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.
Gerard Manley HopkinsRead
And for all this, nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs— Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that despite the passage of time and darkness, nature remains vibrant and full of life.
In this quote, Gerard Manley Hopkins conveys a profound appreciation for the resilience and beauty of nature. He illustrates that even in moments of dusk or despair, nature holds an everlasting freshness within it, symbolizing hope and the promise of renewal or rebirth. The imagery of morning and the Holy Ghost emphasizes a divine presence that nurtures and tends to the world, suggesting that life continues to thrive despite challenges.
Themes
NatureRenewalBeautyHopeResilience
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about environmental conservation to highlight nature's enduring strength.
More from Gerard Manley Hopkins
All quotes →Look at the stars! Look, look up at the skies! Oh look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air! The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there!
Gerard Manley HopkinsRead
Let Him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.
Gerard Manley HopkinsRead
Birds buildbut not I build; no, but strain, Time's eunuch, and not breed one work that wakes. Mine,O thou lord of life, send my roots rain.
Gerard Manley HopkinsRead
Nothing is so beautiful as spring - when weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring the ear, it strikes like lightning to hear him sing.
Gerard Manley HopkinsRead
For Christ plays in ten thousand places,/ Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his/ To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
Gerard Manley HopkinsRead
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