In Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “The Windhover” there is a sort ofrepresentational allusion to Christ and Jesus. In other words the speakerpraises the Lord by praising what he takes as a symbol for Christ, the windhoverhimself.
Through out the poem the speaker symbolizes Christ’s glory by the waythe falcon reacts to the air how it maneuvers and even charcteristic traits ofthe falcon species. One could only appreciate the glory of the Lord more afterinterpreting the poem. The poem is subtitled “To Christ our Lord”because the falcon reminds him of Christ. The speaker continuously hails one ofGod’s most stunning creatures, the falcon. He is flabbergasted at themagnificence of the windhover’s flight.
He wonders at its colorful feathers andthe sheer speed of its flight. His tone suggests that he is in awe. . . he isobserving something equivalent second coming of Jesus or angels walking amongregular men.
He throws out a barrage visual imagery to try to describe thewindhover and still does not seem to come close to its real magnificence. Hewonders how such a creature could exist but is eventually just filled with gleein knowing the fact that it does exist. In the first stanza the speaker statesthat he spotted the morning’s minion as if to suggest that the falcon was somehow subservient to the morning. He suggests that there is some sort of royalheiarchy by using words that recall images of sovereignty. Once the readerscratches the surface of the first stanza he can begin to understand theremainder of the poem.
The second stanza takes a different stance on things. Thewindhover is out maneuvering when a smoothly and suddenly dives. The speakers isscared for the birds’ safety but is pleasantly surprised when the bird is liftedby a huge wind. One can say that in times of foolish pleasure he can fall butChrist will always lift be there to lift him back up. Christ is thus the cushionneeded for even a temporary fall from grace. Stanza three uses a barrage ofdescriptive words to denote the dignity of such a creature.
In the animalkingdom it would be considered king of the roost. The speaker call the windhovera chevalier meaning knight or in other words a savior. Christ is also considereda savior. The speaker compares the bird and Christ with the hard work of theplow that creates a furrow and displays the wet soil underneath and burnedembers that shine red-gold when split open and burn with fire. That is directlycomparable to assumption that the speaker was leading a dark life until the Lordstirred up his life, split open his dark shell and helped him to shine with anew vigor for life. Christ could be seen in nature in the windhover’s existence.
He is symbolized in all the actions of the falcon and also represented in itscharactaeristics. The speaker praises the Lord by his amazed praise andrepresented in its characteristics. The speaker praises the Lord by his amazedpraise and appreciation. What he seems to be saying is that Christ exists ineven the smaller details in life and all we have to do is observe themperiodically to know that Christ lives on.
