Depression in To Seem the Stranger, Fell of Dark, Carrion Comfort, and No Worst :: To Seem the Stranger Essays

Depression in To come along the Stranger, Fell of Dark, Carrion sympathiser, and No Worst I believe that in that location can be seen a progressive deepening of depression throughout Hopkins so-called terrible sonnets. The poems I intend to look at leave alone show this, starting with To seem the Stranger lies my Lot, I awaken and Feel the Fell of Dark, Carrion Comfort, No Worst, there is no(prenominal), and finally My own centre of attention let me more have gentleness on. The first of the higher up poems shows the beginning of Hopkins descent into depression. This is followed by I wake and Feel ..., illustrating Hopkins descending further into depression. The depths to which Hopkins sank are shown in Carrion Comfort and in No Worst, there is None. Following this, My own Heart ... represents the beginnings of an ascent out of depression, and into a more stable frame of mind. Although the narrate of the poems are set by the editors of various collections, I think that the above order is the order in which they were written, based on their content. The symptoms of the early stages of depression, that of paranoia, flatness and feelings of isolation are recounted in To seem the Stranger lies my Lot. Although in roughly cases, these feelings tend to be a result of mental imbalance, and have minor or no relationship with external reality, in Hopkins case it would seem that his feelings of isolation are in some senses valid. Following Hopkins decision to set about a Catholic, he came to be rejected by his family. This then would beg off his harshness Father and Mother dear, Brothers and sisters are in Christ not near And he my peace my parting, s al-Quran and battle. To seem the Stranger lies my Lot, lines 2-4 This bitterness he feels about the gulf that now exists between himself and his family is expressed in the irony of Christ being both the bringer of peace, and the cause of the sword and strife. The paranoia common to the early stages of dep ression is also expressed Only what word Wisest my heart breeds dark heavens baffling ban Bars or hells bout thwarts. To seem the Stranger lies my Lot, lines 11-13 The alliteration both of the repeated b and ell sounds show foiling at his being not allowed to write his poetry. He transfers the decision of his Jesuit superiors to ban his poetry to being one of God himself.