Spring GM Hopkins poem analysis

Questions and Answers

A metaphor for the natural world

A representation of the speaker's childhood

A representation of sin and corruption

A symbol of potential and harmony (correct)

Joyful and celebratory (correct)

Sombre and reflective

Melancholic and introspective

Critical and analytical

It creates a sense of tension and conflict

It interrupts the flow of the poem

It adds to the overall sense of joy and energy (correct)

It creates a sense of sadness and loss

Joyful and accessible Signup and view all the answers

It adds to the intensity of feeling Signup and view all the answers

The sinfulness of humanity Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

The poem is a vivid depiction of the natural world in bloom during springtime, showcasing the beauty of the season.
The poet considers spring on earth as a "strain of the earth's sweet being" in the Garden of Eden, evoking themes of innocence and potential.

The poem employs imagery to capture the inscape of weeds and the sky
Features striking assonance and euphonic alliteration
Creates cacophony through alliteration in phrases like "Before it cloy, before it cloud"
Exhibits challenging syntax in parts, such as "Most, O Maid's child, thy choice..."
Written in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet

"Nothing is so beautiful as Spring – / When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;" - The poem opens with joyful and accessible language, using euphonic alliteration and assonance to describe the beauty of spring.
"Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush / Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring / The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;" - The poem features vivid, visual imagery, including a unique simile comparing thrush's eggs to "little low heavens".
"The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush / The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush / With richness;" - The poem employs evocative imagery to capture the peartree and its leaves, and the image of the sky as a "descending blue" is particularly rich and vivid.
"What is all this juice and all this joy? / A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning / In Eden garden.–" - The poem's religious symbolism is clear, with spring reminiscent of the potential and harmony represented by the Garden of Eden.
"Have, get, before it cloy, / Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning, / Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy," - The poem shifts in tone, with the poet begging God to protect innocent youth from sinning and corruption.