1. No worst, there is noneBy: Gerard Manely Hopkins Erin Walsh AP English March 2011
2. No worst, there is none No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief, More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring. Comforter, where, where is your comforting? Mary, mother of us, where is your relief? My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief Woe, wórld-sorrow; on an áge-old anvil wince and sing — Then lull, then leave off. Fury had shrieked 'No ling- ering! Let me be fell: force I must be brief."‘ O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap May who ne'er hung there. Nor does long our small Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep, Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.
3. Rhyme Scheme Petrarchan sonnet Octet: ABBAABBA Seset: CDCDCD Set pattern of rhyme parallels the pattern of suffering in the speaker’s life
4. What is the poem’s purpose? To show the extreme suffering and sadness of the speaker
5. How fully does the poem accomplish this purpose? The poet accomplishes the purpose of the poem through his use of: Sound Punctuation Diction Personification Repetition Allusion
6. Sound Slow sounds: s, l, w, h, f words Slow sounds highlight the somber mood of the poem, showing the anguish and despair of the speaker
7. Punctuation Enjambment used to show the continuing effect of suffering Commas, dashes, and periods throughout octave Pauses create a slowing effect in the poem.
8. Diction Sad and painful in octave No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief, More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring. Comforter, where, where is your comforting? Mary, mother of us, where is your relief? My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief Woe, wórld-sorrow; on an áge-old anvil wince and sing — Then lull, then leave off. Fury had shrieked 'No ling- ering! Let me be fell: force I must be brief."‘ The sad diction reveals the suffering of the speaker.
9. Personification “Fury had shrieked ‘No lingering!’” (l. 7) By personifying fury, the speaker reveals its humanly strength over him.
10. Repetition Alliteration: “pitched past pitch” (l. 1) “Wilder wring” (l. 2) “mind, mind has mountains” (l. 9) “durance deal” (l. 12) Repetition: “where, where” (l. 3) “mind, mind” (l. 9) Repetition and alliteration reveal the repeating pattern of suffering in the speaker’s life
11. Allusion Looks for relief; inquires the help of: Holy Spirit: “Comforter, where, where is your comforting?” Mary: “Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?” Asks two sources because the speaker feels his suffering cannot be stopped.
12. How important is this purpose? Although Hopkins, the author, was a priest, he found himself suffering in sadness much of his life. He called his extreme melancholy “desolation” and defined it as “darkness and confusion of soul ... diffidence without hope and without love, so that [the soul] finds itself altogether slothful, tepid, sad, and as it were separated from its Creator and Lord” (Poetry Foundation). In this poem, the author reveals to the reader the depth of the suffering he experienced throughout his life. In terms of emotion, this poem is a perfect example of the idea of sentimentality.
13. Works Consulted “Gerard Manley Hopkins”. Poetryfoundation.org. Poetry Foundation, Web. 16 March 2011.
