Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest. Although his poetry was not widely known during his lifetime, his prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – made him an innovator, as did his praise of God through vivid use of natural imagery.

After Hopkins's death, Robert Bridges published a few of his mature poems in anthologies. By 1930 Hopkins's work was seen as one of the most original literary advances of his century.

Early life and family

Gerard Manley Hopkins was born in Stratford, Essex (now in Greater London) to Manley and Catherine Hopkins, née Smith. He was the eldest of nine children. He was christened at the Anglican church of St John's, Stratford.

His father, Manley Hopkins, founded a marine insurance firm and at one time served as Hawaiian consul-general in London. He was also for a time churchwarden at St John-at-Hampstead. He was a prolific writer who published several works of poetry, including A Philosopher's Stone and Other Poems (1843), Pietas Metrica (1849), and Spicelegium Poeticum, A Gathering of Verses by Manley Hopkins (1892). He also wrote a history of Hawaii, A Manual of Marine Insurance, A Handbook of Averages and an unpublished novel, and in addition to this wrote and reviewed poetry for The Times.

Catherine (Smith) Hopkins was the daughter of a London physician, and was particularly fond of music and of reading, especially German philosophy, literature and the novels of Dickens. Both parents were deeply religious high-church Anglicans. Catherine's sister, Maria Smith Giberne, taught Hopkins to sketch. The interest was supported by his uncle, Edward Smith, his great-uncle Richard James Lane, a professional artist, and other family members. Hopkins's initial ambition was to be a painter – he pursued his interest in sketching throughout his life and was inspired as an adult by the work of John Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites.