“Hopkins’ innovative style displays his struggle with what he believes to be fundamental truths.”
In your opinion, is this a fair assessment of his poetry? Support with suitable reference to the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins on your course.
Feedback:
– high H2
– your introduction doesn’t do your essay justice. A good tip (at this stage) is to write your introduction after you’ve written the body of the essay. This particular sentence needs work, “Throughout studying Hopkins’ poetry, I’ve learnt about Hopkins’ beliefs and ideas through his use of a various number of poetic techniques and his unique and advanced style.” The problem with it is that it’s too vague and formulaic. You might want to make it more personal. Same with the opening line of your conclusion, “I believe I have shown how Hopkins innovative style displays his struggle with what he believes to be fundamental truths.”
– there is some awkward phrasing, eg “They also use Hopkins technique of sprung rhythm…” It should be rephrased, “These are examples of “sprung rhythm”…
– avoid long stretches without quotes eg in your paragraph that starts with “Hopkins uses rhetorical questions and repetition”
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Throughout studying Hopkins’ poetry, I’ve learnt about Hopkins’ beliefs and ideas through his use of a various number of poetic techniques and his unique and advanced style. Hopkins’ poetry ranges from light with pleasant ideas and themes, to dark poetry with themes of depression and mental anguish. It is from this wide variety we learn about how Hopkins struggled with his religion and his beliefs throughout his life. To discuss this statement further I will use the poems “God’s Grandeur”, “Pied Beauty”, “The Windhover”, “Inversnaid”, and the three terrible sonnets.
Hopkins use of sprung rhythm teaches us about how he believes nature is beautiful and unique, due to the power of God. Hopkins starts off both “God’s Grandeur” and “Pied Beauty” with strong statements expressing what he believes to be true about the world “The world is charged with the grandeur of God” and “Glory be to God for dappled things.” Both of these opening lines reference religion and Hopkins is thanking God for creating and making the world a beautiful place. They also use Hopkins technique of sprung rhythm which he describes as “common speak.” Both statements are using regular English language to exemplify Hopkin’s beliefs. In “God’s Grandeur” Hopkins goes on to use a metaphor to describe God’s power “like the ooze of oil”, he imagines God’s power as spilling over the entire world and making it a better place. In “Pied Beauty” Hopkins goes on to use colloquial language “spare”, “original”, “counter” to describe the uniqueness he believes is present in every living thing.
Hopkins uses rhetorical questions and repetition in his poems to show his environmental and sustainable thinking, which was unique at the time he was alive. In the middle of “God’s Grandeur”, while admiring God’s peacefully created wildlife, Hopkins stops and asks a question “Why do men then now not reck his rod?” Hopkins is questioning why the human race ruin and destroy wildlife. This question displays how Hopkins struggled with mankind not appreciating his most valued belief-the beauty of God in nature. Hopkins clearly is confused why other people do not believe something which he thinks is a fundamental truth. The use of the rhetorical question definitely made me stop and think about Hopkins beliefs. Hopkins also asks a rhetorical question in the poem “Inversnaid” to make his audience think of the beauty of nature. “What would the world be, once bereft of wet and wildness? This quote creates vivid imagery of a gloomy, dull earth without rivers and streams, as described in “Inversnaid”. He then uses repetition to reinforce his strong belief that nature should be left alone a man should not destroy it “Let them be left, O let them be left.” It is clear from these two poems that Hopkins’ style makes his audience question the environment and their actions.
In the terrible sonnets, Hopkins uses dark language and themes to display his struggle with mental health and therefore his religion. In the poem “No worst, there is none”, Hopkin gives us an uncensored look into his soul. He uses vivid imagery and words such as “steep”, “deep”, “cliff” to describe a man hanging on from dear life on the side of a cliff. This teaches us how Hopkins is desperately struggling with his mental health, although at the end there is a pathetic sort of hope as Hopkins tries to reassure us that “every day dies with sleep”. The imagery and language used show us how badly Hopkins is struggling. Hopkins using this dark language to speak about his troubles with religion was very advanced and original, at his time of writing, especially for someone with a strong religious background. I believe that the next poem “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day” continues from this as Hopkins describes himself waking up from sleep. He tells us how dreadful his sleep was “black hours”. He uses a simile “cries like dead letters sent” to tell us how his responses for help are not being answered. Hopkins is not receiving the comfort from God like he got in his previous poems. Similarly to “No worst, there is none.” Hopkins makes a sad jab at hope at end of this poem. We receive a terrifying image of “the lost” and how “their sweating selves” are “worse” off than Hopkins is. It shows us that Hopkins still has belief in God even though God is not answering his prayers. The final poem of the terrible sonnets “Thou art indeed just, Lord”, is what I believe to be the darkest of them all. Hopkins questions why the “sots and thralls of lust” receive a life of happiness while Hopkins, who has dedicated his whole life to God, is severely depressed. This poem has a unique style as a direct conversation with God and it is upsetting as Hopkins is questioning God about beliefs that he believed to be important truths he believed his whole life.
Hopkins’ use of inscape tells us about his belief that each living thing is unique and has a special personality. The use of inscape is majorly captured in “The Windhover” as Hopkins describes the bird in a fascinating way. He opens the poem with alliteration “I caught this morning morning’s minion” “dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon”, this technique captures the bird’s lively energy. Hopkins believes this bird is unique and magnificent “the mastery of the thing”. It gives us a refreshing view of nature and life. Hopkins also explains at the end of the poem how he believes something as simple as “fire” can hold the essence of something as beautiful as “gold” sparks. The use of inscape is also seen in “Inversnaid” as Hopkins describes the beauty of a lake in the Scottish Highland. He truly captures the essence of the Scottish land by using words with an “r” sound such as “rollrock”, perfect for a Scottish accent. This helps to capture the atmosphere of the lake. Hopkins uses repetition and alliteration “rounds and rounds despair to drowning” to tell us how the lake is long and free. “Despair” has not got a chance of survival in this strong stream.
I believe I have shown how Hopkins innovative style displays his struggle with what he believes to be fundamental truths. Hopkins’ poetry takes you on a journey in which you learn about his strong belief in the beauty of nature and religion. He opens up and you learn about his struggles with these beliefs in the terrible sonnets. His use of an original range of techniques such as alliteration, inscape and metaphors, to name a few, thoroughly helped in displaying his beliefs.
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