Inspirations Unbidden: The Terrible Sonnets of Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins's "terrible sonnets," written during his anguished years in Dublin in 1885, stand as some of the most compelling yet perplexing works of Victorian poetry. These six sonnets, though brief, have earned a place of profound significance in literary history, rivaling the acclaim of The Wreck of the Deutschland and The Windhover. Hopkins himself, however, viewed them as failures--not in their poetic merit but in their deviation from the imaginative and religious goals that defined his earlier works. Unlike his previous poems, which celebrated the inscape of Christ in nature and served a communal purpose, the "terrible sonnets" delve into personal torment and a fragmented vision of faith. Hopkins admitted they came to him "like inspirations unbidden and against my will," reflecting a departure from his typical deliberate artistry and spiritual alignment. These sonnets, marked by raw emotional power and unsettling imagery, reveal an artistic evolution that Hopkins himself struggled to reconcile.

Inspirations Unbidden explores the paradoxical greatness of the "terrible sonnets," examining their profound divergence from Hopkins's earlier works and their unique place in the trajectory of nineteenth-century poetry. While Hopkins lamented their lack of conformity to his religious and aesthetic ideals, he recognized their literary merit, revising them with an eye toward artistic excellence. The sonnets display a dark brilliance, characterized by heightened technical and emotional complexity, that has garnered enduring acclaim. Through a close analysis of their imagery, structure, and underlying despair, the book seeks to understand how these sonnets, which Hopkins saw as personal and spiritual failures, have achieved such lasting prominence. It also situates the sonnets within Hopkins's broader poetic evolution and considers their broader significance in the development of Victorian literature.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1982.