Preview

"Thou Art Indeed.." Hopkins

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1245 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
"Thou Art Indeed.." Hopkins
The poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins is recognized by critics as some of the most influential and powerful religious poetry in all of history. At the young age of fifteen he won the Highgate School Poetry prize and two years later received the Governor 's Gold Medal for Latin Verse (website). However, despite this early recognition, he published very few poems over the course of his life, with the majority of his poetry being published posthumously. This can lead one to infer that his poetry was never written for an audience of any sort, short of himself and his God. Therefore his poems can provide very meaningful insight into the journey through faith on which he embarked over the course of his life. Consequently, as one of Hopkins ' final sonnets before his death, the poem ["Thou Art Indeed Just…"] can be seen as a well-framed window into his soul; the soul of a man who has struggled to follow the path of God throughout his lifetime. Through an in-depth analysis of the imagery and poetic devices at work within this poem, perhaps a deeper understanding of the poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, can be attained.
Understanding the sonnet ["Thou Art Indeed Just…"] necessitates an understanding of some of the prevailing themes at work both in Hopkins ' poetry and in his life. Hopkins was perpetually plagued, as well as blessed, by the double nature of his faith, "a source of anguish", which "he never wavered in…[yet]…never felt worthy of…" (Ramazani 64). This dual nature of faith makes itself evident in the poem through the attitudes taken by Hopkins. The opening lines, "Thou art indeed just, Lord, if I contend/with thee" (Hopkins 82) imparts to the reader a sense of acceptance of the fair nature of the Lord, despite any contentions Hopkins may have. The rhythmic, hard consonant sounds of the "t" and "d" in this passage (underlined) suggest a harmony or perhaps a grand design about which humankind is not fully aware. In Hopkins ' terminology, the structure of the first



Cited: "Eunuch." New Webster 's Dictionary and Thesaurus of the English Language. 1992. Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford Books. 1996. Ramazani, Jahan, et al. The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 2003. Wilson, Evelyn. Gerard Manley Hopkins - Images of Transcendence. 2003.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    text 6

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages

    This text is aimed at people who have an interest in poetry or cross cultures. It’s a modern day…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gwen Harwood- life

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages

    - deep interest in philosophy. Poems contain strong contrasts of language and experiences i.e mystical and domestic.…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lawall, Sarah, ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume A. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002.…

    • 1961 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    "Dead Poet 's Society - Script." The World of Juwhan Ryu. 07 Apr. 2009 .…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The guide gives detailed readings of poems from Different Cultures, with ideas for study. For a general introduction to poetry in the Anthology with extensive guidance for students and teachers, then please see the Introduction to the Anthology by clicking on the link below.…

    • 3799 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Poetry is often meant to be smooth, flowing, pleasing to the ear and the mind. To achieve this effect, many poets use different poetic techniques to help convey the meanings of their poetry. In the sonnet, "Yet Do I Marvel" written by Countee Cullen, many different features of poetry is used. In this essay, I will discuss the relationship between the meanings and the theme Cullen tries to convey in his sonnet and the techniques of metaphors, both religious and non-religious, allusions to Greek mythology, different rhyme schemes and repetition that he uses.…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sonnets and the Form of

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Sonnets are fourteen line poems that, most regularly, are found with an eight line section (octave) and a six line section (sestet). The octave is commonly divided into two four line sections (each called a quatrain), and the sestet into a four line part and a couplet. There is usually a “shift” in the poems mood and tone after the octave. There is a couple of different ways of describing this shift; one is to say that in the octave “this happens.” And the sestet says “therefore I feel this way” or gives the ultimate statement on the situation described in the octave. Another way of describing an octave versus a sestet is to say that in the octave presents a problem or situation that is resolved in the sestet. The couplet at the end gives a chance to conclude the poem (Padgett 178).…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Representative Poem

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Ferguson, M., Salter, M. J., & Stallworthy, J. (Eds.). (2005). The Norton anthology of poetry (5th ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.…

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Companion Piece 1

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This is the second poetry I have ever written until now, and I believe it is a new start as my development as a writer. I have found out the process of writing a poem is not straightforward, but it is engaging. By examining published contemporary poems, such as “The Clan” and “Spitting Image” in class, I have a better understanding about genre conventions of contemporary poems. It also allows me to apply these techniques in my own poetry writing.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Poetry assignment

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Poetry assignment: present an anthology of your poetry written this term. In other words, type all the poems you've written this term and submit them for marking. Print them out, hand them in. Title your anthology 'The Collected Poems of '.…

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Clugston, R. W. (2010). Poems for Reflection. In Journey into literature (chapter 12 section 2).…

    • 2111 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cited: Mason, David, and John Frederick Nims, eds. Western Wind An Introduction to Poetry. New…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Poetry Analysis

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Kryder, John B. "Discovering the Inclusive Art of Poetry." JSTOR. National Council of Teachers of English, Sept. 2006. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.…

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    4. Eastman, Arthur M. (coordinating editor): The Norton Anthology of Poetry. New York, WW Norton, 1970, p. 1002.…

    • 3584 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "Pied Beauty" we see a striking dualism in which the nature of beings is rendered in all that is unique, particular and individual. All multiplicity and diversity are the gift of God in the creation of being, emanating from Himself. Gerard Manley Hopkins gives praises to God for the natural beauty of the world, the variety of it and how everything fits together. God symbolizes what is constant and unchangeable. Unlike the things he creates, God never varies. Hopkins' symbols confirm his theme that a wondrous father exist because the worlds if full of beautiful things living in harmony.…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays