Gerard+Manley+Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins was born on July 28, 1844 in Stratford, London, England (Everett). His father was a marine insurance adjuster, as well as a published writer and poet (Everett). Hopkins was raised in a devout Protestant family; it is interesting that he was raised Protestant, as later on in his life he made the decision to convert to Catholicism. He was the eldest of nine incredibly artistic children “of whom two became professional illustrators,” thus, his exposure to artistic endeavors was not only encouraged, but it ran in the family (no citation). Hopkins attended Highgate School where he became well known for his poetic ability, as well as he was an academically exceptional student. He won a Highgate Poetry Prize with “The Escorial,” a poem written in Spenserian stanzas that he wrote at the age of sixteen (Roberts 3). He also won a scholarship that allowed him to “study Classics at Balliol” College, Oxford, and in 1863, at nineteen-years-old, he entered college to study “Greek and Roman history and culture;” he graduated in 1867 (Roberts 3). (Hopkins attended Oxford University)

During his studies Hopkins read and evidently connected with John Henry Newman’s //Apologia pro via sua //, a piece that explained Newman’s own experience and reasons for converting to Catholicism, possibly prompting Hopkins to begin questioning his Protestant upbringings (Poets.org). He became increasingly interested in Catholicism, and he converted to Roman Catholicism (no citation). He later decided to embark on becoming a priest (no citation). He decided to enter the Society of Jesus, which was based on the Spiritual Exercises that include all encompassing self-sacrifice from all aspects of life (no citation). It was highly demanding and incredibly strenuous. Upon embarking on his pursuit of becoming a Jesuit priest, he abandoned poetic writing because he felt that it was “too individualistic” and he needed to be “committed to sacrifice of personal ambition” (Everett). He burnt his previous poetic works and gave up writing poetry entirely until 1875 (Poets.org).

Two years after beginning writing again, whilst studying the Welsh language, Hopkins began reproducing Welsh poetic rhythm into his own poetry, thus creating “sprung rhythm” (Phillips). In 1875, Hopkins reentered the poetic world with the publishing of the poem “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” This poem was about a German passenger-ship that sank at mouth of the Thames, resulting in sixty lives lost. Among those that perished were five Franciscan nuns who were “fleeing Bismarck’s persecution of religious orders;” the nuns and their deaths serve as the main source of inspiration for this work (Roberts 59). This poem introduced his self-named “sprung rhythm,” a rhythm of which the “‘beat is measured by stress or strength, not number’ of syllables” (59).

First and foremost, Hopkins was a devout Jesuit Priest; however, he pursued teaching Greek Classics during his priesthood, and in 1884, he began teaching at the Royal University College in Dublin, Ireland (Lahey). There, he developed depression, and it remained with him for the rest of his life. His depression may have been the influence behind his dying last words, “’I am happy, so happy,’” his death and the subsequent promise of entering heaven marking one of the happiest moments of his life (Everett).

In 1889, he died of typhoid fever, leaving behind him no immediate family and very few published poems; he was buried in the burial grounds for the Society of Glasnevin (Lahey 147). His work became renowned after his death upon the publishing of his combined works in 1918, when his friend Robert Bridges edited a volume of Hopkins’ Poems (Poets.org). His most recognized contribution to the literary world was his approach to rhythmic structure, as he stands as the founder and developer of “sprung rhythm” (no citation). His poetry now serves as a distinctive expression of poetic faith in the Victorian era. -- UVic Engl 386/2012W

Works Cited:

“Gerard Manley Hopkins.” Poets.org //. //Web. 18 Apr. 2012. Everett, Glenn. “Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Brief Biography.” //The Victorian Web.// Victorianweb.org, 1988. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Lahey, G.F. “The Man.” //Gerard Manley Hopkins. // London, England: Oxford University Press, 1930.124-147. Print. Phillips, Catherine. //Gerard Manley Hopkins and the Victorian Visual World. //New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. Roberts, Gerald. “The Return to Poetry.” //<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,'Nimbus Sans L',sans-serif;">Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Literary Life. //Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1994. 59. Print. <span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,'Nimbus Sans L',sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Roberts, Gerald. “The Road to Parnassus.” //<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,'Nimbus Sans L',sans-serif;">Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Literary Life. //Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1994. 3. Print.