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The Windhover: NBSE class 10 English summary and answers
Here is the summary, questions, answers, and solutions of the poem The Windhover which is a part of the syllabus of class 10 English for students studying under Nagaland Board of School Education. However, the given notes/solutions should only be used for references and should be modified/changed according to needs.
If you notice any errors in the notes, please mention them in the comments
Summary
The Windhover is a poem written by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a 19th-century English poet and Jesuit priest. It is known for its intricate language and use of sprung rhythm, a poetic meter that Hopkins developed to capture the movement and energy of natural phenomena. The poem is structured as a single stanza with ten lines and uses a rhyme scheme of abba.
The poem begins with a description of a windhover, a type of bird also known as a kestrel, as it hovers in the air. The speaker describes the bird’s wings and body as it “glances,” “darts,” and “wheels” through the sky. The speaker then compares the bird’s movements to those of a dancer, using words such as “swerve,” “curve,” and “flick” to convey the grace and agility of the windhover.
In the second half of the poem, the speaker shifts from describing the physical movements of the windhover to exploring its inner life and motivations. The bird is described as a “blue-bleak ember,” suggesting both its physical appearance and its intense focus and determination. The speaker also uses religious language, referring to the windhover as a “seraph” and comparing its movements to “tremulous” prayer.
The final lines of the poem offer a meditation on the relationship between the windhover and the natural world around it. The speaker describes the bird as “all” and “each,” suggesting its unity with the surrounding environment. The poem ends with the line “My heart in hiding stirred for a bird,” implying that the speaker has been moved by the beauty and majesty of the windhover.
Overall, The Windhover is a tribute to the natural world and the beauty and complexity of life. It celebrates the windhover as a symbol of grace, strength, and connection with the environment. The poem’s use of sprung rhythm and vivid language brings the windhover to life, inviting readers to marvel at its beauty and wonder.
Textual questions and answers
MCQs
1. Which figure of speech has been used in this line?
I caught this morning morning’s minion king
A. assonance B. alliteration C. irony D. simile
Answer: B. alliteration
2. How does the poet describe the falcon in the second line?
A. morning’s minion B. king of daylight C. crown prince of the kingdom of daylight D. prince of the kingdom of daylight
Answer: C. crown prince of the kingdom of daylight
3. Which of these lines sums up the qualities of the falcon?
A. As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding B. Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then a billion C. dom of daylight’s dauphin dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon in his riding D. Brute beauty and valour and act oh air pride plume here
Answer: D. Brute beauty and valour and act oh air pride plume here
4. Which of these could be the theme of the poem?
A. The poet feels he is lucky to spot a flying falcon B. The falcon seemed full of pure joy as he controlled the wind like a horse-rider does a horse. C. The poem marvels at the wonders of the natural world and in turn at the majesty of God’s creation. D. The poem is about the beauty of Nature and the falcon.
Answer: C. The poem marvels at the wonders of the natural world and in turn at the majesty of God’s creation.
Reference to Context
Read these lines from the poem and answer the questions with reference to the context.
1. I caught this morning morning’s minion, kingdom
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,
a) What did the poet see?
b) What was it doing?
c) What does he compare it to?
d) Identify an instance of alliteration in the extract.
Answer: a) The poet saw a kestrel (windhover).
b) The bird was flying high in the sky and doing different tricks during the flight.
c) He compared it to the crown prince of the kingdom of daylight or Christ.
d) “dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn” is an instance of alliteration in the extract.
2. 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: sheer plod makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion
a) What is described in line 1?
b) What shine ‘blue-bleak’?
c) Pick out a metaphor in the extract.
d) The poet has coined a number of words. Pick out three such words from the extract.
Answer: a) In line 1, the poet described the majesty, beauty, love, and unparalleled might of God.
b) The embers shine ‘blue bleak’.
c) In the extract, the poet is comparing the soul to ‘blue bleak embers’ which is a metaphor.
d) Three words from the extract that were coined by the poet are sillion, blue-bleak, and gold-vermillion.
Read and Write
1. Describe the setting of the poem.
Answer: The poem is set during dawn, possibly in a field.
2. Alliteration is the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. For instance, in the tongue twister ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers’ the letter P has been repeated. Identify at least two instances of alliteration in the poem.
Answer: Two instances of alliteration in the poem are “dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn” and “morning morning’s minion.”
3. Pick out a phrase that shows the poet’s admiration for the strength and beauty of the bird.
Answer: A phrase that shows the poet’s admiration for the strength and beauty of the bird is “My heart in hiding stirred for a bird,-the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!”
4. Hopkins compares the windhover to many things. What are they? What characteristics of the bird do they reveal?
Answer: Hopkins compared the windhover with embers, furrow, and dauphin. According to the poet, the bird resembles embers as embers suddenly break out in a flame again when stirred, so does the bird rise high again after a seemingly fall. It is also like a furrow that may look dull but life springs from it. He compared it to a dauphin due to its majesty and beauty during the flight which is unparalleled and worthy of being above everything else.
Appreciation
1. Hopkins uses unfamiliar words, mixes up sentence structures, and uses familiar words in totally unexpected and unfamiliar ways. He even makes up words entirely. How do these words contribute to creating the image of the windhover?
Answer: Hopkins uses unfamiliar words, mixes up sentence structures, and uses familiar words in totally unexpected and unfamiliar ways. He even makes up words entirely. All these pictures the windhover in a very extraordinary way which is a prerequisite when being compared with the qualities of Christ.
2. Hopkins has used a number of foreign words and references in the poem. Find out what they refer to: dauphin, chevalier
Answer: Dauphin is a French word for the crown prince or the one who is next in line to be king. Chevalier is also a French word for ‘knight.’
3. The poem is about a bird, but it is also open to strong religious interpretations. Discuss the significance of some of the words/ phrases from this viewpoint: kingdom, dauphin, gash, fall
Answer: The poem is about a bird, but it is also open to strong religious interpretations. The poet uses different words that serve the twin purpose of describing the windhover as well as drawing a parallel to Christ and Christianity. Who uses the term kingdom and dauphin to describe the authority of the bird during the flight, but these also point to Jesus Christ who sits next to God in the heavenly kingdom. Further, the words fall and gash describes the fall of humanity from the grace of God and the sacrifice Christ gave by bearing pain to save humanity.
4. How many lines are there in the poem? Fourteen. A poem of fourteen lines is called a sonnet. Work out the rhyming scheme of the octet (eight lines) and sestet (six lines).
Answer: A poem of fourteen lines that follows the rhyme scheme abbaabba in the octet and cdecde or cdcdcd in the sestet is called a Petrarchan sonnet. Alternatively, a poem of fourteen lines that follows the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg is called an English sonnet, or a Shakespearean sonnet.
In a Petrarchan sonnet, the octet (eight lines) follows the rhyme scheme abbaabba. This means that the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, while the third, fourth, and eighth lines rhyme with each other. The sestet (six lines) then follows the rhyme scheme cdecde or cdcdcd, with the final two lines often forming a rhymed couplet.
In an English sonnet, the octet (eight lines) follows the rhyme scheme abab cdcd, with the first, second, fifth, and sixth lines rhyming with each other. The sestet (six lines) follows the rhyme scheme efef gg, with the final two lines often forming a rhymed couplet.
It’s important to note that these are just two of the many possible rhyme schemes for a sonnet. Some sonnets may follow different rhyme schemes, or may not follow a traditional rhyme scheme at all.
Extra questions and answers
1. What is “The Windhover” primarily about?
A. The power of nature B. The life of a poet C. A bird of prey D. Historical events
Answer: C. A bird of prey
2. How does the poet describe the falcon’s flight?
A. As clumsy and awkward B. As powerful and controlled C. As slow and ponderous D. As weak and faltering
Answer: B. As powerful and controlled
3. What figure of speech is prominent in the line “I caught this morning morning’s minion”?
A. Metaphor B. Simile C. Alliteration D. Hyperbole
Answer: C. Alliteration
4. What does the falcon symbolize in the poem?
A. Danger and fear B. Majesty and beauty C. Loss and despair D. Weakness and vulnerability
Answer: B. Majesty and beauty
5. To whom is “The Windhover” dedicated?
A. To nature B. To Christ our Lord C. To a loved one D. To the poet himself
Answer: B. To Christ our Lord
6. What unique ability of the bird does the poet admire?
A. Its ability to sing B. Its ability to hover in the air C. Its ability to swim D. Its ability to run fast
Answer: B. Its ability to hover in the air
7. Which of the following best describes the mood of the poem?
A. Melancholic and sorrowful B. Angry and aggressive C. Joyful and ecstatic D. Indifferent and apathetic
Answer: C. Joyful and ecstatic
8. What does the poet attribute the beauty he sees in nature to?
A. The bird’s skill B. His own imagination C. Christ’s sacrifice D. The changing seasons
Answer: C. Christ’s sacrifice
9. Which term is used to describe the falcon as a royal figure?
A. Knight B. Prince C. Servant D. Peasant
Answer: B. Prince
Extra questions and answers
1. Why do you think the windhover, in particular, inspired Hopkins to write this poem?
Answer: I think the windhover inspired Hopkins because the beauty of the windhover and its majestic performance during its flight in the sky attracted the poet very much and reminded him of the majesty of its creator.
2. Make a list of different things Hopkins compares the windhover to. What do these things have in common? What qualities do they reveal about the windhover?
Answer: Hopkins compares the windhover to different things. These are darling i.e., daylight’s dauphin, a perfect raider in control of the horse i.e., dapple, an ice skater who is smooth in his turns and finally to Christ though far less in glory and brilliance.
All these things have the quality of pride and valour in common which the poet observes in the flight of windhover.
3. What might the windhover represent to the poet?
Answer: The windhover might represent to the poet the beauty of God’s creation. The bird is just an ordinary creature but the poet finds the majesty of God’s hand in it as it who was in the sky and performs brilliant skills.
4. What is the subject of the poem?
Answer: The subject of the poem is a bird, specifically a kestrel, that is hovering in the air.
5. What is the theme of the poem?
Answer: As the speaker is amazed by the windhover’s capacity to hover in the air with such command and grace, one potential theme of the poem is the beauty and majesty of nature. The windhover is referred to as a “seraph” and a “full-rounded” creature, suggesting its connection to the divine, and the poem also explores themes of faith and the divine.
6. How does the speaker feel about the windhover?
Answer: The windhover inspires admiration and awe in the speaker because it is described in the poem as “dappled-dark” and “dazzling” The windhover and its surroundings are described by the speaker as “couple-colourful” and “blue-bleak embers” demonstrating a strong sense of connection to them. In general, the speaker’s feelings about the windhover are nuanced and complex, encompassing both wonder and reverence.
7. How is Christ referenced in the poem “The Windhover”?
Answer: The poem “The Windhover” makes use of religious language and imagery to allude to Christ. The terms “seraph” and “full-rounded” used to describe the windhover are both typically used to refer to angels and the divine.
8. What is the significance of the references to Christ in the poem?
Answer: The poem’s allusions to Christ highlight the windhover’s affinity for spirituality and the divine. The speaker implies that the windhover is a manifestation of the divine or a messenger from God by calling the bird a “seraph” and a “full-rounded” creature.
9. What themes in the poem relate to Christ?
Answer: Faith, the divine, and the spiritual are some of the themes in the poem that are related to Christ. The poem’s allusions to Christ and its depictions of religious themes imply that the speaker is pondering the windhover from a religious perspective and making comparisons between the bird and the deity.
10. How does the speaker’s use of religious imagery and language contribute to the overall theme of the poem?
Answer: The speaker emphasises the windhover’s relationship to the divine and the spiritual by using religious imagery and language, which adds to the poem’s overarching theme. This suggests that the windhover represents something other than just being a lovely and graceful creature, and it gives the speaker’s admiration and awe for the bird depth and meaning.
11. How does the speaker’s use of religious imagery and language relate to Hopkins’ own beliefs and experiences?
Answer: As a Jesuit priest and a devout believer, Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poetry frequently expresses his spirituality and faith. Since Hopkins views the majesty and beauty of the natural world through a spiritual lens in “The Windhover” it is possible to interpret Hopkins’ use of religious imagery and language as an expression of his personal beliefs and experiences.
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