SOURCE: "Hopkins: Numinous Numbers in the Virgin Mary Poems," in Papers on Language and Literature, Vol. 26, No. 4, Fall, 1990, pp. 513-21.

[In the following essay, Anderson points out that little attention has been paid to the numerical inscapes in Hopkin's poetry, and argues that the Virgin Mary poems demonstrate the development and complexity of the dialectic between verbal and numerical structures in his work.]

While much has been written about Gerard Manley Hopkins's innovations in meter, such as sprung rhythm, inscape, and instress, little attention has been given the numerical structure that he builds into his work. Hopkins provides us with both verbal and numerical inscapes, and the "symmetry" between the two creates a "beauty" that "explodes" with revelations to reinforce the meaning. This dual structure acts as a kind of dialectic and conforms with Hopkins's theory of beauty in diversity, outlined in his essay "On the Origin of Beauty" (May 1865): "All poetry differs from prose by having a continuous and regular artificial structure… of continuous parallelisms…. A singularly beautiful expression of poetry has of its essence an antithetical shape:—for that the antithesis is essential to the beauty." The numerical structures unify a poetry that gives the appearance of randomness; the mathematical symmetry is directly related to Hopkins's world view as ordered and intelligible. Since Hopkins does not mention the numerical structure, we trust that it is a kind of code or riddle intended to be solved or experienced in some mystical way.

Hopkins makes one important reference to a book written by his father, Manley Hopkins, The Cardinal Numbers (1887), and states that he had some hand in it. Although the book has some limitations, it glosses some of the number symbolism discussed below, as does Bosman's The Meaning and Symbolism of Numbers and Hopper's Medieval Number Symbolism. Manley Hopkins discusses the psychological effect of the repetition of numbers:

Upon human beings, rhythm, or the regular repetition of numbers exerts an influence which is generally pleasing…. The mind keeps unconsciously a measure or account…. The Greek name for number is [arithmos], and rhythm, which originally means a certain number of pulses in a given time, is derived from the word [rhuthmizo], showing that rhythm is in direct relation to numbers. We can at least say… that an expectancy arises in the mind involuntarily and often unaccountably, for the return of sounds and ideas in the mind.

That Gerard Manley Hopkins shared this view is evident in the number symbolism that he weaves into his poetry to be experienced by the listener or reader. Numbers were very real for Hopkins; in his father's book he recounts his experience with "the very fantastic and interesting" circumstance of "apparition" or "spectral numbers."

The works that illustrate numerical structure and meaning are the Virgin Mary poems, which, taken in chronological order, show the development of Hopkins's verbal and numerical style and complexity. Certain key words or constructions are repeated according to the numbers from one to twelve. These repetitions conform to what Hopkins calls "aftering" and "oftening" and "over-and-overing," similar to the repeated tune or melody in music.

The first of the Virgin Mary poems, "Ad Mariam" (26), is one of the poems he dismissed as the "little presentation pieces" written during his seven-year poetic drought. The number symbolism in the poem begins with the duality in the word "Spring," which occurs twice, as a noun in the second line and as verb in the second-to-last line. The verb from of "spring" forces the reader back to the beginning in a circular motion, in order to glean this active meaning and to explore and "explode" both connections. The double meaning in "spring" is a typical Hopkins construction in which both noun and verb meanings reverberate in the same word; in fact, in the simplest terms, inscape can be seen as the noun and instress as the verb, and the beauty is in both the symmetry and dichotomy. Thus May-Mariam's inscape includes her relationship to the Old Testament maid and Queen of King David's house, who "sprang" from the tribe of Judah, and is the proverbial line from which the "son" (Christ) also "sprang." Hopkins may have in mind the scripture from Hebrews 7.14: "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah."

"Maiden," also repeated twice, symbolizes the dual nature of both virginity and potentiality. As such she is the duality in the physical world, objectified in matter, and is the "Mother-Substance of all things" [Leonard Bosman, The Meaning and Philosophy of Numbers, 1932]. Occurring twice, "Maiden" and "Spring" symbolize duality and symmetry, matter and spirit, which conforms with Hopkins's theory of beauty as interaction. Manley Hopkins also notes a similar "peculiar feature" of the poetic forms in Old Testament literature, in which a "parallelism," or "duplication" of an idea "forms an antithesis and a disjunctive conjunction." This difference of expression is necessary for "fulness and elegance."

The rhyme scheme of the first four stanzas, ababccab, changes in the fifth stanza to ababaaab. In all five octaves the ab rhyme occurs three times, suggesting the Trinity; it functions in its location at the beginning and end of each octave to represent an organic and circular order of continuity and completion. Manley Hopkins comments on just such a structure in music: "the third tone in union with the first produces the strongest harmony which two notes in the octave are capable of forming." In keeping with the lyrical quality of the poem, the rhyme scheme is slightly altered in the fifth and final stanza to emphasize the musical quality of the long "e" vowel sound ("we," "thee," and "tree"). "Thee" occurs nine times, a multiple of the trinitarian three, and forms an image of "perfect balance in all things" [Leonard Bosman, The Meaning and Philosophy of Numbers, 1932]. In the final stanza "thee" occurs seven times, the number of earthly completion and consummation. Hopkins thus emphasizes May-Mariam as the "May-hope of our darkened ways"—in the material world.

While Christ and Mary are not named in the poem, their presence "springs" out in the numerical structure. The structure of five stanzas suggests the number of Christ; there are five dots that form the cross; and "the stigmata, or five wounds of the crucifixion, have been held reverently dear to Christians." The number five is "the symbol of the creative Power of God, manifested in the "Word' or Logos in creation"; in Greek iconography the "Pythagoreans named it, cardiatis… the heart of things manifested, the centre of all things." Further, "May" and "month" are repeated five times, and May is the fifth month. Implicit in the poem is the image of Christ linked with the images of time, such as, "May," "month," "day," "hour," "year," "past," the seasons, and generation, all representing Christ's role in Creation and His birth into time as the ultimate beauty in duality—God made man.

Although Mary is unnamed, her presence is established in the numerical structure as well. The five stanzas contain eight lines each, forming five octaves, for a total of forty lines. At line twenty, at the very center, "Maid," "mother," and "May" come together in a triune, placing Mary at the very center of the birth process.

"Rosa Mystica" is also striking in its numerical form. Eight stanzas of six lines are divided into three rhyming couplets, with each final couplet a song-like refrain. [According to Bosman], Eight symbolizes a "Universal Harmony, Mother"; and "the simplest of all concords," to reflect the song-like character of the poem. The title of the poem, "Mystica," and the use of "mystery" three times (including the title) express the mystery of the union of God and Christ in Mary. The three rhyming couplets symbolize Mary's role as the mother in whom Father and Son are combined: "Christ Jesus our Lord, her God and her son." The words "Mary," "Grace," "blossom," and "sweet(ness)," are each repeated three times, symbolic of Mary's role "for purposes of manifestation," for it is through her that God manifests the Son. "Mother" occurs nine times (a power of three), a number symbolic of "the final stage of preparation… in which all things are formed"; "God" occurs ten times, the number of spiritual completion and perfection in which all are combined. The earthly completion of the creation process in Genesis is recalled in the seven repetitions of "Garden" and "Daylight."

Seventeen questions are raised in the poem, a number that at first glance appears relatively insignificant, except to restate seven and ten as the symbols of earthly and heavenly completion. However, Hopkins's placement is much more complex. There are fifteen questions up to stanza 7; then in stanza 7, other numbers and combinations call for interpretation. "Five" occurs three times—three and five respectively representing the Trinity and the number of Christ. Then Hopkins plants a curious clue to stimulate the questioning process: "Multiply, multiply, who can tell how?" But he has just told us how, for 3×5=15, which is precisely the number of questions to this point in the poem.

Further, the numerical structure of seventeen questions in eight stanzas leads to a scripture in Jeremiah 17.8 (note the numbers), which is appropriate to the meaning of the poem, and especially to stanza 7. In the scripture, as in the poem, we note the union of masculine and feminine in the image of the tree. Hopkins's "Make me a leaf in thee, mother of mine" recalls: "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit" (Anderson's emphasis). This tree is similar to the plant described by Manley Hopkins as a "wondrous five-leaved plant which exorcised demons, counteracted poisons, cured fevers, and contributed to the expiation of sin!"; and the number five and the mystical power of the plant are analogous to the miraculous and spiritual power of Christ.

The third poem, "The May Magnificat," uses numerical structure in several significant passages. The poem has twelve stanzas, a number associated with time, season, and universality, and adumbrates Revelations 12.1 (again note the numbers): "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." "Wonder" appears at the beginning of the poem; "Twelve stars" are the twelve stanzas in "her" honour; and Mary's crown is associated with stars, since "Spring" has a "stareyed strawberry-breasted / Throstle above her nested" (st. 5). Moreover, the "throstle" has triangular markings on its breast, and this symbol of unity is "nested" above her like a crown.

Four references to Mary—twice in the Mary-May sense (sts. 1, 9), and twice in the Mary-Christ sense (sts. 7-8, 12) suggest that her beauty lies in her dual nature, both temporal and divine, and analogize her with the forces of regeneration (st. 4). Four denotes "the form of the world" and the "signature of nature"; the "potentialities of objectivized Nature," and the "concretion of the Divine Idea working in Substance" (Bosman). "May" is represented four times in the poem, and shares in a parallel symbolism, while "Christ," "Lord," and "God" are each mentioned once only, in keeping with their spiritual perfection. In the last stanza, "Mary," "Christ," and "God" appear together, and Mary's reproductive role in Christ's birth is thus represented as the final or twelfth star in her crown. The poem opens with "May" and "Mary," and ends with "God" and "salvation," the path and provision for salvation. Just as Mary leads out from God, in Christ, she also leads back to God.

The fourth poem, "The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air we Breathe," appears to be a simple poem; its short lines, rhyming couplets and tercets give the poem a lilting character. However, the rhythm is sprung and the syntax requires much diligent reading. Its numerical structure is also more complex, reflecting a mature poet who has refined his style and technique. Consisting of 126 lines divided into six stanzas, the poem locates Christ's birth exactly in the middle, at line 63 in the third stanza, corresponding to His place in the Trinity. References to "Mary" and "mother" three times denote her spiritual unity and role as the mother of Christ, and conforms with the meaning of the poem. "Mother" also appears in several other forms, including compound words, such as "world-mothering" and "motherhood," for a total of six times (2×3), which may symbolize the function of "mother" in both the temporal and eternal spheres. Manley Hopkins notes that "in the Genesis of the world, the sixth day is prominent as being that on which man was created." Since man was created in the image of God, he also blends Spirit and Matter. For Bosman, "the "six-ing' process… relates the opposites, links triangle to triangle, trinity of Spirit to trinity of Matter…. Spirit and Matter are blended and synthesized."

The key word in the poem, "air," Hopkins uses twelve times. Its symmetry is further indicated in its occurrence three times in the first, and three in the last stanza, to represent the unity of the Trinity. Also, "air" and "Mary" are one, since "air" is contained within her name: "As if with air the same / Is Mary [Mairy], more by name" ([Anderson's] emphasis).

The emphasis on will, intellect, and revelation appears in a key numerical signal in the poem, which deals with the number 7 and leads to a scripture. This signal is similar to those found in the other three poems, but in this case the technique is perfected so that there can be no doubt about the poet's intention. We note that "air" is repeated seven times up to line 87, the point at which the poem states, "The seven or seven times seven / Hued sunbeam will transmit / Perfect, not alter it." The seven leads to a scriptural reading which unfolds the meaning both in word and number: "The light of the sun shall be seven fold in the day of the Lord (it) bindeth up the breach of his people and healeth the stroke of the wound" (Isaiah 30.26). Seven symbolizes the open door between Heaven and Earth, and for this reason "the rainbow, and its seven colours… was considered a sign of the alliance between Earth and Heaven" (Bosman). Like the light of the sun in the rainbow, it heals the "breach" between heaven and earth, and signifies completion in the temporal world. Significantly, then, the poem follows the scripture at lines 89-102 with the analogy of the sunbeam that transmits "perfect" to dispel the "blackness bound" in the "grimy vasty vault." The reference to "vault" may signal Hopkins's reply to Plato's cave analogy, in which man sees only shadows in the cave; Hopkins demonstrates that man is not denied the perfection and light of God, but that he participates in the conception of "God's and Mary's Son" in Mary and thus becomes a "new self and nobler me."

It is important to the theme that it is the third stanza that deals with the Incarnation, since three is the number of unity. The stanza suggests that Mary conceives Christ continuously, and also conceives Christ "in us." We note the tentative approach at the beginning of the stanza, "If I have understood," before the poem continues:

And makes, O marvellous!
New Nazareths in us,
Where she shall yet conceive
Him, morning, noon, and eve;
New Bethlems, and he born
There, evening, noon, and morn—

…..

Who, born so, comes to be
New self and nobler me
In each one and each one
More makes, when all is done,
Both God's and Mary's Son.
(59-72)

This birth moves from flesh to spirit, "though much the mystery how," and emphasizes both the temporal and the spiritual in the circularity of the lines.

References to "God" seven times in the poem, and the numerical relationship with scripture, reveal Him as ultimately responsible for the provision of healing on earth and in time. The one instance of the "god" (lower case), which is a little puzzling in a Christian poem, may reveal that the historical function of the "god of old" in the Old Testament is also "God," even before redemption became possible when "A mother came to mould" in the New Testament.

The emphasis on knowledge in the poem and in the scripture is reinforced in Hopkins's punning of "wound" (34, 125). We are forced, in a "winding" motion, to go "round and round" and to perceive both the noun and verb meanings of "wound" (similar to "Spring" in "Ad Mariam"). The reference to the homonymic "mind" shows that the noun "wound" and the "breach" represent man's limited knowledge, and suggests that duality and dichotomy precipitate the dialectic and the search for wisdom, and thus for "God." We are constantly reminded of Hopkins's equation: duality equals symmetry equals beauty. It is significant that "we are wound / With mercy round and round" and that "round" is repeated five times, the number of "the Lord" who appears in the scripture and in the poem. He is in Mary and "in us" and represents a synthesis. The beauty that explodes for us is that the wonder, winding, binding, and folding aspects of our limited knowledge can be seen as "wounds" that are healed in Mary and in Christ. The healing then is in the mind, in knowledge and in spirit. In the last stanza, therefore, the air is "live" and speaks into "my ears"—it is the Word made Flesh in an immaculate conception.

In" all of his "Mary" poems, Hopkins uses names, images, and language in a nontraditional way, and thereby forces the reader to experience the meaning of Christian doctrine in a new form. The "mystery" of diction and syntax and the "riddle" of the numerical structure force the mind into a state of inquiry, meditation, and openness, which then "conceives" new associations and ideas "in us."

The numerical symbolism in Hopkins's "Mary" poems, derived from his father's book and traditional theories of religious number symbolism, not only supports the theme of each poem, but provides both a tool and a challenge to unravel its meaning. There can be little doubt that Hopkins's numerical structures are intentional. Their subtle, secret, and mystical purpose he never expressed, but left to be discovered by experience. The poet who abandoned conventional measuring techniques of rhythm also constructed an undergirding of numerical form to convey a hidden symmetry and proportion. Clues within the scheme suggest that Hopkins intended for us to discover the numerical structures as another "wonder"(ful) inscape to be explored and "exploded," and a game to be played in "ten thousand places."