Analysis of Carrion Comfort

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



Not, I'll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee;
   Not untwist -- slack they may be -- these last strands of man
   In me {'o}r, 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 bruis{`e}d bones? and fan,
 O in turns of tempest, me heaped there; me frantic to avo{'i}d 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,
cheer.
   Cheer wh{'o}m though? The h{'e}ro whose h{'e}aven-handling fl{'u}ng
me, f{'o}ot tr{'o}d
 Me? or m{'e} that f{'o}ught him? O wh{'i}ch one? is it e{'a}ch one? That
n{'i}ght, that y{'e}ar
   Of now done darkness I wretch lay wrestling with (my God!) my God.


Scheme ABBAABBXA CDXCXAXXD
Poetic Form
Metre 11110010011111 11111111111 01111101111111 110111111111 11111100111111 1111111010111 11010011111101 101110111110111110 1 111111111101 1011111111101 110111111111 1 1111101111110110111 1111111 111111111111111111111 1111111 111101111011111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 958
Words 174
Sentences 18
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 9, 9
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 37
Words per line (avg) 10
Letters per stanza (avg) 336
Words per stanza (avg) 86
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

56 sec read
210

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Reverend Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, S. more…

All Gerard Manley Hopkins poems | Gerard Manley Hopkins Books

7 fans

Discuss this Gerard Manley Hopkins poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Carrion Comfort" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15850/carrion-comfort>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    20
    hours
    56
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "Now I become myself. It's taken time, many years and places."
    A Robert Frost
    B Rita Dove
    C W.H. Auden
    D May Sarton