In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 9.1 (2006) 108-127



[Access article in PDF]

The Role of the Holy Spirit in Gerard Manley Hopkins's Poetry


Click for larger view
Figure 1
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Lithograph by English School, nineteenth century. Permission granted by Bridgeman Art Library, New York.
[End Page 108]

Few critics would argue that Gerard Manley Hopkins's poetry is not Christocentric. After all, as a Jesuit, Hopkins focused primarily on the Second Person of the Trinity. Much good criticism has come about through research into the poet's expressions of Christ, yet this corpus should be complemented through an additional examination of the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, within Hopkins's works. Beginning with an outline of Hopkins's spiritual writings on the Holy Spirit, including aesthetics and the Holy Spirit's role as teacher and Paraclete, as well as received tradition by way of the Bible, Milton, Newman, and St. Ignatius, this article explores the characterization of the Holy Spirit within Hopkins's writing and the insights gleaned into his poetry from this approach.

A difficulty in defining the Holy Spirit may be that "the role of the Spirit is to lead us to Jesus and the Father, not to center attention on himself."1 Fortunately, Hopkins did provide definitions of the Holy Spirit through his spiritual writings. His first mention of the Holy Spirit in a sermon (delivered on Sunday evening, November 23, 1879, at Bedford Leigh) focused on aesthetics. While putting forth [End Page 109] Christ as "our hero, a hero all the world wants,"2 Hopkins described Christ in terms of beauty, mind, and character, with the Holy Spirit responsible for the notion of physical beauty, making Christ's body "strong, healthy, and beautiful" (SD, 36). In a letter to Robert Bridges, dated October 10, 1879, Hopkins discussed beauty of the mind, body, and character: "But this kind of beauty [of the body] is dangerous. Then comes the beauty of the mind, such as genius, and this is greater than the beauty of the body and not to call dangerous. And more beautiful than the beauty of the mind is beauty of character, the 'handsome heart'" (LB, 95). Toward the end of the sermon, Hopkins dispels the ideal aesthetics of a human body by calling on people to praise Christ's body in every stage of his being, including the Passion, Resurrection, and Eucharist (SD, 38). Following this directive, a person can see that the beauty of Christ's body truly involves a divinity that is distinct from an ordinary perception of physical beauty. Instead, Hopkins develops a composition of place, as instructed through the Spiritual Exercises,3 where he focuses on the supernatural strength of Jesus during his suffering.

At St. Francis Xavier's in Liverpool, Hopkins gave two sermons addressing the Holy Spirit's role in instructing the congregation.4 Hopkins notes that the Holy Ghost is "at his work teaching the Church Christ's meaning and reminding it of Christ's words" (SD, 69). An element that takes place during each eucharistic offering is the anamnesis, where "the Church calls to mind the Passion, resurrection, and glorious return of Christ Jesus."5 Thus, the Holy Spirit calls the faithful to remember and directs them toward Christ.

Hopkins further explicates the reading for that morning (Jn 16:5–14), providing a translation of Paraclete as Comforter but adding that this word does not convey the full meaning; in fact, no one word in English or Latin can match it. The word translated would seem a perfect charge for Hopkins to forge in his poetry; he must have enlivened some listeners with this definition that continues to build: [End Page 110]

A Paraclete is one who comforts, who cheers, who encourages, who persuades, who exhorts, who stirs up, who urges forward, who calls on; what a spur and word of command is to a horse, what clapping of hands is to a speaker, what a...

pdf

Share