Pied Beauty Flashcards
Meaning:
In the poem, the author expresses his gratitude in God for making all the beautiful things that we now see in this world
First 3 lines
The poem, celebrating colours in nature. Opens like a prayer by praising God, colours in the environment. Hopkins shows through synonyms for colour such as pied, dappled, couple colour and freckled.
Similes compares colours the sky flaunts, the shades observed on the cattle.
He discloses how he observes nature by commenting on the beauty of the colours on the trout. IMAGERY!
Second 3 lines
Use of a metaphor, compares chestnut falling to a live fire coal. Hopkins comments on variation in colours and the beauty of the finch.
Hopkins shifts attention from the elements/creatures, to the landscape developed by man, variations in colour that can be seen through human activity. The different hues that he sees on landscapes, plotted, barren or agrarian land.
The poet sees colour/diversity even in equipment/things used by man for trade.
Third 3 lines
References to variation in opposites through the use of oxymoron. Talks about colours/patterns seen in everything around him, natural/synthetic, and in abundance/scarcity.
Using rhetoric, Hopkins invites the reader to think about the colours/patterns in nature and wonder about the creator.
He uses opposites here by listing ‘swift, slow, sweet, sour, adazzled, dim’.
Final 2 lines
Hopkins appreciates the variety in nature, refers to God as the ‘father’ metaphorically. He credits God with the creation around him and also highlights that while everything God creates varies, he himself does not change. Hopkins praises God and ends the poem like a prayer.
