Hopkins’ Alliterative Poetry of “Pied Beauty”

Of all of Hopkins work referenced in our text, the “Longman’s Anthology,” “Pied Beauty” is most notable in finding the author’s alliterative style.  Almost every verse is filled with the repetitious consonance in his imagery of all things.  “couple-colour,” “Fresh-firecoal,” “Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough,” just to name a few examples all show the author’s significant use of alliteration combined with illustrative words to depict his objects of interest (775).  Why is it that Hopkins makes so much use of this style of prose?  The answer is hinted in the opening foreword preceding his works in our text.  It is referenced that Hopkins state “My verse – less to be read than heard” because “it is oratorical” (774).  This means that his work is very eccentric and is meant of the reader to not just “hear” but also to use his creative imagination to experience the observations.  By using his detailed visual, audio, and tactile alliteration, the experience is further amplified to not only submerse the reader into the imagery, but also to exemplify God’s supernatural greatness, which is an overarching theme of his works.  In “Pied Beauty,” this is accomplished well as we can see the meticulous of all of nature simultaneously rather than a focus on any single one entity:  the “skies,” the animals’ movements, the “chestnuts” falling, the plowing of the earth (775).  Although such a short poem, Hopkins diversity of subjects allows the reader to see a grand view of “Pied Beauty.”  It’s interesting to note that Hopkins studied for seven years for priesthood (773).  It makes me think that his style is either the result of the oral skills practice and required for preaching, or the result of a need for such a device to build energy in his audience to further motivate and moralize them.