Gerald Manley Hopkins: A True Conservative
Gerard Manley Hopkins: A True Conservative
Gerard Manley Hopkins was born in Stratford, England on July 28, 1842 to Manley and
Catherine Hopkins. He was the first of nine siblings. His mother and father were High Church
Anglicans, very moderate people, and his father was also a marine insurance adjuster who had
published a volume of poetry the year before Gerard was born. As a young boy, he showed an
attraction to poetry and he received many awards throughout his school career. His life had a
great contribution to his writings. He converted to Roman Catholic by the age of twenty-two and
was alienated from his family for doing so. This transition in his life influenced him to burn all
of his previous poems because he felt as though his works were not appropriate collections for a
religious man such as himself. Hopkins attended Highgate, a grammar school from the years
1854 until 1863. He won a poetry prize and for “The Escorial” and that landed him a scholarship
to Balliol College, Oxford until1867. After winning First-Class degrees and known as the star of
Balliol, he entered the Society of Jesus the following year. The fact that Hopkins attended
Oxford was a major role in his decision to convert to Christianity. Oxford based its studies and
its environment was focused around Catholicism. Becoming a follower of Christ was
the motivation behind him burning his works; because he felt the previous works were to impure
for a person of strong Christian faith. (The Victorian Web: An Overview.) In 1874, hestudied theology in North Wales, he there learned Welsh and later adapted to the rhythms of
Welsh poetry to his own verse. He invented what he called “sprung rhythm”. Sprung rhythm was
designed to imitate the rhythm of natural speech. He was ordained as a priest three years late
until 1879. He found this work terribly exhausting and then two years later he began a spiritual
study in London and for three years taught Latin and Greek at Stonyhurst College. He became
Professor of Greek and Latin at University College Dublin. It is thought that this would be his
happiest time, but instead Hopkins was found in extended depression.