Comparison of Gerard Hopkins & Thomas Hardy

In the first 6 lines of Pied Beauty, Hopkins offers glory to God for dappled things – the colors in the sky, the brindled cows, the spotted trout, chestnuts as bright as coals, the wings of finches, the patchwork of the landscape. Here Hopkins observes the visual characteristics of things found in nature. Then he includes all the trades of man along with all the gear and equipment. These things are man-made, but they are still part of God’s creation.

In the sestet, Hopkins incorporates more things - all things contrary, original, rare, and strange, whatever is fickle or freckled – all of these qualities describe something that is distinctive or peculiar. Hopkins elaborates further to include qualities that describe speed, taste, aesthetics – “swift, slow, sweet, sour, adazzle, dim” (pg. 776) - all are things that God has created. “Praise him.”

Hopkins deviates from the traditional sonnet form of 14 lines to only 11 lines and uses a repetition of sounds – dappled, stipple, tackle, fickle, freckled; swift, slow, sweet, sour, adazzle, dim; couple-colour; fresh-firecoal; and fathers-forth. The poem begins and ends with praise to God. The message is that all of the diversity in nature and man is part of God’s design.

In contrast, Hardy’s Hap follows the traditional sonnet form of 14 lines. Hardy’s message is the opposite of Hopkin’s message. In the first 8 lines Hardy wishes that “some vengeful god would call to me /From up the sky, and laugh” (pg. 1073). He wants to know there is a god in heaven who enjoys seeing him suffer. He wants god to be accountable for his sorrow, which is god’s ecstasy, and for his love’s loss, which is god’s “hate’s profiting.” If he could blame god, he would clench himself and die strengthened by his anger, and his suffering would be eased by the knowledge that one more powerful than himself was responsible for his pain.

In the 9th line, the tone changes. “But not so.” There is no “vengeful god” to blame for his joy that “lies slain” and his hope that “unblooms.” “Crass Casualty obstructs the sun and rain” – Chance is responsible for his suffering and lost hope. Luck and time have caused his pain, and could just as easily have caused him happiness. There is no god controlling the universe, it all comes down to a roll of the dice.