• Compose an essay in which you compare and contrast "Pied Beauty" with either John Keats's poem "Ode to a Nightingale" or Dylan Thomas's poem "The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower." Discuss what each poem reveals about the connection between humanity, divinity, and nature.

• Write a poem on any subject using sprung rhythm and alliteration. You can use any number of syllables per line, but you must maintain a consistent number of strong stresses per line (similar to Hopkins's "Pied Beauty," you can vary the number by one). You may choose to use rhyme or not. Write a brief separate paragraph explaining how the techniques of sprung rhythm and alliteration enhanced or hindered the poem's meaning. Finally, perform your poem and read your paragraph to a group.

• Hopkins’s poems often transition from a personal, sensual experience to a philosophical reflection. Write an essay discussing this transition with reference to at least three of his poems.

• Identify recurring images in Hopkins’s poems and write an essay on how these images relate to the themes of his poetry.

• Research Hopkins’s religious life and beliefs, and create a class presentation that connects your findings to his poetry.