Pied Beauty
How does Hopkins vividly convey a particular idea regarding the beauty of the world in “Pied Beauty”?
“Pied Beauty” is a poem which focuses on the things which many people consider to be imperfect and unaesthetic. It’s about finding beauty where others see flaws; it’s about the glory of God and the wonder of life. In fact, the beauty of the flawed, spotty and dotted surrounds us every day: it is built harmoniously into nature. The poem is essentially centred on the ‘yin and yang’ of nature how its imperfections make it so perfect and underpinning this is a feeling of wonder and awe – Hopkins is stunned, almost, by the creative genius that comes from God. More than anything else, there is a profound sense of joy and celebration that permeate through the poem and through the imagery, listing and technical approach to language throughout the poem, Hopkins attempts to reflect the intricacy, aestheticism and beautiful craftedness of all things flawed that we so often deplore.
Hopkins describes the trout’s speckles as “stippled” as stippled creates a spotted pattern. “Spots” have connotations of flaws suggesting the trout are imperfect. “Stipple” is a painting technique used to create spots/texture which shows us that Hopkins thinks of God almost like an artist who sculpts his creation: ‘landscape plotted and pieced’ to create a masterpiece i.e. the world. Hopkins believes the imperfect things in life are the most beautiful he describes them as a piece of art, suggesting God created them like that purposefully, highlighting their uniqueness and beauty and reflecting the aesthetic nature of the poem. ‘Nature is within God’s work’ seems to be a theme of his poem also demonstrated by the structure of the poem. Everything is God’s, therefore nothing is flawed. ‘Glory be to God…Praise him.’ shows how grateful Hopkins is for the uniqueness and beauty of the world because God makes no mistakes.
The parallelism of the beginning and end correspond to a larger symmetry within
“Pied Beauty” is a poem which focuses on the things which many people consider to be imperfect and unaesthetic. It’s about finding beauty where others see flaws; it’s about the glory of God and the wonder of life. In fact, the beauty of the flawed, spotty and dotted surrounds us every day: it is built harmoniously into nature. The poem is essentially centred on the ‘yin and yang’ of nature how its imperfections make it so perfect and underpinning this is a feeling of wonder and awe – Hopkins is stunned, almost, by the creative genius that comes from God. More than anything else, there is a profound sense of joy and celebration that permeate through the poem and through the imagery, listing and technical approach to language throughout the poem, Hopkins attempts to reflect the intricacy, aestheticism and beautiful craftedness of all things flawed that we so often deplore.
Hopkins describes the trout’s speckles as “stippled” as stippled creates a spotted pattern. “Spots” have connotations of flaws suggesting the trout are imperfect. “Stipple” is a painting technique used to create spots/texture which shows us that Hopkins thinks of God almost like an artist who sculpts his creation: ‘landscape plotted and pieced’ to create a masterpiece i.e. the world. Hopkins believes the imperfect things in life are the most beautiful he describes them as a piece of art, suggesting God created them like that purposefully, highlighting their uniqueness and beauty and reflecting the aesthetic nature of the poem. ‘Nature is within God’s work’ seems to be a theme of his poem also demonstrated by the structure of the poem. Everything is God’s, therefore nothing is flawed. ‘Glory be to God…Praise him.’ shows how grateful Hopkins is for the uniqueness and beauty of the world because God makes no mistakes.
The parallelism of the beginning and end correspond to a larger symmetry within