Not, I'll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee
Not untwist—slack they may be—these last strands of man
In me ór, most weary, cry I can no more. I can;
Can something, hope, wish day come, not choose not to be.
But ah, but O thou terrible, why wouldst thou rude on me
Thy wring-world right foot rock? lay a lionlimb against me? scan
With darksome devouring eyes my bruisèd bones? and fan,
O in turns of tempest, me heaped there; me frantic to avoid thee and flee?
Why? That my chaff might fly; my grain lie, sheer and clear.
Nay in all that toil, that coil, since (seems) I kissed the rod,
Hand rather, my heart lo! lapped strength, stole joy, would laugh, chéer.
Cheer whom though? the hero whose heaven-handling flung me, fóot tród
Me? or me that fought him? O which one? is it each one? That night, that year
Of now done darkness I wretch lay wrestling with (my God!) my God.
At the age of 22, Gerard Manley Hopkins, against the wishes of his parents, converted to Catholicism. He entered the Society of Jesus two years later. As a Jesuit, Hopkins dealt with depression, writing many sonnets about his experiences in what came to be known as his “terrible sonnets.” Included in this selection are “I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, Not Day,” “No Worst, There is None,” “Carrion Comfort,” and many others. Hopkins uses this poem, starting as a description of his depression, to explain why God would allow such woes to befall him.
Although Hopkins had already desired a more “Miltonic” style by the time he wrote this sonnet, having written many of his previous poems in this (debatably) iambic pentameter, this sonnet, instead, uses sprung rhythm (which is accentual, rather than foot based verse—using a less regular stress placement). It is possible that this more sporadic accentuation and rhyme, as opposed to the comparative regularity of his previous pentameter sonnets, serve to highlight the seemingly sporadic nature of his punishment. Hopkins fails to understand why God would “lay a lionlimb against” him: it seems random.
As with much of Hopkin’s thought, the source of this punishment, this sorrow, “Despair,” lies in the crucifixion. As Hopkins asks, “why wouldst thou rude on me,” he makes a connection to the rood (cross) that Christ died upon by the homophones “rude” and “rood.” The final four words of the sonnet are also a connection to the crucifixion: “(my God!) my God” echoes Christ’s words on the cross: “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” As Christ suffered that we might join the Father in heaven, so too do we suffer that we might make ourselves more worthy of the Father. Only read the words of Hopkins: “That my chaff might fly; my grain lie, sheer and clear.” The chaff, the unnecessary part of his wheat must be blown away by his suffering, leaving only his greater grain behind [1]. By this suffering, “hand rather, my heart lo! lapped strength, stole joy, would laugh, chéer;” he gains strength, he steals joy, he is able to laugh and cheer as a result of this “wring-world right foot rock.”
It is once Hopkins realizes that this suffering was for good that he sees the horror of his fighting against it and of wishing to end his life; to wish for the comfort of being a carrion, as described in the first stanza. He cries: “That night, that year / Of now done darkness I wretch lay wrestling with (my God!) my God.” Hopkins uses the similar sound of “wretch” and “wrestling” to join them together: wrestling against the plan of God has made him a wretch or, being a wretch, he wrestled against his God. It is by this final thought that we see the true comfort for one’s suffering: trust in the eternal, omnibenevolent providence of God.
This sonnet by Hopkins exemplifies the Jesuit inheritance that we share with him: finding God in all things, even in our own suffering. But we must not only find God, but as Hopkins, must praise Him, glorify Him, sing our thanks to Him. The Jesuits were known for going into countries hostile to the faith, risking their lives for the sake of proclaiming the glories of God—this is our inheritance; may we not do the same?
Endnotes:
[1] This is further explained in his retreat notes from St. Stanislaus’ College, Tullabeg, Jan. 6, 1889.