http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/07/the-windhover/ A blog from the Poetry Foundation where contemporary poets debate classic and contemporary poetry from America and around the world. Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:15:14 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/07/the-windhover/#comment-628 Tim Upperton Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:01:56 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=282#comment-628 As William Empson once noted, the complexity of Hopkins's poem centres on that word "buckle". Empson goes on to say that if Hopkins had been conscious of the two contrary meanings of the word, he would have suppressed the poem. I'm sure Hopkins knew exactly what he was doing: the Jesuit priest knows he should renounce the qualities the bird represents, especially pride - but at the same time, he finds the bird irresistibly beautiful. Renounce, or embrace? "Buckle" allows him to do both. As William Empson once noted, the complexity of Hopkins’s poem centres on that word “buckle”. Empson goes on to say that if Hopkins had been conscious of the two contrary meanings of the word, he would have suppressed the poem. I’m sure Hopkins knew exactly what he was doing: the Jesuit priest knows he should renounce the qualities the bird represents, especially pride – but at the same time, he finds the bird irresistibly beautiful. Renounce, or embrace? “Buckle” allows him to do both.

]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/07/the-windhover/#comment-627 Niki Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:14:27 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=282#comment-627 Very moving - I think there are some poems that because there's a unique and personal context for the poet, they mean much more to the writer than the reader can 'calculate'. It is because of the sheer energy of the engagement with the moment(s) that inspired the writer to write, that the poem leaves such an impression on the reader. More power to free-spirited poems like this!@#%! - it inspires me - here was I feeling bogged down trying (and failing, no wonder :) to write a poem for a certain big prize.... shame on me! Peace, Niki Very moving – I think there are some poems that because there’s a unique and personal context for the poet, they mean much more to the writer than the reader can ‘calculate’. It is because of the sheer energy of the engagement with the moment(s) that inspired the writer to write, that the poem leaves such an impression on the reader.
More power to free-spirited poems like this!@#%! – it inspires me – here was I feeling bogged down trying (and failing, no wonder to write a poem for a certain big prize…. shame on me!
Peace, Niki

]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/07/the-windhover/#comment-626 Ange Wed, 11 Jul 2007 11:33:28 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=282#comment-626 Kwame, thanks for this lovely post. The poems I fell in love with at 17 -- including "The Windhover" -- are burned into my brain. Learning poetry in the classroom, or from Norton's anthologies, when you are young can be one of the greatest liberating experiences in life. It was in mine. Kwame, thanks for this lovely post. The poems I fell in love with at 17 — including “The Windhover” — are burned into my brain. Learning poetry in the classroom, or from Norton’s anthologies, when you are young can be one of the greatest liberating experiences in life. It was in mine.

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