The Speaker

The speaker of "The Windhover" is unnamed, but given Hopkins's religious background, shares much in common with the poet himself. The speaker recounts the experience of watching a bird in the morning, noting how magnificent the bird's movements were. The speaker thinks about the majesty of the bird as emblematic of God's power, eventually addressing God directly as he expresses his awe over creation. Hopkins's speaker is contemplative, emotional, and overwhelmed by the realization of God's presence on earth.

God

God does not play an explicit role in the poem, but He is the implicit addressee of the speaker in the sestet. As the speaker thinks about the beauty of the bird and its movements, he begins to address "thee," "my chevalier," and "my dear," all epithets that refer to God as the creator of the bird and all beautiful things on earth (10-13). Though the poem...