To a Young Child by Gerard Manley Hopkins

<< prev. poem	Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins: 88 / 96	next poem >>

To a Young Child

Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you will weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Read poems about / on: sorrow, child, heart, spring, children

User Rating:

10.0 /10
(3 votes)

E-mail this poem to e friend

• Send this poem as eCard

• Add this poem to MyPoemList

• Print friendly version

Comments about this poem (To a Young Child by Gerard Manley Hopkins)

more comments >>

Click here to write your comments about this poem (To a Young Child by Gerard Manley Hopkins)

Karee Miller (2/1/2008 12:55:00 PM)
This is a lovely poem. It is chiefly characteristic of the Victorian Era as it was meant to teach a moral lesson to children. In this poem, the persona is observing a young girl (Margaret) weeping over the dying leaves of fall. He then proceeds to tell her that she has misplaced her grief. He suggests that life has many graver challenges to face...losses far greater than those which she has experienced in her short life. Hopkins implies that Margaret is projecting her inner fear of death onto the turning leaves. This is evident in the concluding statement, 'It is Margaret you mourn for! '