A Product of Gerard Manley Hopkins Religious Awakening - Essay Example

The Windhover (1877 A Product of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ Religious Awakening Gerard Manley Hopkins was a Jesuit priest and a Roman Catholic convert, best known for his poems which deviate from the usual forms and structures of sonnets and thus seem as ground-breaking and modernist (Feeney 94). One of his best known poems is The Windhover, written in 1877 but not published until some decades after his death. The poem had various interpretations, mostly related to Hopkins’ religious conversion and a deeper understanding of nature, the universe, and of God and His love that came about as a result of long hours of meditation. The Windhover can be also be interpreted as Hopkins’ attempt to break out of the usual metering styles commonly heard during his time, and the introduction of Old English terms while compounding different words come as the result of infusing modern ideas with classical approaches in word play (Easson 84). His use of these kinds of techniques created his distinct style, along with his odd nature and experiences as a Roman Catholic convert and then a Jesuit priest marked him as one of the most influential poets of the Victorian age (Iyengar 180). Through the use of stylistic devices that affect the entire work’s interpretation and Hopkins’ objection of anything normal and ordinary in accordance with the spiritual awakenings he experienced as a Jesuit priest, The Windhover shows his personal style of poetry that reflects his unorthodox religious ideas of non-conformity, that while dwelling on Earth, in serving and believing in God one does not have to remain tied to standards set forth mostly by man but follow God’s through His examples instead. A keen observer and recorder of natural history, Hopkins was a man of many artistic talents, and was known to be a prolific poetry writer during his years in university (Gardner 9). Even after abandoning poetry writing for a long time when he embarked on his religious pursuit, the remnants of his former life were still visible in most of the poems he wrote later in life as he was able to use various stylistic devices successfully, as exemplified by his use of alliteration, assonance, rhyming, enjambment and caesuras in his poems such as The Windhover (Iyengar 15). It is one of Hopkins’ most well-known works, and its use of variable stylistic devices such as the use of alliterations is seen in nearly every line of the poem, such as lines 1-3: I caught this morning’s minion, king- dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding (Hopkins 1-2) The first has “morning’s minion” and the second line has “daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn” as examples of alliterations. Hopkins choices of words, his use of these compound word groupings and introduction of alliterations show his keen observations of the living world and his skills choosing words most suitable to describe in detail what he saw for other people (Easson 22). At the same time his choice of words to describe a kestrel in flight allows readers to associate these mental images with his personal views on the wonders and miracles of God’s creations. However, because Hopkins’ way of thinking is not similar to how other poets did during those times, it is likely that for him the traditional way of writing poetry seems to be inadequate in describing his views on the world, and thus must resort to ways out of the ordinary to express himself better (Iyengar 17). In addition to alliteration, assonance is also used in The Windhover, also seen in many lines such as the words “told”, “more”, and “O” in line number 13: “Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!” (Hopkins 13). Straying away from how the line is formed, this line also figuratively shows how Hopkins strong beliefs in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Line 11 is another line that uses assonance and contains Hopkins strong belief as seeing Jesus as his Savior: “Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here” (Hopkins 11). The words alliterated were “brute”, “beauty”, and “plume”, which Hopkins use to describe Jesus Christ similarly to a shining and venerable knight, capable of both defense and offense while bathed in God’s grace (Easson 29).The concept of alluding Jesus with a kind of person not associated with peace but more on violence is something unique but expressed lyrically through Hopkins’ odd way of thinking. Hopkins’ use of alliteration and assonance contributes to the unique lyrical and playful quality of the poem through uncommon usage, and while using rhyming as an element that has a strong presence in the whole poem and makes it recognizable as one, enjambment and caesuras are used to break the lines into varying number of syllables each, showing his non-conforming nature. These qualities are most readily observed even from using only a few lines from the first stanza: In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on the swing As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding Stirred for a bird, - the achieve of, the mastery of the thing! (Hopkins 6-10) Readers can readily see that most of the last words in these verses end in “-ing”, which unifies the stanza as one unit however this is overshadowed by the uneven distribution of syllables per line, making enjambment through uneven line breaks a strong element that defines non-traditional elements in Hopkins’ work and reflects his stance on non-conformity and limiting ties to tradition and layman ways of thinking. Enjambment, along with caesuras distinguish Hopkins’ style from much more traditional forms of poetry that normally rely on metered styles or equal numbers of syllables per line, per poem. The unorthodox uses of enjambment and caesuras create more pauses and drama especially while reading the poem aloud, in effect removing the stiff quality of metered poetry and makes it much more playful and flowing (Feeney 40). The uncommon inclusion of pauses at certain parts of the verses makes for a reliance on various words or pauses to emphasize on word meanings, making the poem sound nearly the same as sentences spoken in normal conversations. For example, in lines 7-9 which are actually two sentences divided into three lines, there is an unequal division of syllables and a colon is used to mark a dramatic pause: As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding (Hopkins 7-9) The colon placed at line 7 creates a climactic moment that describes the kestrel’s acrobatic flight, and gives a greater emphasis on how fluid the bird’s movement is as it swoops and turns while in mid-air. Meanwhile the description of the bird’s majestic flight and the reason for its powerful image is continued dramatically after a break in the third line, wherein the bird defies the strong wind. This effect is achieved through the use of adjectives and the inclusion of dramatic pauses, giving the kestrel a strong image for a bird in flight. The dramatic pauses created by the caesuras and the uneven breaks in the lines give the verses a singsong quality that feels like the breeze. The pauses express a sense of awe in God’s work such as in lines 9 and 10: “Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding/Stirred for a bird, - the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!” (Hopkins 9-10). Uneven breaks within and between lines give his poems a unique twist and dynamic quality, especially considering that it was written in 1877 when there is still a strong hold to traditional forms of prose and verse. The Windhover not only reflects his views on non-conformity, but this also allows Hopkins to describe Jesus Christ as a powerful figure in his life because of His ability to go against the flow of society, much as the bird repels the strength of the wind. This also alludes to Hopkins’ ideas on why it is important to remain steadfast to the Lord despite living an unorthodox life on Earth: because it reflects how Jesus Christ lived his days on Earth as well, thus he must live like that also (Iyengar 17). An unorthodox way of thinking moved Hopkins to create poems with lyrical and musical quality that does not strongly rely on traditional forms of poetry such as The Windhover. In addition to his innate skills, Hopkins included some of his knowledge outside the realm of literature such as his skills in observing the natural world and his steadfast beliefs in his religion to give greater depth and meaning into the interpretation of his works(Feeney 39).Also his unique use of different stylistic devices in both common and uncommon ways successfully created a playful and musical atmosphere for his poem, giving it both a dramatic and rhythmic quality even without relying greatly on traditional poetic elements. In a way this also reflects his views on why there is lesser importance in following what other people dictates, and greater relevance in believing God through trials and successes (Iyengar 53). Gerard Manley Hopkins’ life of non-conformity with what most people call “traditional” was strongly shown in his rejection of traditional poetry styles through the use of variable structuring and line breaks while using topics such nature studies, pioneering the start of modern poetry styles that have uneven number of syllables in each line such as free-verse poetry. This is exemplified by his poem The Windhover that strongly uses enjambment and divides sentences in unexpected places, creating a loose and expressive poem with verses having unequal number of syllables, departing from the well-known metered style of poetry having equal number of syllables per line. Also his poems reflect the products of his tireless search for the ultimate truth in his religion, resulting for his strong need to uphold virtues even up to the point of non-conformity with the common ideals of what many people consider common ways of thinking (Sobolev 9).His unique style of expression that came about as the result of his odd ways of thinking in terms of societal and spiritual matters earned him a distinction from other Victorian Era writers, and for future writers it justified the beauty of his works as the result of his uncanny ways of thinking outside the box. Works Cited Easson, Angus. Gerard Manley Hopkins. Oxon: Routledge, 2011. Print. Feeney, Joseph J. The Playfulness of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013. Print. Gardner, William Henry. Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889). New York, NY: Haskell House Publishers Ltd., 1961. Print. Hopkins, Gerard Manley. "The Windhover (1877)." Hopkins, Gerard Manley. "God's Grandeur" and Other Poems. Ontario: Courier Dover Publications, 1995. 18. Print. Iyengar, K. R. Srinivasa. Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Man and the Poet. New York, NY: Haskell House Publishers, Ltd., 1971. Print. Sobolev, Dennis. The Split World of Gerard Manley Hopkins: An Essay in Semiotic Phenomenology. The Catholic University of America Press, 2011. Print. Read More