Pied Beauty Themes
Religion
"Pied Beauty" is a celebration of natural creation bookended by traditional religious expressions of praise and glorification. We have trouble deciding whether the poem is meant to be a private and...
Man and the Natural World
In Hopkins's poetry, nature does not exist without man. He doesn't take the view that man exploits nature, but rather Hopkins's landscapes are filled with the tools and marks of humanity just as it...
Awe and Amazement
The speaker admits that he has no idea how the world came to be filled with "dappled things." He can offer no explanation but can only describe and admire. Some religious thinkers would say that na...
Transience
According to "Pied Beauty," the beauty of the earth is dependent on change. With the help of our microscopes and telescopes, we now know that when you look close enough, both the macro and microsco...