Gerard Manly Hopkins' Poem 'spelt from Sibyl's Leaves'

Gerard Manly Hopkins' poem 'Spelt from Sibyl's Leaves' deals with the evening and the passing of time. Through his use of rhythm of the words and his structure used Hopkins tells us of a happening in nature, he then continues to show us his personal feelings and the symbolism of an event and lastly he predicts a warning towards the symbol. We can acknowledge that not only is Hopkins speaking about nature but he is also connecting it to that of human life. Hopkins begins the poem in a narrative way, then moves onto a more concerning personal feel and then at the end of the poem he goes back to more of a narration.

The title of the poem 'Spelt from Sibyl's Leaves' is associated with The Sibyls in ancient Greece. The Cumaean Sibyl was the most famous, of all the Sibyls, amongst the Romans. The Cumaean Sibyl prophesised and would write her prophesies onto oak leaves. She was also known as the prophetess of the Judgement Day. We can then connect this Ancient Greek mythology with that of Hopkins' poem. The word 'Spelt' indicates how the prophesy from the leaves may be unreadable to us, so therefore Hopkins is translating it in a way he understands and wants to portray it. This poem can therefore be seen as a vision of the future and even the vision of the end of the world due to Hopkins' apocalyptic images that is used throughout the poem.

In the first sentence of the poem we can establish a subject and the description of the subject. It is evident that Hopkins is writing about the 'evening strains' he describes this evening with the long list of adjectives in the first line 'Earnest, earthless, equal, attuneable, vaulty, voluminous...' Hopkins narrates the subject at hand in a logical way that he portrays it to exist. He imposes logical abstractions between himself and his experiences with nature and the evening. Hopkins creates an idea of a conflict and tragedy within the evening and nature, this we can see purely in the first sentence, 'stupendous evening strains to be time's vast... night.' We also are aware of this due to the structure of the sentence. The sentence is long and Hopkins makes use of enjambment. This makes the reader begin to feel as though they need to gasp for some air by the time they reach the word 'strains.' Therefore, emphasizing the dramatic strain of the evening. The next few sentences are Hopkins' own knowledge of nature and how he portrays the evening. 'Wild hollow hoarlights' may indicate that Hopkins seems to have knowledge of the future, what will happen in nature. The alliteration that is used in that sentence thus emphasizes the fear and anguish Hopkins feels. 'For earth her being is unbound... whelms, and will end us.' In these four lines we notice how all parts of nature's light fade into a shadow of darkness. We are aware of how nature is being 'pashed' and then jumps to how nature is being forgotten, 'diremembering'. The use of the word 'dismembering' portrays an image of nature being dismantled of all its riches. We can start to see how nature's beauty is becoming ruined due to human acts of insensitivity and therefore making the reader aware of their own actions towards the destruction of nature.

The middle of the poem appears that Hopkins is reaching out and speaking from his heart about the fear he has for what is happening to nature and its relationship to human life. 'Heart, you round me right with:' portrays a personal response towards the subject. The use of 'you', 'me' and 'our evening' 'our night' gives us evidence of this personal reaction. 'Whelms, and will end us.' Clearly shows Hopkins fear for the destruction of the evening. The poem furthers on to describe how the leaves of the trees become 'dragonish' and 'demask' the night. The language used here is abstract yet gives a clear image of the terrifying way the night is being left in blackness and the night being left without stars. Only the 'beak-leaved boughs'