearched
brightnessofandstridinghighthere.Thepoemslowsabruptlyatthe
end,pausinginawetoreflectonChrist.

Commentary
ThispoemfollowsthepatternofsomanyofHopkinsssonnets,inthata
sensuousexperienceordescriptionleadstoasetofmoralreflections.Part
ofthebeautyofthepoemliesinthewayHopkinsintegrateshismasterful
descriptionofabirdsphysicalfeatwithanaccountofhisownhearts
responseattheendofthefirststanza.However,thesestethaspuzzled
manyreadersbecauseitseemstodivergesowidelyfromthematerial
introducedintheoctave.Atlinenine,thepoemshiftsintothepresent
tense,awayfromtherecollectionofthebird.Thehorseandrider
metaphorwithwhichHopkinsdepictedthewindhoversmotionnowgive
waytothephrasemychevalieratraditionalMedievalimageofChrist

asaknightonhorseback,towhichthepoemssubtitle(ordedication)
givesthereaderaclue.Thetransitionbetweenoctaveandsestetcomes
withthestatementinlines911thatthenatural(brute)beautyofthe
birdinflightisbutasparkincomparisonwiththegloryofChrist,whose
grandeurandspiritualpowerareabilliontimestoldlovelier,more
dangerous.
Thefirstsentenceofthesestetcanreadaseitherdescriptiveor
imperative,orboth.Theideaisthatsomethingglorioushappenswhena
beingsphysicalbody,will,andactionareallbroughtintoaccordance
withGodswill,culminatingintheperfectselfexpression.Hopkins,
realizingthathisownheartwasinhiding,ornotfullycommittedtoits
ownpurpose,drawsinspirationfromthebirdsperfectlyselfcontained,
selfreflectingaction.Justasthehoveringistheactionmostdistinctive
andselfdefiningforthewindhover,sospiritualstrivingismansmost
essentialaspect.Atmomentswhenhumansarriveatthefullnessoftheir
moralnature,theyachievesomethinggreat.Butthatgreatnessnecessarily
palesincomparisonwiththeultimateactofselfsacrificeperformedby
Christ,whichneverthelessservesasourmodelandstandardforourown
behavior.
Thefinaltercetwithinthesestetdeclaresthatthisphenomenonisnota
wonder,butratheraneverydayoccurrencepartofwhatitmeanstobe
human.Thisstriving,farfromexhaustingtheindividual,servestobring
outhisorherinnerglowmuchasthedailyuseofametalplow,instead
ofwearingitdown,actuallypolishesitcausingittosparkleandshine.
Thesuggestionisthatthereisaglittering,luminouscoretoevery
individual,whichaconcertedreligiouslifecanexpose.Thesubsequent
imageisofembersbreakingopentorevealasmolderinginterior.
Hopkinswordsthisimagesoastorelatetheconceptbacktothe
Crucifixion:Theverbgash(whichdoublesforgush)suggeststhe
woundingofChristsbodyandthesheddingofhisgoldvermilion
blood.