Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

And for All This

Theme: Divine Love

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?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins was born on July 28, 1844, in Stratford, Essex, England, into a devout Anglican family. His early life was marked by a keen interest in religion and the arts, nurtured within a creative and intellectual environment. Hopkins attended Highgate School and later Balliol College, Oxford, where he excelled in classics and literature. It was during his time at Oxford that Hopkins converted to Roman Catholicism, profoundly influenced by the works of John Henry Newman, a cardinal and leader in the Oxford Movement. This conversion was a pivotal moment in Hopkins' life, leading him eventually to join the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1868. His decision reflected a deep spiritual calling, with his faith becoming the central pillar of his life and work.

As a Jesuit priest, Hopkins' life was one of spiritual duty and intellectual rigor. He was sent to various parts of Britain for his religious and scholarly duties, which included teaching and parish work. Despite the demands of his religious vocation, Hopkins continued to cultivate his passion for poetry. He developed an innovative style, notably his concept of 'sprung rhythm', a departure from traditional metrical patterns, which gave his poetry a unique musical quality and a vivid sense of natural speech. His poetry was infused with rich imagery and profound spiritual themes, often reflecting his intense observations of nature and deep religious convictions. Hopkins' poetry remained largely unpublished during his lifetime, as he saw his writing as an extension of his religious vocation, meant primarily for self-expression and glorification of God rather than public acclaim.

Hopkins' legacy as a poet was not fully recognized until after his death on June 8, 1889. His friend and fellow poet, Robert Bridges, posthumously published his works, revealing Hopkins' profound influence on the world of Victorian poetry. His poems, such as "God’s Grandeur" and "The Windhover," are celebrated for their innovative use of rhythm, language, and imagery, and their deeply spiritual nature. Hopkins' work bridges the realms of art and faith, presenting a vision of the world imbued with divine presence and beauty. His exploration of nature and religion, conveyed through his unique poetic voice, has established him as a significant figure in English literature and a source of inspiration for readers seeking a deeper understanding of the spiritual dimensions of life and the natural world.

(1844-1889) Christianity
God's Grandeur

Hopkins, Gerard Manley. Poems and Prose of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Penguin Classics, 1985 [God's Grandeur].

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Theme: Divine Love

About This Gerard Manley Hopkins Poem: God’s Grandeur [Commentary]

Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—” is a profound reflection on the intersection of divine love and the natural world. This excerpt, taken from his larger work “God’s Grandeur,” delves into the theme of divine presence and love as an ever-enduring force amidst the degradation caused by human activities. Hopkins opens with a vivid image of the morning sun rising at the eastern horizon, a symbol of new beginnings and eternal hope. This imagery is not just a celebration of natural beauty but a deeper acknowledgment of the divine’s continuous rejuvenation of the world. The morning sun, rising despite the previous darkness, becomes a metaphor for divine love’s persistent and renewing presence.

The central lines of the poem, “Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings,” are particularly evocative. Hopkins personifies the Holy Ghost, depicting it as a nurturing and protective force over a world that is “bent” – likely a reference to the wear and tear of human existence and moral failings. The image of the Holy Ghost brooding suggests a tender, almost maternal care, indicative of a deep, abiding love that underpins the divine’s relationship with the world. This portrayal is a striking contrast to the earlier lines of the poem, where Hopkins laments humanity’s failure to recognize and reverence God’s grandeur, evident in the despoilment of nature. Yet, in spite of this, the divine love remains steadfast, offering warmth and illumination (‘ah! bright wings’) to a world in need of redemption and healing.

Hopkins concludes the poem with a powerful affirmation of the resilience of nature and, by extension, divine love. Despite the darkness that may come, both physically in the form of night and metaphorically through human misdeeds, there is an undying “freshness deep down things.” This line speaks to an inherent goodness and vitality in the world, a core of divine spark that remains untainted and vibrant. It suggests that divine love is not just an external, overseeing presence but is deeply embedded within the fabric of creation. In this light, the poem is not merely a commentary on the beauty of nature or a critique of human actions, but a profound meditation on the enduring and rejuvenating nature of divine love, offering hope and a call to deeper awareness of the sacred in the everyday.

As Kingfishers Catch Fire

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
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;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.

I say móre: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is —
Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

–Gerard Manley Hopkins [Poems and Prose (Penguin Classics, 1985)]

Eugene H. Peterson

The book [As Kingfishers Catch Fire by Eugene H. Peterson] takes its title from a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, which Peterson reads as a series of metaphors about congruence. The poem describes the rightness and wholeness found when what one is and what one does are seamless. This collection of sermons by pastor-poet Peterson has that sense of congruence.” –[The Baptist Standard]

“A poem uses words not to explain something and not to describe something but to make something. Poet (from the Greek word poetes) means “maker.” Poetry is not the language of objective explanation but the language of imagination. It makes an image of reality in such a way as to invite our participation in it.”

–Eugene H. Peterson [As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God]

And for All This

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