Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Life by Paul Mariani (PDF)

Description

An insightful and inspirational biography of the heroic and spiritual poet. Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844?1889) may well have been the most original and innovative poet writing in the English language during the nineteenth century. Yet his story of personal struggle, doubt, intense introspection, and inward heroism has never been told fully. As a Jesuit priest, Hopkins?s descent into loneliness and despair and his subsequent recovery are a remarkable and inspiring spiritual journey that will speak to many readers, regardless of their faith or philosophies. Paul Mariani, an award-winning poet himself and author of a number of biographies of literary figures, brilliantly integrates Hopkins?s spiritual life and his literary life to create a rich and compelling portrait of a man whose work and life continue to speak to readers a century after his death.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Professor Paul Mariani is likely our finest, living American biographer of poets. He is also one of our best, close readers of Hopkins’ admittedly difficult verse. But with his newest biography on the Victorian priest/poet Mariani falls short, succumbing in many instances to hagiography not biography. One of the great ommisions is Mariani’s failure to address Hopkins’ sexuality. All of the major biographers before him, Kitchen, Martin and White, have addressed the poet’s homosexuality and the homoeroticism of his verse. Mariani chooses to avoid the issue completely. Not that he is shy to address sexuality because he addresses it in all his other biographies on Williams, Lowell, Berryman and of course, Crane, also a homosexual man. I think perhaps Mariani has placed his beloved Hopkins too high on a pedestal. He should have brought him down to earth. He feels more comfortable to interpret the terrible sonnets as an expression of the mystical dark night. However, they appear to be the cries of a man under great mental strain. Not for a moment do I believe that Hopkins felt God’s absence in his life; He was as real and present as Hopkins’ Irish students and colleagues. No, what Hopkins suffered from was a lifetime of leading a double life, a lifetime of hiding his true nature. It is why he wrote to his friend Bridges that he saw himself in the verse of Walt Whitmen. Two quite different poets, both innovative, but Hopkins saw his own sexual nature in Whitman, who did not camouflage his homosexuality. I wish Mariani had taken this issue by the horns, but he chose not to. He surely has his reasons. He may simply revere the poet too much. But there is nothing shameful about Hopkins’ sexual nature. And by all accounts he was a good, saintly man who surely kept his vow of chastity to the very end. Perhaps Mariani felt it proper to ignore the poet’s homosexuality because his son is a Jesuit, and he now is a professor at a Jesuit college, but his avoidance of the issue does, in my opinion, compromise his otherwise superb biography of one of our greatest poets. Regardless of my one reservation, I recommend most highly to my friends Mariani’s book: it has the right to stand next to Kitchen, Martin, White, and of course, one of the earliest biographers, Lahey.

⭐It has been some time now since I read Mariani’s beautiful biography of Hopkins. So what remains in me is the emotion of the book. Wading into the first chapter, I remember how strange the style of writing felt to me. Mariani swung from staccato journalese in one chapter to flowing, florid poetical syntax the next. How strange, how different – now I wouldn’t have it any other way. Later, I began having issues with Mariani the poet competing with Hopkins himself. I got over that in a hurry, I now wish all books were written so beautifully.Regarding Hopkins the man. I find so much beauty in him, so much transcendence, as well as a deliciously deep and flawed human being. The revelations about Hopkins’ difficulties and perfectionism regarding his poetry; his having to gain the approval of the Jesuit censors and believing he should (and would) forego acclaim in his lifetime. What joy in pain.Reading of Hopkins’ only love affair with his best friend was heart wrenching. So tragic, so lovely. Both the man and this book. The measure of all books in my opinion: I couldn’t put it down. And in the end, I rued the fact that it was over (How could I ever find another book I loved as much?)and as all biographies end, this beautiful man, whom Mariani had helped me know and love, had died. I closed the cover after some time, tears flowing, a wretched smile on my face. I tend to believe that this will be the only book that I re-read in this lifetime. A Masterpiece!

⭐I have studied Hopkins for several decades but have never read a biography that carries the reader into the times, places, and personality of the author as skillfully as Mariani has. Although obviously Hopkins had constraints as a Jesuit in the 19th century as well as attempting to craft a poetic style and aesthetic that was actually revolutionary for his time and not well accepted as such–a reader who wants to be immersed in his efforts and struggles–philosophical, psychological, and physiological–will find Mariani’s treatment rewarding.

⭐A fine book about the greatest poet of all time, he who owns alliteration and sprung rhythm…..We get a good glimpse into the back of his brain, and arent we lucky his mate Bridges kept the copies…..

⭐Excellent and scholarly study of a most remarkable poet and priest. I especially appreciated that fact that Paul Mariani did not succumb to the prevailing tendency to label Fr. Hopkins as a homosexual without strong evidence that he was so.

⭐I bought this text because Paul Mariani wrote it. I’ve read Hopkins poetry for years and enjoyed what I could understand. Mariani showed me what I didn’t understand and he placed each poem in its historical, biographical context. That helped. I’ll read the book again. The book does take some work but it’s worth the effort.

⭐Biographical – use for dates in Hopkins life. Not a critical or interpretative work.

⭐beautifully written and thorough by an author who himself is clearly familiar with the spiritual journey

⭐This is an excellent book written about a remarkable man. It is very poetic in style which is not surprising because the author is a poet. He is writing about another poet. Beautifully done.

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