Thursday, June 21, 2007
Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844-1889
Gerard Manley Hopkins is considered to be one of the most modern Victorian poets. He had a very distinctive original style in poetry. "His entries are always searching to grasp the essential particularity of a thing, its inner landscape-what he called "inscape",(Henderson & Sharpe, p.774). Hopkins also used the word "instress" to define and describe the emotional effect he wanted to profit to the observer. "Taken together, the terms "inscape" and "instress" convey the organic beauty that for Hopkins speakes of God's presence in nature",(Henderson & Sharpe, p.744).The poem entitled, " Spring and Fall: to a young child", exemplifies the connection and beauty of God and nature as well as captures emotions that allows the reader to experience what I think Hopkins wanted familiarity and the common relationship that is shared between the items that are being represented. The following lines were taken from the poem,
"Spring and Fall:to a young child",
Lines 3,4, &5
"Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder"
Line 3, I'm reminded of the inner questions and scattered thoughts that often plague a person while grieving. Line 5, As time goes on and you experience things, you become numb: immune to pain or denial. Line 11, I interpreted as , sorrow and Spring are things that come and go. That they are things that you don't have control over, it just happens.
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3 comments:
Good analysis of Hopkins's lines, but I would have liked to see more of your own thought rather than quoting the ideas of other authors. Even still, the authors you did quote provided insight into the writings of Hopkins.
Keekwak,
You quote some good lines for discussion here (and Hopkins is definitely one author whose meaning is not obvious, and so requires discussion). I wish you had presented your thoughts on those lines in more detail and in a clearer way, though.
I too was a little confused by your analysis. Nice choice of quotes though. Hopkins's "Spring and Fall" to me was about the realization of death for a young child. When someone first realizes that everything that lives dies can be a difficult time. It was interesting to see Hopkins comparing the leaves falling and seasons to the seasons of life.
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