I came to Hopkins as a 16 year old student by way of a wonderful English teacher. I instantly memorised The Windhover and decades later it is still in my”rattle bag.” Hopkins is a marvellous poet (there is much of the glorious, the sublime and the wonderful in his work). Thanks for the video.
Ah yes! A wonderful English teacher introduced my 16 year old former self (almost 60 years ago) to 'God's Grandeur'. This poem has journeyed with me all that time.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! beginning at 3:58 “Sprung rhythm is the ECSTATIC ARCHITECTURE OF SOUND… the _lines leap_ with spondees, _trip_ with anapests, _collide_ with trochees, and _steady momentarily_ in the eddying swirl of iambic meter-the contained chaos of its rhythmic rapture…” That is a poem in itself, and I can hear your passion when you speak about Hopkins. A great video about a poet I very much admire. My favorite poem of his is “To R. B.” I love Bridges as well-“November,” “A Passer-by,” and perhaps greatest of them all, “London Snow.” Hopkins and Bridges are great reminders that *we must read poetry aloud.*
Thank you for your excellent analysis of Hopkins. Just a few short years ago, I did not think that I liked reading poetry. But, my brother introduced me to Hopkins and, despite that fact that his poetry can be difficult to understand, I found myself thoroughly enjoying his poetry. Your close readings have introduced me to many other poets. It is just too bad that poetry was not taught so well when I had English literature classes in high school and college.
Thank you so much for featuring Gerard Manley Hopkins this week - a favorite of mine, and definitely an inspiration for the work I do. Although all of the selections you present here are exquisite, my personal favorite from GMH is Spring and Fall, which I think is one of the most perfect poems in our language.
Came to Hopkins through Ted Hughes. It all dovetailed nicely, as I found my way back into the Church, reconciling my aesthetic with my spiritual intuition. This may be my favorite of your offerings. Cheers, lad!
Mr. Walker. Love the lectures. One thought. You might enjoy reading Hopkins a bit more in the style of Walter Jackson Bate. When he read Hopkins aloud, it was completely different from reading, say, Keats. You really have to sit up straight or stand up and play with the timpanis, as it were, focusing on the prosody and not being gentle at all, almost like John Phillip Sousa. “Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens.” Bang bang bang bang bang bang. It only makes sense as a bombastic alliterative audio explosion and it just doesn’t work arranged on lute as you have it. Likewise, when you hit the spondees it’s a real climax as in Most O MAID’s CHILD THY CHOICE … (sotto voce) and worth the winning.” Or “kingdom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding” only makes sense as music - and as Beethoven, very dramatic music. No offense, one can always have one’s own interpretation, but just so you know, Professor Bate arranged it much bigger and I think it got the essence of why Hopkins was different and was quite effective.
Thank you mr Adam for your wonderful cultural literary channel.as always iam gathering main information about topics you mentioned briefly here it’s Gerard Manley Hopkins ( 1844-1889) he was English poet and Jesuit priest whose posthumously fame places him among leading poets . His prosody notably his concept of sprung rhythm established him innovator , as did praise of god through vivid use of imagery and nature . His well known works included binsey poplary, pied beauty , windhover to Christ lord . His family encouraged his artistic talents, when he was youth in Essex England. However he became estranged from his Protestant family he converted to Roman Catholicism. Upon deciding to became priest , he burned all of his poems and did not write again for many years . He used poetry to express his religious devotion, drawing his images from natural world . He found nature inspiring and developed his theories of landscapes and interest to explore manifestation of god in every living thing. His last word as he lay dying Iam happy, so happy, I loved my life. He died after battling many illnesses, although his poems were never published during his lifetime, his friend poet Robert bridge edited volume of Hopkins poems that first appeared in 1918 . Hopkins poetic style vocabulary is characteristed by use of words that almost entirely Anglo Saxon , by neologism in form of compounding adjective and conversion of words , to new grammatical function by words that derived from English dialects by linking words through device of asyndetion .
Do you like that small hint of violence in the first Hopkins poem: drowning (the personification of ) Despair in the running water. Of course it's never proper to celebrate violence but I suppose if someone must drown then let it be Despair.
I came to Hopkins as a 16 year old student by way of a wonderful English teacher. I instantly memorised The Windhover and decades later it is still in my”rattle bag.” Hopkins is a marvellous poet (there is much of the glorious, the sublime and the wonderful in his work). Thanks for the video.
Ah yes! A wonderful English teacher introduced my 16 year old former self (almost 60 years ago) to 'God's Grandeur'. This poem has journeyed with me all that time.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! beginning at 3:58 “Sprung rhythm is the ECSTATIC ARCHITECTURE OF SOUND… the _lines leap_ with spondees, _trip_ with anapests, _collide_ with trochees, and _steady momentarily_ in the eddying swirl of iambic meter-the contained chaos of its rhythmic rapture…”
That is a poem in itself, and I can hear your passion when you speak about Hopkins. A great video about a poet I very much admire. My favorite poem of his is “To R. B.” I love Bridges as well-“November,” “A Passer-by,” and perhaps greatest of them all, “London Snow.”
Hopkins and Bridges are great reminders that *we must read poetry aloud.*
Thank you for your excellent analysis of Hopkins. Just a few short years ago, I did not think that I liked reading poetry. But, my brother introduced me to Hopkins and, despite that fact that his poetry can be difficult to understand, I found myself thoroughly enjoying his poetry. Your close readings have introduced me to many other poets. It is just too bad that poetry was not taught so well when I had English literature classes in high school and college.
Thank you so much for featuring Gerard Manley Hopkins this week - a favorite of mine, and definitely an inspiration for the work I do. Although all of the selections you present here are exquisite, my personal favorite from GMH is Spring and Fall, which I think is one of the most perfect poems in our language.
Came to Hopkins through Ted Hughes. It all dovetailed nicely, as I found my way back into the Church, reconciling my aesthetic with my spiritual intuition. This may be my favorite of your offerings.
Cheers, lad!
Brilliant. Thanks again for another great poetry analysis, Adam!
This was just brilliant…
Kingfishers Catch Fire is the poem about Inscape and Instress.
Carrion comfort cuts right though me!
Mr. Walker. Love the lectures. One thought. You might enjoy reading Hopkins a bit more in the style of Walter Jackson Bate. When he read Hopkins aloud, it was completely different from reading, say, Keats. You really have to sit up straight or stand up and play with the timpanis, as it were, focusing on the prosody and not being gentle at all, almost like John Phillip Sousa. “Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens.” Bang bang bang bang bang bang. It only makes sense as a bombastic alliterative audio explosion and it just doesn’t work arranged on lute as you have it. Likewise, when you hit the spondees it’s a real climax as in Most O MAID’s CHILD THY CHOICE … (sotto voce) and worth the winning.” Or “kingdom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding” only makes sense as music - and as Beethoven, very dramatic music. No offense, one can always have one’s own interpretation, but just so you know, Professor Bate arranged it much bigger and I think it got the essence of why Hopkins was different and was quite effective.
Well said. Love this. Sounds like you took courses with him, too. Lucky you!!
Massive fan of your work.
Thank you mr Adam for your wonderful cultural literary channel.as always iam gathering main information about topics you mentioned briefly here it’s Gerard Manley Hopkins ( 1844-1889) he was English poet and Jesuit priest whose posthumously fame places him among leading poets . His prosody notably his concept of sprung rhythm established him innovator , as did praise of god through vivid use of imagery and nature . His well known works included binsey poplary, pied beauty , windhover to Christ lord . His family encouraged his artistic talents, when he was youth in Essex England. However he became estranged from his Protestant family he converted to Roman Catholicism. Upon deciding to became priest , he burned all of his poems and did not write again for many years . He used poetry to express his religious devotion, drawing his images from natural world . He found nature inspiring and developed his theories of landscapes and interest to explore manifestation of god in every living thing. His last word as he lay dying Iam happy, so happy, I loved my life. He died after battling many illnesses, although his poems were never published during his lifetime, his friend poet Robert bridge edited volume of Hopkins poems that first appeared in 1918 . Hopkins poetic style vocabulary is characteristed by use of words that almost entirely Anglo Saxon , by neologism in form of compounding adjective and conversion of words , to new grammatical function by words that derived from English dialects by linking words through device of asyndetion .
Do you like that small hint of violence in the first Hopkins poem: drowning (the personification of ) Despair in the running water. Of course it's never proper to celebrate violence but I suppose if someone must drown then let it be Despair.