The Windhover Questions and Answers
The Windhover
What are the main themes of Hopkins's "The Windhover"?
The main themes of "The Windhover" are the glory and majesty of the natural world and how nature points to and reflects the glory and majesty of God.
The Windhover
Explain the use of imagery in Hopkins's "The Windhover".
In “The Windhover,” Hopkins uses images associated with royalty to express his sense of wonder at seeing a kestrel in flight. This king of the sky, one of nature's aristocrats, reminds readers in...
The Windhover
Describe the setting of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "The Windhover".
The setting of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "The Windhover" is at dawn, as indicated by phrases like "dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon" and "morning's minion." Dawn often symbolizes new life and hope,...
The Windhover
How does "The Windhover" by Hopkins depict a journey from the mundane to the spiritual?
"The Windhover" shows a journey from the mundane to the spiritual in the flight and stillness of the windhover. Its flight is majestic and royal, but in its "buckling" or standing still, it achieves...
The Windhover
What is Hopkins's concept of inscape in his poem "The Windhover"?
Hopkins's concept of inscape states that each thing has a unified complex of characteristics that make it what it is. In gleaning the inscape of a thing, we see why God created it. In "The...
The Windhover
How is the falcon depicted and what emotions does "The Windhover" communicate?
In "The Windhover," the falcon is depicted as regal and grand, symbolizing Christ. The bird's ability to hover and resist strong winds reflects mastery and valor. The poem communicates admiration and...
The Windhover
What does "blue-bleak" refer to in "The Windhover"?
The adjective "blue-bleak" refers to embers. This description is used to explain how beauty can be found in unlikely places.
The Windhover
What is the significance of this passage from "The Windhover" and what devices does Hopkins use?
The significance of the passage "Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here / Buckle!" exemplifies the speaker's admiration of various attributes of the falcon. These lines employ...
The Windhover
What is the form of "The Windhover" and what artistic reasons justify it? What literary devices are used and why?
The poem "The Windhover" closely resembles a Petrarchan sonnet with 14 lines, an ABBAABBA rhyme scheme in the octet, and a CDCDCD pattern in the sestet, yet deviates slightly with its use of sprung...
The Windhover
What special poetic language is used in "The Windhover" by Hopkins?
"The Windhover" by Hopkins employs special poetic language that is not typical of everyday conversation. Hopkins uses elaborate descriptions, such as referring to the falcon as "morning's minion" and...
The Windhover
How does "The Windhover" address Christ?
“The Windhover” is an address to Christ because the Crucifixion is central to the meaning of the poem, especially in the last six lines, the sestet.
The Windhover
Compare and contrast the view of nature in "Hawk Roosting" and "The Windhover".
Both "Hawk Roosting" and "The Windhover" focus on birds of prey but present contrasting views of nature. "Hawk Roosting" by Ted Hughes, told from the hawk's perspective, depicts raw and ruthless...
The Windhover
Can you explain the first four lines of "The Windhover" according to Hopkins' sprung rhythm theory?
In the first four lines of Gerard Manley Hopkins's "The Windhover" and elsewhere in the poem, Hopkins uses sprung rhythm to represent the flight of the bird. Sprung rhythm involves alliteration,...