The Windhover

“The Caged Skylark” by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1877)

This poem is similar to “The Windhover.” The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet with Hopkins’s usual unique syntax and focus on metaphor and alliteration. The poem is a metaphor comparing a caged bird to a man’s soul trapped in the body. The poem expresses hope that after death the soul will harmonize with the body in heaven. This is another poem of Christian devotion.

“God's Grandeur” by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1877)

Another sonnet (though this one Italian), this poem juxtaposes the natural world with the modern industrial one. Hopkins laments the way his society has developed the world, but he suggests God is still there to protect the world and offer the opportunity for renewal. While this poem is more traditional than some of his others, it still contains a plethora of metaphors, whimsical rhythm, alliteration, and rhymes.

“Poem of the Week: ‘The Windhover’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins” by Carol Rumens (2010)

In this article reflecting on Hopkins’s poem, Rumens provides an analysis centered on the poem’s devotion to Christ. While Rumens doesn’t provide a firm interpretation, she offers various thoughts on different aspects of the poem and how they relate to Christ and the crucifixion.