Kaylin Jamnicki
When reading Gerard Manley Hopkins’ sonnets, I was surprised by the fluctuations in religion that he expressed. Looking at the change in tone and theme from “God’s Grandeur” to “No worst, there is none” was an abrupt change. The notes in the book tell us that the former was written in 1877, and the latter in 1885. Through that span of almost 10 years, it becomes clear that Hopkins experiences some personal or religion based crisis. He describes in “God’s Grandeur” how the “world is charged with the grandeur of God […] It gathers to a greatness”, which shows how Hopkins, at that time, believed God to be surrounding him in nature (1516). This also shows how Hopkins believed that God would be constantly around and not desert him. This is a stark contrast to the tone presented by Hopkins in “No worst, there is none”. In this “terrible sonnet”, Hopkins presents a sorrowful tone, asking “Comforter, where, where is your comforting? / Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?” (1522). Hopkins’ words, and his repetition of the word “where”, display to me a despair at an apparent loss of faith. He goes on to describe how his cries appear to be unheard and simply die off. The tone of the sonnet drastically changed, and I believe that it is associated with the run of sonnets designated as “terrible”, perhaps pointing towards an event that caused Hopkins to change viewpoints. Even through both extremes of faith, Hopkins manages to utilize deep metaphors and extraordinary language to make his point come across to his readers. I enjoyed reading Hopkins’ sonnets, especially the way that he described how he was able to find his God, and his hope.
Professor's Reply: I'm delighted to see how you've pressed on with the reading, Kaylin, so that you had that experience of the contrast between the Welsh sonnets and the "terrible" sonnets. My own reading of this period of irremediable gloom is grounded less in "an event" than a whole concatenation of events that made Hopkins profoundly depressed and filled with self-loathing. If you read the whole corpus of his poetry, you may find that this ecstasy and self-disgust are less two contrasting periods than recurrent cycles that Hopkins constantly negotiates. Have a look at "Inversnaid," for instance, and the somber, poised, "Spring and Fall." But doesn't he weave memorable verse out of his despair? That's REAL creativity!
Katie Palmer
Gerard Manley Hopkins: “No worst, there is none”
As in most of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poetry, the poem “No worst, there is none” is filled with many creative syntactical literary techniques that further illuminate the image and message that Hopkins is trying to relate to his readers. One of the devices that he makes use of is alliteration throughout the entire poem, as if to put a heavy emphasis on the pain that he is currently feeling. For example, the phrase “pitched past pitch of grief” in line 1 sounds as if he is being thrust beyond his limit of grief, as the string of “P’s” create a pushing sound when read aloud. Another key example of this alliteration is as his “cries heave, herds-long,” (line 5), it literally sounds what it is describing; it is as if the herd’s lamenting is starting at one end and builds up until it reaches the other end, which must be a very deep and powerful cry.
In addition, rhyming is another technique Hopkins uses, as in line 12: “deal with that steep or deep. Here! Creep.” By throwing three rhyming words together in such quick succession, Hopkins creates the effect of overwhelming the reader with the buildup of the sounds and simultaneously a buildup of his frustration and grief. In the last two lines, the enjambment of “all/ Life Death” allows for life and death to appear as if they flowed next to each other, and there is no implied breath between the two words. This is significant because the two terms are such extreme opposites and it creates a powerful oxymoronic effect when they are placed side by side like this.
By making use of literary devices such as alliteration, rhyming, and enjambment, Hopkins is able to provide a deeper meaning in his poem for those that are educated enough to discover and decipher them.
Professor's Reply: Katie, I applaud the patience you're taking to dwell on the patterning (what GMH would call the "inscape of language") of words you see Hopkins crafting here, but I want you to press on with that "deeper meaning" I've bolded in your conclusion. One might, for instance, read such a poem as evidence of poetic self-discipline so refined that he forces himself to document the mental agony of extreme alienation in a form that makes it both accessible to others (like us) and therefore socialized.
Katherine Davis
In lines 2, 3, and 4 in Hopkins God’s Grandeur, God ‘s presence is expressed as one that “flame[s] out” and gathers like the “ooze of oil”. Because the oil is further referenced to be from crushed olives, I interpret that simile to mean God’s presence is heavy and abundant. Although olive oil is not necessarily a dense liquid, it is thicker than water, thus the reasoning behind my interpretation of God’s presence to be abundant and overwhelming. I additionally interpret God’s presence to be powerful through Hopkins’s description of shook foil. As footnoted, Hopkins explains that the shook foil “glows like sheet lightening”, emanating with intense force. As lightening lights up the entire night sky, I imagine Hopkins to present God as one that is available to everyone, being ever present. As opposed to his description in the beginning of God’s Grandeur, the description of God’s presence is juxtaposed in line 14. I interpret the last two words “bright wings” to suggest that, because of the “bent/World” and the generations of “men…[having] trod, [having] trod, [having] trod” on God’s presence, perhaps God’s grace will be taking flight. Like the Biblical narrative of great flood in Genesis, perhaps God will be further punishing the men for taking his presence and grace for granted. Furthermore, I believe the reference of Christ is present in line 9, where Hopkins writes that “nature is never spent”. Not only does Hopkins explicitly talk about God and the Holy Ghost (thus potentially leaving the reference of Christ to be that of nature), but perhaps he makes reference to Christ through nature because of Christ’s presence on Earth. Like the dispersal of nature throughout Earth, Christ travels throughout the Earth, “never spent”, despite other’s disbelief and condemnation.
Professor's Reply: Katherine, I share your inclination (see the phrasing I've put in bold) to look in this poem for some warning of God's wrath against a humanity so wreckless about stewarding the earth. I find that warning more in the prospect of God's "rod" (as perhaps his punitive power or his rule), than in the prospect of his abandoning his world and taking flight. After all, that dove-like Holy Ghost seems rather snugly placed ("broods," "warm breast," "Ah, bright wings") and therefore unlikely to abandon the egg-like earth! For all that, one can't help wishing for a few chastisements with the almighty rod upon the heads of indifferent corporations!!
Chelsea Nacker
One of the most profound aspects of literature is its ability to explore the human condition and reveal the unrealized truths of life. For this reason I generally lean towards the Romantic period for its enlightening focus on the human consciousness. This week, however, the reading of Hopkins brought about a return to this exploration of the interior of man in his poem “As Kingfishers Catch Fire”.
In this poem Hopkins develops his idea of inscape that was mentioned in the anthologies overview of his journals as being “the distinctive design that constitutes individual identity… not static but dynamic”(1514). The use of the word inscape is particularly interesting when viewed as the foil of landscape. Just as the physical setting gives order and is the backdrop to all that happens so too does inscape determine the pattern of an individual's essence and accentuate their actions. In this light we can see the significance of Hopkins presentation of his idea. This development occurs throughout “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” as Hopkins sets up his first rung of logic by drawing on the accepted truth that inanimate objects each have their own purpose and utility. Next he pushes his readers further by making the bridge to humanity as he identifies his own purpose saying “What I do is me; for that I came”(1517). He then takes the final step by moving away from the literal aspects towards the moral and spiritual realms in order to portray the idea that man’s existence cannot be accidental but must be deliberate in an effort to attain one’s highest self. Through this explanation we understand the profound intention of his term inscape.
Professor's Reply: So Chelsea, you'd say that for humanity to "selve," there has to be an exertion of "will"? Do you think that some social and environmental conditions are more conducive to selving than others and that this might make the difference between a stone ringing down a well and a just man who "justices/justice is"?