Spring by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Spring by Hopkins

• The poem is a tribute to the beauty of spring, depicting the natural world in bloom.
• The sestet explores the idea of spring on earth as a "strain of the earth's sweet being" in the Garden of Eden.

Themes and Ideas

• The beauty of spring
• Celebration of the natural world
• Human tendency to sin
• God's ability to protect the innocent

Style and Structure

• The poem captures the inscape of nature through vivid imagery
• Features striking assonance, euphonic alliteration, and cacophony through alliteration
• Challenging syntax is used in some parts of the poem
• The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet

Imagery and Symbolism

• Weeds are described as "lovely and lush" to convey the beauty of spring
• Thrush's eggs are compared to "little low heavens" using a vivid simile
• The peartree leaves and blooms are evocatively described, with the sky depicted as a "descending blue"
• The racing lambs are used to convey energy and joy

Religious Symbolism

• Spring is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden, representing potential and harmony
• The poem expresses a desire for God to protect innocent youth from sinning
• The speaker asks God to "seize upon" the innocent before they "cloy" or deteriorate

Explore the poetic masterpiece by Gerard Manley Hopkins, celebrating the beauty of spring and the natural world, while touching on mankind's tendency to sin and God's protection of the innocent.