Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, English Poet

Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, English Poet

Reverend Father Gerard Manley Hopkins (July 28, 1844 - June 8, 1889) was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and a Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame established him among the leading Victorian poets. His experimental explorations in prosody (especially sprung rhythm) and his use of imagery established him as a daring innovator in a period of largely traditional verse. The language of his poems is often striking. His imagery can be simple, or metaphysical and intricate. He uses many archaic and dialect words, but also coins new words. After suffering ill health for several years and bouts of diarrhoea, Hopkins died of typhoid fever in 1889 at the age of 44. During his lifetime, Hopkins published few poems. It was only through the efforts of Robert Bridges that his works were seen. Despite Hopkins burning all his poems on entering the Jesuit novitiate, he had already sent some to Bridges who, with a few other friends, was one of the few people to see many of them for some years. After Hopkins's death they were distributed to a wider audience, mostly fellow poets, and in 1918 Bridges, by then poet laureate, published a collected edition.

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

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