Windhover Seminar Org

a
e The Windhover.
t
Gerard Manley Hopkins.
e To Christ our Lord
tn
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
h High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
m
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
e Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
a Stirred for a bird, – the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
1d 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
oe Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,

Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.
n
Lines 1 - 8
In the poem, The Windhover, the poet has caught sight of the falcon who is described as
s morning’s favourite bird, and as the dauphin or crown prince of the kingdom of daylight. The
falcon is drawn from his resting place or abode by the dapple-coloured dawn. The poet sees
d the bird as best-riding the air beneath him like a skillful horseman controlling his horse. The
t
air is at once rolling and yet level and steady beneath the bird, as he rides high and erects like
a horseman in the saddle.
e The bird circles in the air, as though controlling his movement in the wind after the manner of
a
a trainer “ringing on the rein” of a wild horse. The bird pivots round on the tip of his
extended wing, which is described as “wimpling”, that is, rippling like a nun’s wimple in
r
movement. At this moment of conflict with the pressure of the wind, the bird feels ecstasy and
sweeps off in the direction of the wind as though on a swing. This movement of the bird also
&
reminds the poet of a skillful skater, sweeping round smoothly “on a bow-bend”, that is while
cutting a figure of eight on the ice.
. The movement combines “hurl” or strong self-propulsion, with “gliding” or full utilization of
the wind’s force. The skill of the bird thus seems to rebuff the wind, that is, to win a triumph
e over the wind. This triumph of the mind over matter inwardly stirs the heart of the poet “in
/
hiding”.
1&
The words “In hiding” may refer to the poet’s timidity or it
may refer to the heart’s being hidden with Christ in God and thus leading a hidden religious
life. The poet’s heart is thrilled with admiration for the bird-for the bird’s achievement in
triumphing over the inanimate forces of Nature. The “heart in hiding” may also refer to the
fact that the poet watches the bird from some hidden place, or to the fact that the heart is
hidden within the body. Moreover, the words “here buckle” mean that the various qualities
mentioned by the poet combine or fuse together in the falcon. “Here” = in the bird. “Buckle”
= combine together. But there is another meaning also of “Here buckle”. The “heart in
hiding” is being urged to make a complete surrender of itself to Christ.
Lines 9-14
The poet, through the above lines, sums up the qualities of the falcon-brute, beauty, valour,
“act”, pride, plume. All these qualities combine together in the falcon. The poet tells his heart
to surrender itself completely to Christ. Through such a self-surrender the poet would see
splendour in the falcon which is a billion times lovelier than is visible at a superficial view. The
spiritual fire which the poet would behold is a billion times lovelier than the “brute beauty” of
the falcon, and yet “more dangerous” also as it would make the poet a more devoted servant
of Christ—because service has its hazards as well as rewards. There is nothing surprising in
all this, the poet says and goes on to give us two examples from common experience:
There mere plodding of ploughman as he pushes his plough down the “sillion” or furrow
produces a brightness on his ploughshare. In the same way, fidelity in religious life (just as
Christ compared the religious life to taking up the plough) produces brightness in the soul.\
The embers of a fire may appear to be dying; they may look bleak in their faded blue
colour; but it is precisely then that these embers fall and bruise themselves, so that they break
open and reveal a hidden fire of “gold vermilion”. The poet’s soul, too, is “blue-bleak” or
seemingly lifeless. But through suffering and mortification for the sake of Christ, the poet
would experience a spiritual glory
Themes : Inscape and Instress

G M Hopkins decided that poetry could actually serve a
religious purpose. How? Well
"Inscape" refers to the individual and unique essence or inner
nature of a thing or person. Hopkins believed that everything in the world has its own distinct
inscape, which is essential to its identity and beauty. In "The Windhover," Hopkins uses the
term to describe the particularity and singularity of the bird he is observing. He marvels at
how the windhover's inscape shines forth and reveals its distinctive nature to him.
"Instress," on the other hand, refers to the force or energy that

enables a person to perceive the inscape of something or someone. It is the moment when one
recognizes the inner essence of a thing or person and feels a kind of spiritual connection to it.
In the poem “The Windhover” , the poet uses different images

to symbolise the inscape. He dedicates this poem “To Christ, our Lord” The inscape used in
this poem is the powerful and glorious flight of the Falcon bird early in the morning time. The
poet calls the falcon as morning’s minions and ‘daylight’s dauphin’. He feels amazed at the
wonderful flight of the bird. The poet describes how the falcon rides on the air like a strong
horse rider and takes control over it. The flight of the falcon mesmerises the poet. This falcon
is not a delightful lamb-like animal, but a ruthless and proud killing machine whose inscape it
is to destroy other inscapes of lesser animals.
The poet starts thinking about the instress in the second

stanza. The instress is “the spark of life” or “the fire of life” which the poet witnesses to the
present in all the creatures on this earth. He wonders what might be the source of energy and
power for the glorious flight of the bird. Thinking about this, he comes out with an answer. He
sees that there is a divine fire in every living thing in this world. This divine fire is the spark of
fire. This spark of fire is because of God’s presence in the world.
Together, inscape and instress are central to Hopkins'

poetic vision, which seeks to capture the particularity and beauty of the natural world
through a kind of spiritual perception. "The Windhover" is a particularly powerful example
of this vision, as it shows Hopkins using language to capture the unique essence of a bird in
flight and the spiritual experience of recognizing that essence.
CONCLUSION
The poet G.M Hopkins has thus tried to make us clear his
conception about the terms ‘inscape’and ‘instress’ which are
philosophical as well as aesthetic in nature. He has successfully used these concepts in his
poetry and through these he has tried to understand the huge horizon of God and His
powers. We can conclude by saying that Hopkins is one of very rare and special poets
who has tried to simplify the concept of God through his poetry so that even a
common reader can understand how the divine powers work.

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a

e To Christ our Lord

h High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing

e Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding

oe Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,

Themes : Inscape and Instress

"Instress," on the other hand, refers to the force or energy that

In the poem “The Windhover” , the poet uses different images

The poet starts thinking about the instress in the second

Together, inscape and instress are central to Hopkins'

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