This comparison is significant for another reason: these two poets represent adjacent yet distinct moments in Victorian England, and their approaches to the same subject — a raptor, a sky, a sudden drop — reveal a lot about their views on the purpose of poetry. Tennyson aims for a perfectly polished gem, an image that requires no embellishment. In contrast, Hopkins seeks something akin to religious ecstasy, employing a language that strains under the weight of its message.
Together, the two poems provide a masterclass in how form influences meaning: stillness and rapture offer two completely different ways of appreciating the same bird in the same sky.
The Reader's Atlas · Compare · Romantic Skies
The WindhoverThe Eagle
Put "The Windhover" by Gerard Manley Hopkins and "The Eagle" by Lord Alfred Tennyson side by side, and the first thing you notice is how different they are in scale — one poem has six lines, while the other is a fourteen-line sonnet so packed with meaning that it demands a second read.
Poets
Gerard Manley Hopkins / Lord Alfred Tennyson
Years
—
Chapter
Romantic Skies
§01 The thesis
The Windhover & The Eagle
A reader's case for putting these two side by side — what each carries, and what they argue when they sit on the same page.
§02 The dialectic axes
The two poems on four axes
Each axis isolates one specific vector — speaker, form, image, closing move — and reads the two poems against each other on that single dimension.
Axis
Poem A
The Windhover
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Poem B
The Eagle
Lord Alfred Tennyson
01Speaker
Poem A · The Windhover
In "The Windhover," the speaker is clearly present — a priest observing the sky at dawn, filled with emotion, speaking directly to the bird before reflecting on what this sight signifies for his own faith and calling. The "I" in the opening line grounds everything that follows in a personal, almost confessional, experience.
Poem B · The Eagle
In "The Eagle," the speaker remains entirely absent, acting as an unseen observer. Tennyson presents the bird and the landscape with the calm objectivity of a painter, creating an impression that the eagle exists in its own right—untouched by any human feelings or interpretations.
02Form
Poem A · The Windhover
"The Windhover" is a Petrarchan sonnet crafted in Hopkins's unique sprung rhythm, where stresses accumulate without concern for the number of syllables. Compound adjectives blend into new words, lines are rich with alliteration, and the shift between octave and sestet signals a theological change in the poem. The structure of the poem appears to struggle with its themes.
Poem B · The Eagle
"The Eagle" consists of two three-line stanzas that share a single rhyme, giving it a tight, almost architectural feel. The short, end-stopped lines create a rhythm that feels like a held breath followed by a release. This structure reflects the poem's dramatic arc: a sense of stillness in the first stanza, followed by explosive motion in the second.
03Central Image
Poem A · The Windhover
Hopkins's main image is the kestrel hovering and circling in the morning air — but he quickly adds more layers. The bird's control of the wind symbolizes Christ's dominion over creation, and by the sestet, the imagery transitions to a ploughed field and glowing embers, both reflecting the same concealed beauty as the falcon. The image expands outward.
Poem B · The Eagle
Tennyson's main image is clear and remains focused: an eagle sitting on a cliff edge, solitary, near the sun, overlooking a choppy sea — and then the fall. There's no embellishment, no explanation. The image stands on its own, and Tennyson relies on it to convey the entire essence of the poem.
04Closing Move
Poem A · The Windhover
"The Windhover" concludes by emphasizing that even broken, humble things — embers that "fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion" — shine just as brightly as the falcon. This ending carries a paradoxical and devotional tone: beauty isn't exclusive to the spectacular. It leads to a broader discussion about theology.
Poem B · The Eagle
"The Eagle" concludes with the bird falling "like a thunderbolt." This simile is the only instance of figurative language Tennyson uses throughout the poem, and he reserves it for the final word. The ending delivers a striking impact — there’s no argument or moral, just the image reaching its unavoidable conclusion.
§03 Synthesis & departure
The shared ground and the divergence
Shared
Both poems focus on a lone raptor seen from below, building toward a single, powerful climax—the moment the bird unleashes its full force. In "The Eagle," that moment arrives with the final line's dive; in "The Windhover," it’s the falcon's control over the morning wind. Neither poet is truly documenting natural history. Instead, the bird serves as a means: for Tennyson, it embodies the sublime feeling of power and freedom; for Hopkins, it represents theological awe.
The poems also emphasize the vertical dimension. Height is significant—the eagle grips a crag "close to the sun," while the windhover glides through the air in "his riding of the rolling level." The sky isn’t just a backdrop; it’s the stage where something genuine is unveiled. Both poets employ compression effectively. Tennyson encapsulates a complete dramatic arc in six lines, while Hopkins conveys a full spiritual argument in fourteen. Every syllable counts, which helps explain why both poems have remained in print for over a century.
Where they diverge
The sharpest difference lies in the meaning attributed to the bird. Tennyson's eagle represents exactly what you see: power, solitude, speed, and the thrill of the fall. The poem stays focused on the image without delving deeper. That restraint is intentional — "The Eagle" is a carving, not a sermon.
In contrast, Hopkins naturally reaches beyond the image. The windhover is undeniably beautiful, but that beauty quickly serves as a testament to Christ's glory. The poem's dedication — "To Christ our Lord" — establishes the theological stakes before the first line even starts.
Formally, the divide is equally pronounced. Tennyson employs a clean, end-stopped trimeter-and-tetrameter structure with precise rhymes (each triplet shares a single rhyme). Hopkins uses sprung rhythm, inventive phrases like "dapple-dawn-drawn," and internal rhyme, creating a sonnet that feels as if it’s straining against its own constraints. Tennyson's language is clear; you see through it to the bird. Hopkins's language is rich and forceful; you sense the flight in the very syllables.
§04 A reader's order of operations
Which to read first
If you enjoyed the concise imagery in "The Eagle," I recommend moving on to "The Windhover" next—but make sure to read it more than once. While Tennyson lets the imagery carry the weight, Hopkins relies on the sound to create meaning. You'll really appreciate the poem when you read it aloud and embrace the sprung rhythm. If you found the religious depth of "The Windhover" a bit overwhelming, "The Eagle" serves as a refreshing contrast: just six lines, free of doctrine, focusing on a bird, a sky, and a fall that strikes with the force of a slamming door.
§05 Reader's questions
On The Windhover vs The Eagle, frequently asked
Answer
Yes, especially in A-level and introductory university courses focused on Victorian poetry. They pair well because they address the same themes but differ greatly in length, style, and purpose, making the contrast straightforward to analyze and write about.
Answer
Tennyson's "The Eagle" came out in 1851. Hopkins wrote "The Windhover" in 1877, but it didn't see publication until 1918, almost thirty years after he passed away. This means Tennyson's poem was written about twenty-five years before Hopkins's.
Answer
From "The Eagle," the line that often stands out is "And like a thunderbolt he falls," recognized as one of the most succinct closing lines in Victorian poetry. In "The Windhover," the phrase "the achieve of, the mastery of the thing" is frequently referenced by readers attempting to capture the essence of effortless excellence.
Answer
No. Many readers connect with it simply as a poem celebrating beauty and the intensity of a single moment. The theological aspect adds depth, but the poem remains a vivid sensory experience, regardless of whether the dedication to Christ holds personal significance for you.
Answer
Sprung rhythm is the term coined by Hopkins for a metrical system that only counts the stressed syllables in each foot, disregarding the number of unstressed syllables around them. He chose this approach because he believed it better reflected the natural rhythm of spoken English. In a poem about a bird gliding through the air, this technique allows the lines to rise and fall, mirroring the falcon's movement.
Answer
Tennyson likely envisioned either a golden or a white-tailed eagle, and the imagery in the poem — the crag, the sea, the solitary height — aligns well with that bird. While some readers with an interest in birds have suggested that the behavior described might also apply to other large raptors, the specific species isn’t the main concern here: Tennyson is aiming for an archetype of power, rather than a precise entry for a field guide.
Answer
"The Windhover" by a wide margin. Hopkins's sprung rhythm, unique word creations, and intricate sound patterns were so innovative that they inspired poets like Dylan Thomas and W.H. Auden long after he passed away. Tennyson's "The Eagle" is a brilliant example of classical brevity, but it adheres to traditional conventions instead of challenging them.
§06 More from this chapter
Birds, winds, and the visionary gleam
9 comparisons in this chapter
Percy Bysshe ShelleyvsJohn Keats
To a SkylarkagainstOde to a Nightingale
Gerard Manley HopkinsvsPercy Bysshe Shelley
The WindhoveragainstTo a Skylark
Gerard Manley HopkinsvsGerard Manley Hopkins
Pied BeautyagainstGod's Grandeur
Percy Bysshe ShelleyvsPercy Bysshe Shelley
The CloudagainstOde to the West Wind
John KeatsvsJohn Keats
Ode on MelancholyagainstOde to a Nightingale
John KeatsvsJohn Keats