Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins is a reflection of his time period because his work represents realism, his work was different from what was expected, and his work had to do with religion. Although Hopkins is considered as one of the great poets of the past, he was not that appreciated during his time period. The only reason that we have his work today is because his friends held on to his work after his death and decided to publish it for him in 1918.

Hopkins age was defined by the change from romanticism to realism. This was a slow change but it was one that was greatly needed by Hopkins. His work was not very well liked by people because it was about things that were against the church (Bloom p.90). During his time this was a big mistake, but in the same sense this portrayed realism to its fullest. Although some of Hopkins’ poems seem disturbing, they are actually excellent pieces of work. He portrayed realism by only writing about things that were realistic to him and his society. People did not accept Hopkins’ poetry because they did not like him; they did not accept it because it went against everything they believed in. The church was the most important thing in peoples’ lives during this era and most of Hopkins’ work were about things that went against the church and its beliefs. Even though people did not accept his poems during his time, they are very well accepted now and are considered masterpieces of his era.

Hopkins’ work was ve...