Analysis of Tom's Garland

Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844 (Stratford, London) – 1889 (Dublin)



upon the Unemployed

Tom—garlanded with squat and surly steel
Tom; then Tom’s fallowbootfellow piles pick
By him and rips out rockfire homeforth—sturdy Dick;
Tom Heart-at-ease, Tom Navvy: he is all for his meal
Sure, ’s bed now. Low be it: lustily he his low lot (feel
That ne’er need hunger, Tom; Tom seldom sick,
Seldomer heartsore; that treads through, prickproof, thick
Thousands of thorns, thoughts) swings though. Commonweal
Little I reck ho! lacklevel in, if all had bread:
What! Country is honour enough in all us—lordly head,
With heaven’s lights high hung round, or, mother-ground
That mammocks, mighty foot. But no way sped,
Nor mind nor mainstrength; gold go garlanded
With, perilous, O nó; nor yet plod safe shod sound;
Undenizened, beyond bound
Of earth’s glory, earth’s ease, all; no one, nowhere,
In wide the world’s weal; rare gold, bold steel, bare
In both; care, but share care—
This, by Despair, bred Hangdog dull; by Rage,
Manwolf; worse; and their packs infest the age.


Scheme A BCCBBCCBDDEDAEEFFFGG
Poetic Form
Metre 01001 11110101 111111 1101111101 111111111111 1111111111111 1111011101 1111111 10111111 10111101111 110110101111 11011111101 111011111 1111111 110011111111 1011 1110111111 0101111111 011111 110111111 110110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,016
Words 166
Sentences 7
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 1, 20
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 381
Words per stanza (avg) 82
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

49 sec read
76

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Reverend Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, S. more…

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