July 28th, 2002
In 1844, English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins (“Pied Beauty,” 1877) is born in Stratford, Essex.
Gerard Manley Hopkins, b. July 28, 1844, d. 1889
Hopkins may or may not have invented the famous “sprung rhythm”; some readers have found it in much earlier poetry. But he certainly helped widen the rhythmic possibilities of poetry in the twentieth century. And his extravagant language and ecstatic exclamations will always remain favorites with young-hearted readers and Roman Catholics.
Suggested Reading Poetry Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Now First Published, with Notes by Robert Bridges, 1918. Complete Poems, 1947. Letters The Letters of Gerard Manley Hopkins to Robert Bridges, 1935. The Correspondence of Gerard Manley Hopkins and Richard Watson Dixon, 1935.
Posted by: The Editors
Category: A Week in Literary History, Books and Authors | Link to this Entry
