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Hopkins was a Jesuit priest with a profoundly mystical nature. Nevertheless, despite following the rules
of religion to the letter, he found himself in a state of deep spiritual depression -- what is sometimes
known as the "dark night of the soul".
Essentially, he felt that, despite all his fervent attempts to serve his Lord, God was not responding with
any perceivable blessing. On the other hand, those people whom he regarded as sinners appeared to
lead very fruitful lives indeed.
THE POET & HIS POEM
This sonnet is based upon the following extract from the scriptures:
"You are righteous, O LORD,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease?"
(Jeremiah 12:1)
Gerrard Manley Hopkins was born in 1844, the first of nine children. His parents were staunch Anglicans.
He attended a grammar school in Highgate and then continued to Oxford University. His search for
religion, however, caused him to fall under the influence of the great Catholic convert, John Henry
Newman. As a result, Hopkins became a Catholic in 1866 and then joined the Society of Jesus or Jesuits
the following year.
Initially Hopkins burned all his early poetry because he believed it was a symbol of ambition. Luckily, he
later changed his mind, being influenced by the writings of the medieval scholar Duns Scotus who saw
art as a reflection of God within the world.
From this concept, Hopkins developed his philosophy of "Inscape" and "Instress".
"Inscape" is the underlying form that marks the essence of all things, the God-principle which exists
in everything.
"Instress", on the other hand, is our personal ability to experience that God-principle.
Everything has "Inscape". In other words, everything has a God-principle. Trees, flowers, sunsets,
people and animals: each has its own "Inscape".
However, not everyone has "Instress". The person who watches the glory of the setting sun but
is reminded of a poached egg clearly lacks "Instress".
The poet studied Theology in Wales, which is probably where he picked up the Welsh lyrical way of
speaking and writing. He would translate this lyrical metre into his poetry in what he called "Sprung
Rhythm".
Hopkins was ordained a priest in 1877 and then worked as a curate in Sheffield, Oxford and London
before moving on to become parish priest in slum parishes in Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. None
of this, however, was intellectually suitable for a man who had such a brilliant mind.
Eventually he became a professor of Latin and Greek, first at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire and then
at the University College in Dublin. His frustration, however, at having to mark a plethora of mediocre
scripts sent him spiralling into a state of deep depression from which he would not emerge.
He died of typhoid fever in 1889. He was then only 44 years of age.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
STRUCTURE OF THE SONNET:
Italian or Petrarchan sonnets can usually be divided into two sections, with one message or argument
contained in the first eight lines (OCTAVE) and another in the final six (SESTET).
- Where does Hopkins actually break this sonnet? (2)
[Need help?]
The OCTAVE does not quite end with line 8 but runs half-way into line 9:
THOU art indeed just, Lord, if I contend
With thee; but, sir, so what I plead is just.
Why do sinners' ways prosper? and why must
Disappointment all I endeavour end?
Wert thou my enemy, O thou my friend,
How wouldst thou worse, I wonder, than thou dost
Defeat, thwart me?
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- What message is contained in the OCTAVE? (4)
[Need help?]
The theme of the OCTAVE is a discussion of how the poet has dedicated his life to God and yet God
appears to reward sinners more than he rewards the poet.
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- What message is contained in the SESTET? (4)
[Need help?]
The theme for the SESTET is similar except that the poet compares himself to plants and birds which
flourish under God's rain while the poet is suffering under a metaphorical drought.
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"THOU art indeed just, Lord, if I contend
With thee; but, sir, so what I plead is just."
- What is the speaker's attitude to the Lord as revealed in these first two lines? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet sees God as his Lord but, at the same time, as his father.
Note that the word "Sir" would have been used in Hopkins' day as the correct form of address for
his physical father. "I hope you have a happy birthday, Sir."
We therefore have here an attitude both of respect and of love. At the same time, however, the poet is
concerned that, despite all his own devotion to doing God's work, God nevertheless appears to treat
sinners better than He does the poet.
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- Why does the poet use "Thou" and "thee" but also "sir"? (4)
[Need help?]
"Thee" and "thou" are early words of respect to a person in authority. By Hopkins' day,
however, it had become a word reserved for addressing God.
On the other hand, "sir" was a word for addressing people of authority but in Hopkins' day it would
also have been a word of respect for his physical father. Hopkins, therefore, is addressing God as his
Lord but also with affection as his physical father.
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"Wert thou my enemy, O thou my friend,
How wouldst thou worse, I wonder, than thou dost
Defeat, thwart me? Oh, the sots and thralls of lust
Do in spare hours more thrive than I that spend,
Sir, life upon thy cause."
- Carefully outline the speaker's argument in these lines. (4)
[Need help?]
The poet suggests that God could not treat him worse if he were God's enemy. Although he is certain that
God is indeed his friend, nevertheless he notices that the worst people he could imagine -- the drunkards
and the sexually debauched -- seem to flourish whereas he, the poet who is totally dedicated to God's
work, appears to struggle for spiritual survival.
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"Wert thou my enemy, O thou my friend."
- Explain the literary device which the poet has used here? (4)
[Need help?]
The juxtaposing of "enemy" and "friend" is an example of antithesis, where two
words of opposite meaning are placed near each other.
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- What point is the poet making by using this literary device? (4)
[Need help?]
Despite the fact that the poet is God's friend who has spent his entire life dedicated to his Lord's service,
nevertheless God appears to treat him worse than if the poet were His enemy. So God is a friend but
appears to treat the poet as an enemy.
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"Laced they are again
With fretty chervil."
- Comment on the poet's use of the words "fretty chervil". (4)
[Need help?]
This would appear to be a play on words. Fretty means literally "criss-crossed" but it would also
seem to mean something that frets and worries. Although the chervil or herbs would not be worried, the
poet himself is certainly most troubled.
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"Birds build but not I build; no, but strain,
Time's eunuch, and not breed one work that wakes."
- What does the speaker mean when he refers to himself as "Time's eunuch"? (4)
[Need help?]
Be careful with your interpretation here. The poet is NOT referring to the fact that he is a Catholic priest
with a vow of celibacy. Despite their vows, Catholic priests are not eunuchs! They have not been
castrated.
No, the poet is referring to the fact that he is a eunuch -- impotent -- in terms of his work and his ideas,
i.e. his work and ideas are metaphorically impotent. Remember that the poet was a highly intelligent and
intellectual priest who served in a parish of people who could not appreciate his very academic sermons.
They probably did not like him and he in turn was becoming dreadfully frustrated with their apparent
stupidity.
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- Explain how this image is developed through the choice of words used. (4)
[Need help?]
The poet's intellectual sermons were "impotent", i.e. they could not make people sit up and take
notice. The poet felt that he could enlighten nobody, could breed no "word that wakes".
If you've ever had to preach to people who fall asleep during your sermon -- or taught a class of
intellectually challenged children -- you will know how Hopkins must have felt!
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Which word would BEST describe the speaker's TONE in the final line of this sonnet? Be able to justify
your answer. (4)
[Need help?]
The poet is certainly not angry or even sad. Frustrated, maybe. And disappointed -- and he certainly
has a great deal of despair.
One could certainly make an argument for the poet's being frustrated. He is frustrated that all his
dedication seems to achieve nothing.
Would despair, however, not be a better word? The poet has reached the point of despairing that he will
ever achieve any success.
Can one not conclude, therefore, that the poet appears to despair that he will ever achieve spiritual
satisfaction for all his dedication to God. Is this not more of a reaction than, say, frustration?
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