Skip to content
Linespedia

Ribblesdale

By Gerard Manley Hopkins

Topics: classic

Earth, sweet Earth, sweet landscape, with leavs throng     And louchd low grass, heaven that dost appeal     To, with no tongue to plead, no heart to feel;     That canst but only be, but dost that long -     Thou canst but be, but that thou well dost; strong     Thy plea with him who dealt, nay does now deal,     Thy lovely dale down thus and thus bids reel     Thy river, and o'er gives all to rack or wrong.     And what is Earth's eye, tongue, or heart else, where     Else, but in dear and dogged man? - Ah, the heir     To his own selfbent so bound, so tied to his turn,     To thriftless reave both our rich round world bare     And none reck of world after, this bids wear     Earth brows of such care, care and dear concern.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Earth, sweet Earth, sweet landscape, with leavs throng..."

"Ribblesdale" is a quintessential example of Gerard Manley Hopkins's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:Gerard Manley Hopkins

"Earth, sweet Earth, sweet landscape, with leavs th..." by Gerard Manley Hopkins

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"Wild air, world-mothering air,     Nestling me everywhere,     That each eyelash or hair     Girdles; goes home betwixt     The fleeciest, fra"

"I Wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.     What hours, O what black hors we have spent     This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways yo"

"On ear and ear two noises too old to end     Trench - right, the tide that ramps against the shore;     With a flood or a fall, low lull-off or"

"Glory be to God for dappled things -     For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;     For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim:"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Gerard Manley Hopkins

About Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889) was an English Jesuit poet who invented "sprung rhythm," a new metrical system. His poems—including "The Windhover," "Pied Beauty," and "God's Grandeur"—were published posthumously and are now celebrated for their ecstatic language and innovative prosody.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Wild air, world-mothering air,     Nestling me eve..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.