Harry Ploughman

Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844 (Stratford, London) – 1889 (Dublin)



Hard as hurdle arms, with a broth of goldish flue
Breathed round; the rack of ribs; the scooped flank; lank
Rope-over thigh; knee-nave; and barrelled shank -
Head and foot, shoulder and shank -
By a grey eye's heed steered well, one crew, fall to;
Stand at stress. Each limb's barrowy brawn, his thew
That onewhere curded, onewhere sucked or sank -
Soared or sank - ,
Though as a beechbole firm, finds his, as at a roll- call, rank
And features, in flesh, what deed he each must do -
His sinew-service where do.
  
He leans to it, Harry bends, look. Back, elbow, and liquid waist
In him, all quail to the wallowing o' the plough:'s cheek crimsons; curls
Wag or crossbridle, in a wind lifted, windlaced -
See his wind- lilylocks -laced;
Churlsgrace, too, child of Amansstrength, how it hangs or hurls
Them - broad in bluff hide his frowning feet lashed! raced
With, along them, cragiron under and cold furls -
With-a-fountain's shining-shot furls.
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

51 sec read
33

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBBAABBBAA CDCCDCDD
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 928
Words 168
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 11, 8

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Reverend Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, S. more…

All Gerard Manley Hopkins poems | Gerard Manley Hopkins Books

8 fans

Discuss the poem Harry Ploughman with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Harry Ploughman" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/55433/harry-ploughman>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Gerard Manley Hopkins

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    0
    days
    14
    hours
    22
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which poet wrote “The Tyger”?
    A Emily Dickinson
    B William Blake
    C Sylvia Plath
    D William Shakespeare