Gerard Manley Hopkins

15+ Must-Read Gerard Manley Hopkins Poems

(15 to start, 20+ to explore)

Gerard Manley Hopkins is one of the most important poets of the Victorian era. He also worked as a Jesuit priest and is remembered for his innovative and interesting verse. His work was not as well-regarded during his life as it is now. Today, he’s credited with inspiring poets like T.S. Eliot and Dylan Thomas.

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Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

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Petrarchan Sonnet

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The Windhover

‘The Windhover’ is an incredibly important poem that Hopkins considered to be his best. It uses symbolism to speak about God and faith.

'The Windhover' is commonly considered to be one of, if not the, best examples of poetry Hopkins produced in his lifetime. The poem is incredibly influential and has been used as a source of inspiration by countless poets. Hopkins' verse is impactful, highly relatable, and interesting.

I caught this morning morning’s minion, king-

dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding

Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding

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I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day

‘I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins tells of a speaker’s suffering as he tries to understand the role of God in his life.

Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote ‘I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day’ as one of his so-called “terrible sonnets,” which capture his deep emotional struggles and his complex relationship with his faith. This poem is marked by a raw sense of inner conflict and darkness. While it’s not his most well-known piece, it’s often praised for its honesty and innovative language, showing how deeply he felt about the struggles of belief.

I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.

What hours, O what black hours we have spent

This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!

And more must, in yet longer light's delay.

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As Kingfishers Catch Fire

‘As Kingfishers Catch Fire’ delves into the essence of being and divine presence, blending nature’s vibrancy with spiritual grace.

Gerard Manley Hopkins was an English poet known for his creative use of rhythm and sound. His poem ‘As Kingfishers Catch Fire’ is admired for its message about nature, identity, and faith. While it is well-known, ‘The Windhover’ is often considered his greatest work. Hopkins’ poetry was not widely recognized during his lifetime, but today, he is celebrated for his unique style and deep spiritual focus.

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;

As tumbled over rim in roundy wells

Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's

Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;

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Heaven-Haven: A Nun Takes the Veil

IN ‘Heaven-Haven: A Nun Takes the Veil’ the speaker yearns for a tranquil sanctuary, free from life’s storms, desiring a realm of eternal springs and serene beauty.

This poem is a good representation of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poems. It showcases his unique style characterized by vivid imagery, intricate language, and exploration of spiritual themes. The poem reflects Hopkins' ability to capture intense emotions and longing for transcendence. Its lyrical quality and introspective nature align with the distinctiveness found in many of Hopkins' other works, making it a fitting example of his poetic style and themes.

I have desired to go

Where springs not fail,

To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail

And a few lilies blow.

#5

Binsey Poplars

‘Binsey Poplars’ by Hopkins mourns felled aspens, blending grief and nature’s beauty, urging respect for the earth.

My aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled,

Quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun,

All felled, felled, are all felled;

Of a fresh and following folded rank

#6

Carrion Comfort

‘Carrion Comfort’ wrestles with despair, revealing a journey from darkness to discovering resilience within.

Not, I'll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee;

Not untwist—slack they may be—these last strands of man

In me ór, most weary, cry I can no more. I can;

Can something, hope, wish day come, not choose not to be.

#7

Felix Randal

‘Felix Randal’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins is Petrarchan sonnet written as an elegy for a farrier by the name of Felix Randal.

Felix Randal the farrier, O is he dead then? my duty all ended,

Who have watched his mould of man, big-boned and hardy-handsome

Pining, pining, till time when reason rambled in it, and some

Fatal four disorders, fleshed there, all contended?

#8

God’s Grandeur

‘God’s Grandeur’ contrasts human impact with divine nature’s resilience, using imagery and musical language to evoke hope.

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

#9

Habit of Perfection

‘Habit of Perfection’ explores forsaking sensory pleasures for spiritual purity, revealing deep tensions between art and faith.

Elected Silence, sing to me

And beat upon my whorled ear,

Pipe me to pastures still and be

The music that I care to hear.

#10

Hope holds to Christ

‘Hope holds to Christ’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins is a poem about faith and hope. The speaker spends the lines personifying hope and relating “her” to Christ.

Hope holds to Christ the mind’s own mirror out

To take His lovely likeness more and more.

It will not well, so she would bring about

An ever brighter burnish than before

#11

Hurrahing in Harvest

‘Hurrahing in Harvest’ celebrates finding Christ in nature’s beauty, expressing ecstatic joy and spiritual union.

Summer ends now; now, barbarous in beauty, the stooks rise

Around; up above, what wind-walks! What lovely behaviour

Of silk-sack clouds! has wilder, wilful-wavier

Meal-drift moulded ever and melted across skies?

#12

Inversnaid

‘Inversnaid’ marvels at a Scottish brook’s wild beauty, urging the preservation of nature’s untamed splendor for future generations.

This darksome burn, horseback brown,

His rollrock highroad roaring down,

In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam

Flutes and low to the lake falls home.

#13

My own heart let me more have pity on

‘My own heart let me more have pity on’ contains the thoughts of a speaker who is seeking a way out of his depressed mental state.

My own heart let me more have pity on; let

Me live to my sad self hereafter kind,

Charitable; not live this tormented mind

With this tormented mind tormenting yet.

#14

No worst, there is none

‘No worst, there is none’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins describes the nature of a speaker’s depression and its highs and lows.

No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,

More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.

Comforter, where, where is your comforting?

Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?

#15

Pied Beauty

‘Pied Beauty’ celebrates God’s creation of diverse, contrasting beauty in nature, highlighting the splendor of variegated patterns.

Glory be to God for dappled things—

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;

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