Peace

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1879

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“Peace” is a curtal sonnet, a variation on the sonnet form invented by Hopkins himself. The traditional sonnet form consists of fourteen lines. This curtal sonnet, a “curtailed” or shortened form of the sonnet, consists of 10.5 lines, with the first stanza containing six lines and the second stanza containing 4.5 lines. The lines follow a set rhyme scheme, one of two to which curtal sonnets typically adhere. This particular work follows an ABCABC DCBDC rhyme scheme. “Shut” and “but” rhyme together in lines 1 and 4. “Boughs” (Line 2) and “allows” (Line 5) connect with the slant or near rhyme of “house” (Line 9). “Hypocrite” (Line 3), “it” (Line 6), “exquisite” (Line 8), and “sit” (Line 11) all rhyme together. The new rhyme introduced in the second stanza is “lieu” (Line 7) and “coo” (Line 10).

Sonnets traditionally appear in iambic pentameter, meaning they contain five iambs, or five units of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. However, most of the lines in Hopkins’s first and second stanzas are alexandrines, meaning that there are six iambic feet, or units, included. For example, the last line of the first stanza reads, “Alarms of wars, the daunting wars, the death of it?” (Line 6) There are a few lines which break from this pattern, including the third line. This particular line opens with two stressed syllables, also known as a spondee, before falling back into a somewhat regular pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables for the rest of the line, “When, when, Peace, will you, Peace? I’ll not play hypocrite” (Line 3) The repetition of the word “when” and the added stress emphasizes the agitation and anxiety the speaker expresses at his life being void of peace.

One other line that contains an inconsistency with the alexandrine pattern of the others is: “That plumes to Peace thereafter. And when Peace here does house” (Line 9) There is a bacchius foot, a poetic unit of an unstressed syllable followed by two stressed syllables, inserted between the last two iambs. This repetition of stressed syllables helps to draw the reader’s attention towards this line and indicates that the upcoming lines are especially crucial. The added stress increases the reader’s own anticipation: the speaker is about to foreshadow what will happen when peace is eventually attained, and the reader is ready to lean in and listen. The last line, since it is only half of a line, contains only three units of iambs (iambic trimeter). The cursory nature of this line adds a sense of finality, as the concept of “Peace” (Lines 1, 3, 7, 9) is forever changed for the speaker.

Metaphor

A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike objects/subjects without using the words “like” or “as.” A type of figurative language, metaphor typically assists with the elaboration of a particular situation or concept. In Hopkins’s poem, “Peace” (Line 1) is equated with a “wild wooddove, shy wings shut” (Line 1). By relating the abstract and intangible notion of “Peace” with that of a tangible, sentient object, Hopkins is able to connect more effectively with his reading audience. Readers are able to more efficiently comprehend the various traits of “Peace” (Lines 1, 3, 7, 9) that Hopkins attempts to convey. Not everyone may understand or share the exact definition of “Peace” (Line 1), but they know the elusiveness of a wild animal, especially one that can fly away at will or close its wings and resist capture. The impossibility of attaining “Peace” (Line 1) is clarified by depicting the constant “roaming” of the dove around the speaker (Line 2). Also, the development of “Patience” (Line 8) into “Peace” becomes clearer with the extension of the bird metaphor in the second stanza. “Patience” (Line 8) “plumes to Peace” (Line 9), just like the fanning of a feather or the refined act of a bird preening and grooming itself. Using metaphor is Hopkins’s way to ensure that his readers can grasp the seemingly ungraspable.

Alliteration/Assonance

Alliteration is the repetition of similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words. There are many instances where alliteration appears in “Peace”; in fact, alliteration can be found in nearly every line of the poem. One particular example is the repetition of the “p” sound in the following line: “That piecemeal peace is poor peace. What pure peace allows” (Line 5). In contrast to alliteration, assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds (those sounds typically occurring within the middle of words and in close proximity to one another). While assonance is just as prevalent throughout Hopkins’s poem as alliteration, one specific example is, “Alarms of wars, the daunting wars, the death of it?” (Line 6). Hopkins repeats the short “a” sound in the “ar” digraph, or sound. Since both alliteration and assonance feature the repetition of sounds (whether consonants or vowels), they assist with the pacing and rhythm of this particular work. Typically, since repetition is involved, alliteration and assonance help to keep readers moving through a given line, propelling them onto the next. Also, at times alliteration and assonance can speed up the rate at which a reader moves through the lines, adding to a heightened sense of emotion or action.