Hopkins Literary Festival 2011

Multilingual Translation Workshop

The Windhover

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918.

To Christ our Lord I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding Stirred for a bird,—
the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

 

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

 

No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

Translation Workshop Links

 In the Valley of the Elwy 
Hopkins Poem in German 
Carrion Comfort 
Felix Randal 
Multilingual Translation Workshop 2008 
That Nature is a heraclitean fire 
No Worst There is None 
Pied Beauty 
The Windhover 
Multilingual Translation Workshop