Hopkins Poem Called Carrion Comfort - Essay Example

Carrion Comfort In Hopkins’ poem called Carrion comfort, there is extensive use of parallelism, deviation and variation, to explain the pattern and the flow of the poem. Parallelism is the repetition of a sentence or a word in order to achieve a form of rhyme. For example, “ Not, I will not, carrion comfort…, not feast on…; Not untwist-slack…” by beginning with the word “Not” and then repeating it in the second line, Hopkins brings the information that is struggling and the repeated word strengthens this stand. The author establishes a tone of conflict and tension that runs throughout the poem. In parallelism, the arrangement gets coordinated with the thoughts to demonstrate the effect of the relationship (Feeney 1989, p. 269). Hopkins also repeats the word can, i.e., “In me, most weary cry can no more. I can, can…, hope, wish day…, not to be.” In the above sentence, two types of parallelism can be observed. First, there is the repeated use of the word can; this creates rhyme in the poem. The second show of parallelism is through the use of the words hope and wish simultaneously in the same line. These words portray the positive thoughts of the author. Parallelism gets used in the line, ‘me frantic to avoid thee and flee’. The words avoid and flee get used to show that the author is running away from something. Impotence when approached by God. Hopkins faces depression and despair, by returning to his connection with God, he immediately realizes that there exists a reason behind his depression. He sees the depression as a sign of test from God. After this, Hopkins begins the recovery path. He starts the long journey back to normalcy. He still wonders if the comfort found from kissing the rod and rejoicing in the temptations imposed by God, bring pleasure to God or himself (John 1942, p. 112). Hopkins reveals the nature of despair after the long spiritual struggle. He starts by revolting against despair and then faces the struggle. This ultimately increases his despair. Afterwards, he questions his assailant’s motivation for putting him amidst all this trials and tribulations. However, throughout his problems, he still finds joy and strength in God, the precipitator of his trouble. Hopkins finds the answer to his long struggle as submission. He uses strong metaphors, biblical imagery and diction to bring forward his ordeals. Hopkins conveys the message of his struggling and heightens the conflict by addressing the despair he faces. He brings out the image of “feasting” on “carrion” and also getting “comfort”…one of the vultures’ satisfactions in eating dead flesh.” Through likening himself to a vulture, he implies that he has the nature of finding relief in death. Although, he wants death by his nature, he fights this desires. He establishes a deep, inner turmoil in the first stanza (Wolpert 1999, p. 16). In the second line, Hopkins uses the metaphor of a rope. This shows the continuation of tension. He says, “Not untwist, slack they may be… last strands of man” (Feeney 1989, p. 25). He refuses to let go the rope of despair that has tangled him, even though they weak. His desire for life becomes evident, but despair would lead to his destruction. He goes ahead to describe him as being weary, “cry I can.” Though he is weak, he manages to resist by positively saying, “I can”. He repeats can in the beginning of line 4 and uses hope to show his desire to overcome despair (Feeney 1989, p. 26) He wishes for the time he will be free from his turmoil, “wish day come” (Feeney 1989, p. 27). Despite his desires to succeed shown through the stanza, He ends with the words, “not choose not to be.” This implies that he doubts his ability to succeed from his troubles. Hopkins ascribes in the second quatrain, the characteristics of his assailant as divine and satanic. He labels the assailants as terrible, and laments why such a powerful being would be after him. In line 6, he refers the attacker as a lion, symbolizing either Christ or the devil. He describes the attacker as having “darksome eyes”, which scan, “his bruised bones” (Feeney 1989, p. 25). The word scan brings out the image of Hopkins being the prey of the lion. In line 8, he uses the metaphor of the violent storm to portray disaster. He describes the attacker as a “tempest” in view of the harsh storm and the devil, the greatest temper of human beings. He describes himself as frantic in his attempt to flee. In the sestet, we see surprising revelations about the reaction and relationship between the assailant and Hopkins trials (Daniel 1982, p.66). “Why?” in line 9 links the former quatrain to the sestet and provide answers to his questions. When he states “chaff might fly, grain lie more clear” (Feeney 1989, p. 26). He alludes to a number of Old Testament verses where burning of chaff symbolizes spiritual purification. He sees his tribulations as a form of spiritual nourishment; through which his “grain” self gets seen. When Hopkins kisses the rod, “kissed the rod” we are able to see that the assailant is not Satan but God (Feeney 1989, p. 26). In relation to the story of Job in the Old Testament, God inflicted these trials on him, to spiritually nourish him and draw him closer God in time of need. Attributing satanic qualities to God shows how Hopkins considered God his enemy. Line 11 shows, Hopkins appreciating the “hand” that bears the “rod”. “Lapped strength, stole joy” demonstrates that his joy come from the hand of God (Feeney 1989, p. 27). He lists all the gifts he has received from God i.e. strength, laughter and joy. He is, however, anxious to thank him “Cheer who though”. He is, however, not thankful to the gifts given by God. He derived satisfaction from himself and his struggle rather than from God (Paul 1970, p. 77). In line 12, Hopkins emphasize on Gods greatness. “Hero whose heaven ...” He emphasizes that Christ is the ultimate hero, who saved all humanity by capitalizing the word Hero. He continues by saying that Gods foot trod him. Hopkins faces his own rebellion and presents the final tension in the poem when he does not cheer his God. He questions himself, “O which one?” he does not know who to thank. The last line ends with Him remembering his past “That night now darkness” (Abbot 1955, p.99). He refers to himself as a wretch and inserts the exclamation “My God”. Hopkins shows his desire to submit to God’s will by ending the poem with ‘My God’ (Abbot 1955, p.99). By referring to God with his proper title, Hopkins acknowledges the superiority of God and his identity. By using the word may he finally admits and makes the will of God, his own. Hopkins reveals the nature of his spiritual crisis through the use of metaphors, parallelism, biblical imagery and diction. Hopkins tribulations demonstrate that faith comes with many trials. Hopkins found solace in God by demonstrating his strong faith in Him (Abbot 1955, p.99). The Wreck of the Deutschland The poem “The Wreck of the Deutschland” draws its inspiration from the tragedy that happened to a German ship (Milligan 1944, p.125). The ship wreck had an impact in Hopkins life. He recognized that man had two responses to the being of God: recognize the existence of God or disclaim the existence of God. In the first stanza, he mentions the importance of God and all he can do. He acknowledges God as the giver of life and provider of man’s basic needs. In the second stanza, Hopkins view God as a dictator who demands total submission. He states that, it is God who created him and as well destroyed him. The shipwreck plays a crucial role in Hopkins decisions since it affected him mentally and spiritually. He questions God on why the human race has to endure all these suffering as a form of His love to human beings. Hopkins alludes the souls of beings in hell would be locked in their bodies like in jails (Milligan 1944, p.125). He further goes ahead to state that human beings always blame themselves for whatever happens to them. They tend to see Gods grace as a punishment to their being. He portrays himself as the bridge between the gap in him and the heart of Christ. Hopkins attempts to navigate the two faces of God. He sees God as a flame that signifies his two sides of terror and love. The poet attempts to contrast between Gods grace and man’s existence. He writes “…body disintegrates like sand in the hour glass, and it streamlets of God’s grace” (Milligan 1944, p.125). Hopkins praises Gods creations such as the stars, thunder and moonlight since they are the natural signifiers of heavenly power. He praises God grace and laments that God’s pain is the only truth that we seek in the quest for spiritual nourishment. He states that the death of Christ and resurrection are but the acts of Gods authority, power and clemency. The poet uses imagery such as Galilee to symbolize Christ home in boyhood, ‘Maiden’s knee’ to symbolize Virgin Mary, passion to symbolize the anguish in the crucifixion of Christ (Milligan 1944, p.125). Despair, anguish and pain both bodily and spiritually symbolize a deep and honest view of divine intervention helps us appreciate and accept it better. God makes his presence felt in different ways. Hopkins views Christ as, The Father, Son and Holy Ghost. His worship should, therefore, be three fold i.e. wholesome. Hopkins shows how Gods presence manifests itself now, not through the church proceedings and rituals, but through wrecks in the English coast (Feeney 1989, p. 248). The poet explains how five German nuns drowned together with their hands clasped. The senior sister ululated loudly, ‘Oh Christ come fast,” till she drowned (Feeney 1989, p. 248). Another sail left the rigging to go and save a drowning child. A rope tied to the rigging held him, but the mighty waves smashed him against the rampart leaving him headless. Hopkins is despaired by the resilience portrayed by the senior nun. According to the poet, any action by God that drives an individual towards the end of their life is self sacrifice to God. Through grace, the nun m the nun managed to communicate with God, even though the water blinded her vision. The nun is able to visualize and communicate with Christ through her state. Hopkins uses more imagery in Cain and Abel. Cain symbolizes vice while Abel symbolizes virtue. The five nuns symbolize the wounds on the body of Christ. Likewise to Jesus on the cross, the five nuns drowned in dark waters. Christ gets born and reborn through the nun’s total reliance. The final part is a hymn to the almighty God. The author refers to him as the God of all tides. The will of the Lord is that all men should be saved, and the almighty will save them and their souls taken home to Him. The poet portrays Christ as the newly born and the nuns’ drowning symbolizes the redemptive nature of God. The poem ends with the author telling new sufferers to take the example of the nun who later developed to become a martyr. The wreck is a poem showing contrition, submission and apprehension to God (Abbot 1955, p.99). The Wind hover The wind hover is a bird that scans the earth’s surface in search of its prey. The poet explains how he caught one of these birds while hovering. The poet describes the bird as the darling of the morning, “I caught this morning, morning’s minion,” and as the prince of the kingdom “kingdom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon” (Christopher 1992, p.102). Hopkins capitalizes the word Falcon in order to show its importance. Despite the bad air, the Falcon still manages to move in the air with pride, “Of the rolling level ...steady air, and striding.” With air and wind, the Falcon still moves in the air with utmost surety (Christopher 1992, p.102). The poem follows most of Hopkins work where a sensuous experience leads to a set of moral reflections of one self. Hopkins describes the bird’s physical ability with the desires of his heart. The poem shifts to the present tense in line 9. The metaphor ‘my chevalier’ symbolizes the traditional medieval picture of Christ (Christopher 1992, p.102). The picture depicts Christ as a great knight on a horseback. Lines 9 and 11shows the natural beauty of the Falcon in flight compared with Gods glory. The poet refers to Gods glory as being a billion times lovelier, and his spiritual power is the greatest among all (Christopher 1992, p.102). The first line of the sestet is descriptive. It shows the idea that a glorious thing happens whenever the physical body, will and the deed becomes combined with accordance to God’s will. Hopkins realizes that his heart is still “in hiding” i.e. not committed to its purpose. Bibliography Abbot, C. C., 1955, The Correspondence of Gerard Manley Hopkins and Richard Watson Dixon. London: Oxford University Press. Abbot, C. C., 1955, The Letters of Gerard Manley Hopkins to Robert Bridges. London: Oxford University Press. Christopher J. Frost., 1992, Melancholy as an Alternative to the Psychological Label of Depression. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 101-108. Daniel A. Harris., 1982, Inspiration Unbidden. Berkeley: U. of California P. Feeney, J. J., 1989, ‘Hopkins the Teacher: The English Years. New Essays on His Life, Writing and Place in English Literature , 260-290. Gardner, W. H., 1953, Poems and Prose of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Harmondsworth: Penguin. John Pick., 1942, Gerard Manley Hopkins. London: Oxford University Press. Milligan, A. C., 1994, Depression and How to Survive It . London: Arrow,. Paul K. Mariani., 1970, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Up. Turner, D., 1995, The Darkness of God. Cambridge: Cambridge Up. Williams, R., 1990, The Wound of Knowledge. New York: Darton. Wolpert, K., 1999, Malignant Sadness. Anatomy of Depression, 14-18. Read More