"Grandeur barren": The inner and outer world of Gerard Manley Hopkins

Many of Gerard Manley Hopkins' early poems praise God's presence in nature and suggest that Hopkins desires His presence in himself. The poet, however, also writes poems that express his inability to feel God's love and to reflect the Christ-like virtues he sees in nature and heroic figures. Looking at Hopkins' prose, biographical accounts and poetry, together, enables the reader to identify a pattern in the poet's artistic duality. When Hopkins feels optimistic that he will become Christ-like through his ecclesiastical career, he praises God's manifestations; however, when he feels he is not reflecting the Christian ideal, he reveals his feelings of inadequacy. The reader concludes that Hopkins views his life from a critical perspective, so that the poet's opinions concerning himself and his environment depend on how he feels about his ability to be saintly. Both his prose and poetry change focus with his emotions.