Daniel Im

IB Lang 12

Moosman 4

Pied Beauty Analysis

Summary: The speaker first starts off giving examples of dappled things that were created by

god. Some examples are the mottled white and blue colors of the sky, the “brinded” hide of a

cow and the “stippled” skin of the trout, the wings of finches being different colors, and all the

farmlands, which are in a grid with different sections being different colors, as well as the trades

and their tools that are used, with how they are all diverse. In the last part of the poems, the

speaker then talks about how technology can come in many different ways and can be “fickle”,

which means changeable/flip flop. He then goes on to talk about how things can be “swift, slow,

sweet, wour; adazzle, dim.” Speaker then finishes the poem how these creations are beautiful and

then ends with “Praise him”

Analysis: One of the first things to be analyzed is the form. Hopkins took the traditional sonnet

form and reduced the first sonnet to be six lines. As well as shortening the 3 and 6 lines. Another

notable thing is the use of the repetition of sounds in certain words such as dappled, tipple,

tackle, fickle and freckled. These are words that standout and are not ordinarily used. Another

thing about these use of words is the alliteration that is used. “Swift, slow, sweet, sour,” and

“fickle, freckled?” This poem is a praise towards God for the creation of the world and all the

beautiful things that exist. Hopkins describes the patterns and colors. Another device is a

metaphor. He compares the spots and speckles of a trout to moles. This allows the audience to be

able to better imagine what these spots would look like. Another device used is anaphora on lines

two and three, where Hopkins uses “for” in two lines adjacent to each other to emphasize these
points of the trout and cow. Imagery is also another device where he describes a cow saying,

“For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow” or “Landscape plotted and pieced” which are all

used to help readers also be able to imagine this. Overall, Hopkins uses these devices and

techniques to help him describe his beliefs and gratitudes towards god’s creations in life.