| Abstrakt: |
Gerard Manley Hopkins’s poems often centre on religious meanings, symbols, and themes illustrated through nature. One meaning of the ‘The Windhover’ is that the glory of God is reflected in nature. This meaning can best be understood through exploration of the poem’s symbolism and themes of the power and perfection of nature, and the power and praise of Jesus Christ. A key to understanding ‘The Windhover’ is seeing the bird as both an embodiment of the power and perfection of nature being witnessed by the speaker, and also as an embodiment of Christ. This dual interpretation of the bird reflects a natural experience of awe and a greater spiritual understanding of it, that of being in awe of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The symbol of the bird as Christ can be understood through biblical symbolism, Hopkins’s word choice, and references to different representations of Christ. In the Middle Ages, Christ was depicted as a knight, which is why Hopkins addresses him as “O my chevalier!” (Line 11). Hopkins also uses medieval French words such as “dauphin” and refers to a “kingdom” in order to allude to Christ, who is seen as the son of God, and ruler of the kingdom of heaven. The agricultural references to the plough and soil towards the end of the poem link to Christ, who often told moral lessons in parables, or short stories related to fruit trees, seeds, soil, planting, and harvest. While the plough overturns the soil to create rich, shiny soil for planting, Christ overturns human hearts to make them figuratively shiny and new. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
