The Windhover Summary

The occasion of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “The Windhover” is a sighting of the bird, a kestrel, which is a kind of small falcon, from which the poem takes its name. In the opening octet, the speaker recounts the experience, which occurred “this morning,” describing in detail the bird’s flight in ecstatic, emotionally-charged language. He then reflects on the effect the sight had on him, referring to his “heart in hiding” and describing the falcon as “my chevalier” meaning roughly, "my champion." The implication is that the falcon saved him from some danger, not literal but psychological. At the end of the poem, the speaker contemplates other instances of unexpected beauty in the natural world, implicitly applying their lessons to his own situation.