Quote of the Day

4.18.2008

Friday Poetry: The Windhover Gerard Manley Hopkins





The Windhover

To Christ our Lord

I caught this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

~ by Gerard Manley Hopkins


You can hear this expertly read by Don at Classic Poetry Aloud.



Here is the coding if you want a button with a link to this week's round-up.





:: this post is part of the Friday Poetry roundup hosted by Well-Read Child.



~Suzanne



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Gerald Manley Hopkins too and was thinking about doing a post on him for another Poetry Friday! And that recital really catches Hopkins' rhythm and inflection which so few people manage! Thank you for sharing the poem and audio.
Jenny

Anonymous said...

One of my favorites! Thanks for posting this.