Pied Beauty Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. What other "dappled things" in the world would you want to praise?
  2. Hopkins loved to invent new words, especially by using hyphens between two shorter words. Try coming up with your own new words.
  3. If God is the ultimate good, and God is "past change," then why does Hopkins praise things that change and might therefore seem "impure"?
  4. What political connections do you think this poem could have? Does it seem relevant to the contemporary topic of diversity?
  5. How does the poem's rhythm express the virtues of being "dappled" or spotted?