Gerard Manley Hopkins 1063, The Letters of GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS to ROBERT BRIDGES Edited with notes & an Introduction by CLAUDE COLLEER ABBOTT OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESSeter seve Hampstead him, We doa't remember your saying anything about Quis abit “Thanking you for your kind entertainments T remain your aifetionate fiend Gunano M, Horxess SJ. ‘At my uncle's last ight I found your fist volume, which he had come to know at Rome and let about to his frends, but T hha not time to read much, XXXVIL ‘Se. Beano, St. Aaph. Ang. 211877 Dranest Bunors,— Your letter cannot amuse Father Provincial, for he isan the ualathering deeps outward bound to Jama Tend, not think of telling you anything about his reverence’s froingy ad comings Hit were 3 not that T now this fact has ‘been chronicled in the Catholic papers. “Enough that it amuses me, especially the story about Wook: didge andthe Wagnerite wh is very good “Your parody ressures me about your understanding the etre, Only remark, at you say chat there is no conceivable Ticence Fal not beable to justify that wih all my ences, father Jaws, Lam stricter than you and I might say than any~ body T know. With the exception ofthe Zismen stanza? which pe think, the Gist written after 1 years interval of silence, Sind before I had fixed my principles, my rhymes are rigidly ood the exr—and such rhymes as le and fre T scout ‘ecy. And ny quantity i noc lke “Fitjtw0 Beard Squire’ Mihore ff} aight pass but Big L should never admit, Not Uhly so but Swinburne’sdactls and anapacats are halting tomy ee Taever allow ex, Lor my (tha i diphthongs, for Jah f Sed myeoma ti) in the sbort or weak syllables of those feet, arrepug before vowels, semi-vovels, off, and rarcly then, oF ‘Shen the measure becomes (what isthe word?) maossic™thus TPR] no lene for then the fist sort is almost long. If you Tha 8, The Wik fie Dende 2, 5 Nes amphi. “ ar August 1877 Later oe Fook again you will see. So that I may say my apparent Hicences fre counterbalanced, and more, by my strictness. Ta fact all English verse, except Milton's almost, offends meas icentious. Remember this. T do not of course claim to have invented sprung nts but conly sprung rit, T mean that single lines and single instances ‘fit are ot uncommon in English and Thave pointed them out $a lecuring eg. "why should this desert be?—which the telitrs have variously amended; ‘There to meet’ with Mac- ‘eth! or ‘There to meet with Mac beth’; Campbell has some throughout the Batle ofthe Baltic their Meet along the tdeep: proudly shone’—and Ye Meriers—‘as ye sweep: through the deep” ete? Moore has some which I eaanot recall; there is tne in Greegar Fill nd not to speak of Pam fom, in Nursery snes, Weather Saws, and Refrans they are very common— ‘but what [do inthe Deatscland etc i to enfranchise them as & regular and permanent principle of scansion “There are no outing fet in the Daxticklnd. An outriing foot is, by 2 sort of contradiction, a recognized extra-metrical ‘elects its anv itis not part of the metre; not part of it, not facing counted, but part oft by producing a calculated effect fetish tells in the general succes. But the Tong, eg. seven~ Shlaed, fect of the Dahl are strictly metrical, Outeding feet belong to counterpoint vese, which supposes a well- known and unistakeable oF unforgetable standard rhythm: the Desiilad is not eounterpointds counterpoint f exuded by sprung rhythm. But in sme of my sonnets I have mingled the two systems: thi isthe most delicate and dificlt business ofall ‘The choruses in Samson Agoniter are intermediate between counterponted and sprung rhythm In realty they ze sprung, bat Milton keeps up a fiction of eounterpoining the heard lythm (which is the same at the mounted rhythm) upon a ‘perhaps: Some iy sete som, ie ‘Aang wa Peace ce ab, 2 CE Walling her nde Vly of eB 45Later xxx St, Bewwa's standard rhythm which is never heard Dut oly counted and therefore really doesnot ext. The want ofa metrical notation land the fear of being thought to write mere chythmic or (who Knows what the critic might not have said2) even unehythmic prove drove him to thi Such ehythm as French and Welsh poetry has i spruig, counterpoint upon a counted rhythm, Dut ie difers frm Milton's in being litle ealeulated, not more perhaps than prose consciously writen rhythmically, Uke ‘rations for instance; ie isin fat the nae ryt of the words ‘wed bodily imported into verse; whereas Milton's mounted Thythm i real poetical rhythm, having its own laws and Fecurrenc, but further embarased By having to count ‘Why do T employ sprang ehythm at all? Because it isthe nearest to the shythim of prose, that isthe native and natural Fly of speech, the lett forced, the most rhetorical and tmphatie ofall poeible chythm, combining, asi seems to me, fpposte and, one wl have thought, incompatible excellences, Imarkednes of rhythm—that is chythm’s selfand naturalness of expresion—for why, iti forcible in prose to say ‘lashed: toy! am T obliged to weaken this in verse, which ought tbe stronger, not werk, into ‘aed birch or something? "My verse is less to be read than heard, s Y have tokd you before; itis oratorcal, that i the rhythm i 0. T think if you vill study what Ihave here said you will be much more pleased with it and may Tsay? converted tit ‘You ask may you call it ‘presumptiousjugeley”. No, but only for this eason, that prenmptiou isnot English, T eannot think of altering anything. Why shd. 1? T do not _wsite fr the public, Yow are my public and I hope to convert "You say you wd, not for any money read my poet again, Nevertheless T bog you will Besides money, you know, there i love. ICit i obscure do not bother yourself with the meaning but pay attention to the best and most iteligible stanzas, as the Ovo list ofeach part and the narrative ofthe wreck. Ifyou "The Wk f th Dated 3,2. 6 185 February [1878] etter xxx drad done ths you wd. have liked it better and sent me some serviceable criticisms, but now your erm i of no we, being only a protest memoralising me aginst my whole policy and proceedings. may ada for your greater interest and edification cha what ‘refers to myselin the poem is all stricdy and Kteraly rue and id all occur; nothing is added for poetical padding. Believe me your affectionate fiend Gonano M. Horarss SJ. XXXVI ‘Mount St. Many’s College, Chest." Dranest Brwooxs—The above has been my addres since October and you may send the Destschland to itor she will in course of time be lot Twas pleased and flattered to hear of your calling at Oak Hill and Mrs. Molesworth with you, whic was very kind, and that tice: nothing pleasanter could have happened. Remem- ber me very kindly to hee and say how glad I wae. ‘Write me an interesting letter. I cannot do so. Life here is as dank as ditch-water and has some ofthe other qualities of tee water: at Teast T know that am reduced to great weakness by diarrhoea, which lasts 100, as IFT were poisoned. Today Feb. 25 [1878] isa holiday inhonour of Pope Leo X11, (oF else this note would have lain sil longer na doubt Believe me your affectionate Fiend Genarp M. Horxiss XXXIX Mary's Coleg, Chetesfield, April 21878, ‘My peanssr Brupons,—Vour last leter was very kind indeed, Dut T should have lst all shame i under any’ circumstances I Mount 1G. MHL was abso hee, Afr competing bie tesla! se he toda othe pret, nd went to Fao Sts Char "7Teter Oxford you would be offended at my freedom, indeed that you woul hot answer at all, Whereas, for which I heavy thank you, you Ihave annwered three times, Tis true abo asked you to give me, iCyou liked, an account of your tind which wd. eall for, you sy, selfexamination, and Atal events one cannot say what one thinks without thinking. But this and the almgiving are two independent things men- tioned in one letter, No doubt Tsee a connection, but I do not ned you to. However if [must not only explain what I said but discover what I thought, my thoughts were these—Bridges i all wong, land it will do no goed to reason with him nor evento ask him topray. Yet there is one thing remainy—ifhe can be got to give fl, of which the Seripture says ({ was talking to myself, not you) tha they eit sins and Ut they eedeem sins and that they till not let the soul go out into darknes, to give which Daniel ladvsed Nabuchodonoeor and Chest the Pharisees, the one 2 heathen, the other antichitans, and the whole scripeare in short s0 much recommends; of which moreover I have heard sovane:-o, who judgment I would take against any man’s on suck a pon, say that the promise i absolute and that there is for every one a ied sum at which he will ensue his salvation, though for thore who have sinned greatly it may bea very high sum’ and very dsteeasing to them to give—or Keep giving: and fot to have the faith i worse than to have sinned deeply, for it slike not being even inthe running, Yet willadvisesomedhing and i must improve matter: and will lead to good. So with hnaitation and fear I wrote. And now I hope you see clearly, and when you reply will make your objections if any, to the practice of almigiving, not to the we of aishirs. And I take eave fo repeat and you cannot bu se, that it noble thing tnd not a miserable something or other to give alms and help the needy and stine ourselves forthe sake of the unhappy and ‘dcserving, Which T hope wil take the bad taste aay. And at ny rate is good of you only to misunderstand and be vexed "The two woud wen bone ‘eto cane 6 29 January 1849 Later v3 and not to bridle and drop correspondence. Sell dot enclose tome lines I vrotesome years aga in honour of the Bp. ofShrews- bury’ agth year of episcopate, which T say (but wrongly) £9 Ihave boen the agth ofthe reestablishment of the hierarchy it was the bth, And though the subject may not interest you the Tines may andl may cake tastes out, Thave nothing newer. Yes, {will send also a May piece meant fr the “Month of Mary at Stoaylunt, in which Tee lle good bat the freedom of the hythim. | ‘And now no more at present: assure you Ihave lie time for writing. Believe me your affectionate fiend Guean M, Hors SJ. Jan, goRemember me very kindly to your mother. La St Gilets, Obed. FD. 15 79. Dranesr Brivors;—F should have added in my lst that the Sits Fables bad been published. Tt was printed at the end of | ‘a sermon, bearing the sme tle and due to the sume occasion, ‘fF, John Morris's of oar Soriety. Thave ound itsince L wrote tnd the copy T sent you fom memory is not quite right. The thied stanza should stand fourth and ran— Not today we need lament ‘Your lt of life is some way apent: “Toll has shed round your head Silver, but for Jubilee “The thought is more pointed. Please correct it iyou putitinto your album. ‘No, donot ask Gosse anything ofthe sort. (1) IFT were going to publish, aad that soon, such a mention would be ‘the pull "this wor wet rg undoioe,ba he dein enced 2 Pon Wren at St Bou Coleg, 178 3 Tie ty Map Pow, Tie i er a mae ea ~ 6 .Letra Oxford premilinary’ which it wd. be dshonowrable of me to allow of (@) IFT did, a mention in one article of one review would do very litle indeed, especially at publishing now iv ont of the ‘question, (3) When Tsay that I do not mean to publish T=peak the trath, T have taken and mean to take no step to do 80 beyond the attempt I made to print my two wrecks in the Meath. some one in authority knew of my having sme poems Printable and suggested my doing i sh. not reise, I should be parly, though not altogether, lad. But uh is very aliely All dherefove that T think of dong isto keep my verses together jn one place—at preent I have not even corectcopies—, that, i anyone shd. Uke, dhey might be published ater my death. And that again is unlitely, aswell s remote. I could add other ‘considerations, as that iT meant vo publish tall tought to be more or enght at lee to be followed up, ancl how ean that be? Teannot in conscience spend time on porey, nether have [the inducements and inspirations that make others compose, Peel- ing, love in particular, isthe great moving power and spring of verse and the only person that T am in love with seldom, especially now, sts my heart sensibly and when he docs T eat. not always ‘make capita” oft it would be a sarilege to doo. ‘Then again [have of myself made verse so laborious. 'No doubt my poetey er on the side of oddnes. T hope in time to have a more balanced and Milton syle. But a air, melody, is what strikes me most ofall music andl design in painting, so desig, patter or what Iam inthe habic of ealling scape” is what I above’ all aim at in poetry. Now iti the virtue of design, pattern, or iscape to be distinctive and itis the vice of distinctiveness to become queer. This vce Texnnot hhave escaped. However ‘winding the eyes is queer oaly if Tooked a fom the wrong point of view:* looked at a a motion in and ofthe eyeballs itis what you say, but I mean that the eye 2 Theft he es ofthe tet of The Ln of Dora ‘Death or diane son oa the: ind 1 camo and ou aight ou om 66 15 February 1899 Let e8 ‘winds /onlyinthesense that it focus or point of rghit winds and 3 ealncdes with a point ofthe object and winds with tha. For the object, «lantern passing Further and further ava and ‘bearing now east, now west of one right lin, i truly and pro- perly decribed a winding. "That is how it should be taken then! Lv ‘St, Gilets, Ondo, Feb 2 1875, Deanist Bruoors,—Your precious Tide volume isto hand™ alo to head and hear, breathing genius everywhere like sweet herbs, Tad. lke to crits ifn detail heoughout, Dut that ‘may not be, Something however T must sty ‘The jewel ofall, juice me, sno. 2. That is a lovely poem? But nevertheless T must tell you that thefrst verse appears to me to be faulty. Tew seem tobe divided between the twospeakers, as the rest ofthe piece. Iso the frst two lines sh bein aie, ‘And iso, then lay should be is. Ao Sie! sa. be Hush, husk ‘r O nk? Irhowever iis really dhe inmate who speaks, then the question will be an ironical, not an earnest one, and mean How can love awake that has lin asleep 0 long? and if eo this su. be brought out, as by: Should love again awake? But ‘the other sense is smoother, besides that otherwie the question + Poss: By te or fhe Growth Lave! [ines De] | ‘ibe by Réward Banus Bo adn. th begin ‘Wit toe agin awake, Sool tog shate ‘The romy nih th ome uta hae pues pac oper We bc (fetheNewory ef BUTE}, 1s theft sea edd tha ‘The dey sit wi one %