What Do I Read Next?
• All of Hopkins’s poems, along with selections from his journals and letters, as well as some of his sermons and devotional writings, can be found in Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Major Works (1986), edited by Catherine Phillips. Those new to his work might enjoy “The Windhover,” “God’s Grandeur,” and “As Kingfishers Catch Fire.” For a taste of his so-called terrible sonnets, “No Worst” is a notable example.
• Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Very Private Life (1991), authored by Robert Bernard Martin, is a compelling biography that suggests Hopkins channeled his repressed homoerotic desires into his relationship with God and nature, resulting in some of the most passionately ecstatic religious poetry in English literature. Martin had unprecedented and unrestricted access to Hopkins’s notebooks for this work.
• Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology (2005), written by Eugene H. Peterson, is a widely-read book intended for a general audience. In it, Peterson delves into the significance of Biblical texts through the lens of creation’s beauty and history’s tragedies. A pastor and professor, Peterson posits that spirituality is an inherently sensual experience.
• Fans of Hopkins’s poetry may also find the work of seventeenth-century English metaphysical poet John Donne appealing. His collected works, including his love poetry and religious writings, are available in John Donne: The Major Works, including Songs and Sonnets and Sermons (2000).
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.