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The Full Text of “As kingfishers catch fire”
1As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
2As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
3Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
4Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
5Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
6Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
7Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
8Crying What I do is me: for that I came.
9I say more: the just man justices;
10Keeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
11Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is—
12Chríst. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
13Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
14To the Father through the features of men's faces.
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“As kingfishers catch fire” Introduction
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“As kingfishers catch fire” Summary
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“As kingfishers catch fire” Themes
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Identity, Selfhood, and God
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “As kingfishers catch fire”
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Lines 1-3
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; -
Lines 3-4
like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name; -
Lines 5-6
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; -
Lines 7-8
Selves—goes itself;
myself
it speaks and spells,
Crying
What I do is me: for that I came. -
Lines 9-10
I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces; -
Lines 11-12
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is—
Chríst. -
Lines 12-14
For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.
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“As kingfishers catch fire” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Simile
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Metaphor
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Parallelism
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Repetition
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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“As kingfishers catch fire” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Draw flame
- Roundy
- Tucked
- Bow
- Finds tongue
- Fling
- Broad
- Mortal
- Deals out that being indoors each one dwells
- Selves
- Just
- Justices
- Grace
- All his goings
- Limbs
- The Father
Draw flame-
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “As kingfishers catch fire”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“As kingfishers catch fire” Speaker
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“As kingfishers catch fire” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “As kingfishers catch fire”
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More “As kingfishers catch fire” Resources
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External Resources
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A Hopkins Chronology — Read a timeline of Hopkins's short life.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.
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A Brief Biography — Read a biography of Hopkins from the Poetry Foundation.
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Hopkins's Legacy — Visit a website dedicated to Hopkins's life and work to find information on recent Hopkins scholarship.
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Portraits of Hopkins — See some images of the melancholy, sweet-faced Hopkins.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins
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