The era of European civilization was marked by the French Revolution. The epoch was entangled in dialectic movements that tore it between romanticism and rationalism. The period marked the pick of literary works with several artists fronting different ideologies and eventual rejection of classicism. The fronting of romanticism came as a revolt against the intellectual order that had been glorified by rationalism. The critical period gave birth to great artists like Gerard Hopkins who followed in the footsteps of his father became an iconic figure in literary and poetic works that defined the era of romanticism (Caldecott 121-42). The advancement of intellectual order that normally came in the form of self-expression that swept away the truth. It thus left the truth to be subjective rather than the anticipated objectivity. Gerard caught a glimpse of Romantic Movement ideas that defined the finite self-expressions of nature that ultimately implied the symbolism of the innermost form of nature. Romanticism then denounced reason and attempted to undermine the foundations that put nature in place. It further left sentiments behind as a show of its denouncement of self-expression and reason towards nature. It is critical to highlight that this period marked the era of many artists who adopted the mannerism of romanticism.
In the ideologies of Romanticism, nostalgic beliefs about religion were manifested in the journey to God. Other artists like the Victorian essayist Coventry Patmore, wallowed in this romantic ideology by transcending the tendencies under the weight of infinite self. The poet realized that every finite being possessed some infinite characteristics thereby drawing the relationship between God and the world. The essayist came to the realization that the finite creatures were a culmination of infinite perceptions (Caldecott 121-42). The soul and the body all defined infinitely were characterized by the infinite perceptions that transformed romanticism. The romantic contemporaries were defined by the subsequent artists including Gerard Hopkins, who found the infinite relation between nature and God and woman and man.
Often following the influence of the father, there are distinct attributes that were evident on his eclectic literary interests. The attributes with similar orientation to that of his father shaped his ideology of romanticism. With many historians associating the voracity of mind as the primary attribute that both Gerard and Manley shared, there are expressions of intellectualism that Gerard demonstrated in his works. The romantic works of Gerard were occupied in intellectual curiosity in a similar fashion to his father. As a young artist, Gerard’s pursuits were similarly adaptive of the Victorian readership through numerous models of artistic creativity (Caldecott 121-42). It became critical for the readership to link the poetry of Gerard to the non-literary pursuits of Manley. As a child of a revered poet, Gerard had a mastery of his father’s artistry that encompassed and shaped his works at adulthood. At St. Aloysius Church, Gerard kick started the artistic works by borrowing some lines from his father and sending them to a friend whom he instructed to read them and take back. In his closing sentiment, he demonstrates the influence that the father’s works had in his artistic works. His inspirations were drawn from the father and continued to shape his works in the footsteps of his father. His creative imaginations grew indiscriminately, and the love for romantic ideologies manifested. The poetry of Gerard clearly demonstrated his beliefs in the romantic notions about other Romantic poets that defined his path of artistry. He believed in the theory of dynamic organicism (Cohen-Vrignaud 263-68). The theory had substituted the concept of natura naturata which was a static concept of the nurture. His dynamic application and view of nature became the focal point of his artistic works that defined the contributions he made towards the transformations.
His adoption of the Romantic theory enabled him to make essential contributions to the romanticism that defined the dynamic view of the world and the subsequent artistic imaginations for the betterment of the society characterized by the emblems of natural vitality. In his view of the world, Gerard borrowed from other romantic artists like Coleridge, who sufficed to think of plants as the emblems of vital nature. In the view of his role model, Coleridge, plants possessed self-sustaining functions (Constantini 497-510). The Victorian poet attempted to compare these functions to the imaginary creativity that incarnated the metaphoric language that Gerard adopted for his future artistic works. In his works, he embraced the romantic ideologies through dynamic poetry and show of artistic prowess that inclined towards the dynamic view of nature and its inhabitants. In his view of the world, Gerard attempted to use the metaphoric language to create the spiritual embodiment that would portray the romantic organicism through incarnation and grafting of Catholic dogma. The poetic works of Gerard then followed the romantic topoi that had been adopted by his father through the emblems of vitality. He identified himself with romantic imaginations that choreographed by the imagination of the predecessors like Shelley, Coleridge, and Wordsworth.
An analogy of the future works of Gerard shows how he adopted the natural imagery of the Romantic artists. He used their philosophy and imagery as a potent source of artistic inspiration that drove and guided his works. He later revived their epistemological and linguistic strategies as a model for his continuity with the Romantic works that the predecessors had begun. Through the epistemological strategies, Gerard counteracted the Victorian ideologies and spiritual drainage. Often caught in his imaginary works, Gerard became a popular figure in the Victorian poetry circles through advocating and adoption of Romantic theories to guide his work before the post-Romantic sensibility that was fronted by Ruskin. Through the Catholic faith, Gerard gained the strength he used to drive the Romantic philosophies. His desire to change the artistry and follow in the footsteps of poetic greats was evident through the use of natural imagery and an instinctive analogy of the previous works including that of his father. However, the change of the Romantic era drew Gerard to adopt the trending ideologies of Ruskin (Hergenhan 125-137). The shaping of the romantic era and continuity of the artistic works through Romanticism clearly shows the role that he played towards the realization of Romanticism and the turn of events through irresponsible ambiance of ideologies.
His style of artistry took a contrasting tone to that of Manley. Gerard observed the ontological commitment towards chastising the escapists’ yearnings of his father that seemed to manifest in the destruction of nature and subsequent loss of experience. His father had taken particular issue and expressed bitterness towards the destruction of nature for the future generations. However, his scathing inhibitions seemed more escapists than ordinary concern. The young Gerard however, took the responsibility for the catastrophe. It is critical to view the works of Gerard through Romantic goggles and enlightenment that it deserves. His passion for the works of the predecessors helped define the artistic works through the observance of Romanticism in the primordial era. Understanding of Romanticism creates the epistemological allusions about the contributions of the early artists and the subsequent revolt to the neoclassicism that existed in the previous centuries. In this culmination of imagination, the emotional collectivism of the natural and spiritual aspects of being was explored through trough theories that suited the context and shaped the imaginations of artists. The emergence of romanticism was fronted due to the attempts by the neoclassicism artists to revive the classical ideals of Rome and Greece. The era of neoclassicism became characterized by technical precision, logic, order, and restraint. The classical epoch saw the preference of wit instead of the imaginations. The artistic works through neoclassicism appealed to intellectuals and not to the emotions that often employ the use of imagination to govern the creativity. Through the use of elegance in diction and the unusual emphasis on the form rather than content, Neoclassicism was deemed to be devoid of freedom and creativity by the Romantic Theorists (Constantini 497-510). Consequently, they revolted the classical subjects and embraced a more liberal aspect of literature that allows for imagination to govern the artistic works and poetry. The connotations of the Romantic theories manifested in devaluing of satirical and didactic literature that had marred the classical literature. In what later came to be known as courtly romance, Romantic connotations reflected the sheer multiplicity and complexity that made it appealing and dynamic to the artists like Gerard for its failure of making definitive boundaries of its manifestation. As demonstrated in the works of Gerard Manley, his poems clearly favored imaginations as guiding principles to creativity and dynamism in artistry (Constantini 497-510). His projections equally favored poetry above the philosophical artistry. He further employed the poems of nature above man as favored in his writings.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Gerard Manley led the continuity of Romanticism through imaginative genealogy that rose in the post-classical epoch to subvert the philosophical ideologies of the neoclassical era. Therefore, Gerard Manley’s artistry is a culmination of Romantic ideologies that existed before the post-Romantic era and later changed into the poplars marked by the Ruskinian precisions. The final era of his artistry saw his demonizing of artistic damnation as an imitation of Satan but not Christ.
Work Cited
Caldecott, Stratford. "WHY WE NEED COVENTRY PATMORE." The Second Spring and Humanum (2010): 121-42. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
Cohen-Vrignaud, Gerard. "Cambridge Studies In Romanticism." Rights, Reform, and Romanticism Radical Orientalism (2011): 263-68. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
Constantini, Mariaonseta. ""Strokes of Havoc": Tree-Felling and the Poetic Tradition of Ecocriticism in Manley Hopkins and Gerard Manley Hopkins." Victorian Poetry 46.4 (2008): 487-510. Web.
Hergenhan, Laurie. "Marcus Clarke, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Cyril Hopkins." ALS Australian Literary Studies (2014): 125-137 Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
