Gerald Manley Hopkins wrote in the Victorian Age of the nineteenth century. Hopkins's writing stands out amid the crowd of English poets of this period because his interest was finding the unusual in whatever caught his interest. In his poem "Pied Beauty," the poet scrutinizes dotted and spotted things and finds them beautiful.
The word "pied" in the title refers to having two or more colors. That is what Hopkins epitomizes in this poem.
Hopkins begins as though praying to God, thanking him for providing the world with spotted things.
Glory to God for dappled things--
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
Each line of the poem mentions something the author finds attractive that has more than color:
Line 2-the multi-colored sky compared to a brindled cow
Line 3-spots that look like moles on the side of the trout
Line 4-chestnuts in their green, spiked holders;and the little finches's mottled wings
Line...
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5-the beautiful English landscapes, whether plowed or uncultivated
Line 7-the tradesmen and their types of gear and tools
Line 8- all things that are different, original or unique
Line 9-anything that is freckled--it is does not matter how it got that way.
Line 10-offering choices of fast and slow; sugary or sour; bright or dim
Line 11-the old with their aged spots
Thank God for all. The poem has gone full circle returning to the original idea of thanking God for all the blessing of dotted, odd things. Hopkins' attitude toward God's creatures implies his love for nature.
As in the story of the Pied Piper, the children were enthralled by the man who played the pipe. The same is true for Manley; he loves all of nature and on this day, most especially dappled things.