Gerard Manley Hopkins’s “Carrion Comfort” stands as a profound exploration of spiritual struggle, a testament to the human spirit’s resilience in the face of overwhelming despair. This powerful sonnet invites readers into an intensely personal yet universally resonant battle against the forces that seek to diminish hope and faith.
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.
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 bruisèd bones? and fan,
O in turns of tempest, me heaped there; me frantic to avoid 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, chéer.
Cheer whom though? the hero whose heaven handling flung me, foot trod
Me? or me that fought him? O which one? is it each one? That night, that year
Of now done darkness I wretch lay wrestling with (my God!) my God.
Carrion Comfort Summary: A Battle for the Soul
“Carrion Comfort” is a deeply introspective sonnet that captures a speaker’s fierce refusal to succumb to despair, even when confronted by immense suffering and a seemingly harsh divine power. The poem opens with a defiant rejection of “carrion comfort,” a paradoxical phrase for the false solace offered by giving up hope. Despite profound weariness, the speaker asserts a tenacious will to live and endure. The central idea revolves around the transformative nature of suffering, suggesting that intense spiritual and emotional struggle, even when inflicted by a divine force, can purify and strengthen the individual. The poem concludes with an ambiguous yet powerful image of wrestling with God, leaving the reader to ponder the complex interplay between human agency and divine will in the crucible of adversity. This poem is often considered one of Hopkins’s “Terrible Sonnets,” reflecting his personal spiritual crises and intense questioning of faith.
Carrion Comfort Analysis: Unpacking the Spiritual Struggle
The Opening Defiance: Rejecting Despair’s False Promise
The poem immediately plunges into a dramatic declaration of resistance. The speaker’s emphatic refusal, “Not, I’ll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee,” establishes the central conflict. The phrase “carrion comfort” is a striking oxymoron. “Carrion” refers to decaying flesh, something repulsive and associated with death, while “comfort” implies solace. This juxtaposition powerfully conveys the deceptive and ultimately destructive nature of despair, which feeds upon one’s weakness and spiritual decay. The speaker vows not to surrender the “last strands of man” within, even when “most weary,” asserting a powerful will to live: “I can; / Can something, hope, wish day come, not choose not to be.” This line is a profound rejection of suicidal ideation, a resolute choice for existence despite overwhelming pain.
Confronting the Divine: A Terrible Interrogation
The octave’s latter half shifts dramatically, becoming a direct and agonizing address to a seemingly wrathful God. The speaker cries out, “But ah, but O thou terrible, why wouldst thou rude on me / Thy wring-world right foot rock?” This imagery is intensely physical and violent, depicting God not as a benevolent comforter, but as a formidable, even cruel, force. The “wring-world right foot” suggests a cosmic power that twists and dominates existence, while the “lionlimb” and “darksome devouring eyes” evoke a predator. The speaker feels utterly overwhelmed, “bruisèd bones” and “heaped there,” frantically trying to “avoid thee and flee.” This section reveals a profound crisis of faith, where the speaker grapples not with the absence of God, but with the terrifying nature of divine power and its role in human suffering.
The Paradox of Suffering: Purification and Strength
The sestet opens with the crucial question, “Why?” and offers a potential answer: “That my chaff might fly; my grain lie, sheer and clear.” This agricultural metaphor suggests that suffering serves as a winnowing process. “Chaff” represents the worthless, superficial aspects of the self, while “grain” symbolizes the essential, pure core. The intense struggle, therefore, is presented as a painful but necessary purification. The speaker acknowledges a form of submission, “since (seems) I kissed the rod,” but immediately reveals a paradoxical outcome: “my heart lo! lapped strength, stole joy, would laugh, chéer.” This suggests that even in the midst of profound agony and perceived punishment, the spirit can mysteriously gain strength and even a defiant joy. The suffering, far from destroying, has forged a deeper resilience.
Ambiguity of Victory: The Wrestler and the Wrestled
The poem’s conclusion introduces a profound ambiguity regarding the nature of the “victory” or the outcome of this struggle. “Cheer whom though? the hero whose heaven handling flung me, foot trod / Me? or me that fought him? O which one? is it each one?” The speaker questions whether the triumph belongs to God, who inflicted the suffering and thus tested the spirit, or to the human spirit that endured and fought back. The possibility that it is “each one” highlights the complex, interdependent relationship between divine power and human will. The final lines, “That night, that year / Of now done darkness I wretch lay wrestling with (my God!) my God,” powerfully encapsulate the ongoing, agonizing, yet ultimately strengthening nature of this spiritual combat. The parenthetical exclamation “my God!” underscores the deeply personal and almost incredulous nature of this wrestling match with the divine.
Literary Devices in Carrion Comfort: Crafting Intensity
Hopkins’s masterful use of poetic and literary devices significantly contributes to the intensity and unique character of “Carrion Comfort.”
- Sprung Rhythm: Hopkins’s signature meter, “sprung rhythm,” is evident throughout the poem. This innovative rhythmic system counts only the stressed syllables in a line, allowing for a variable number of unstressed syllables. This creates a powerful, natural, and often breathless rhythm that mimics the urgency and emotional turmoil of the speaker’s internal struggle.
- Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds adds musicality and emphasis. Examples include “carrion comfort,” “slack they may be—these last strands,” and “wring-world.” This device enhances the poem’s sonic texture and reinforces key ideas.
- Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds within words creates internal rhymes and a sense of resonance. Notice the long “o” sound in “Not, I’ll not” or the short “a” in “lapped strength, stole joy, would laugh.”
- Imagery: Hopkins employs vivid and often visceral imagery to convey the speaker’s experience. Phrases like “lionlimb against me,” “darksome devouring eyes,” “bruisèd bones,” and “heaped there” create a powerful sensory experience for the reader, immersing them in the speaker’s pain and struggle.
- Metaphor: The poem is rich with extended metaphors that deepen its meaning. “Carrion comfort” is a central metaphor for despair’s false allure. The “chaff” and “grain” metaphor illustrates the process of spiritual purification through suffering.
- Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next without a pause or punctuation mark creates a sense of urgency and reflects the speaker’s turbulent thoughts and emotions. For example, “Not untwist—slack they may be—these last strands of man / In me ór, most weary, cry I can no more. I can;”
- Personification: Abstract concepts are given human or animal qualities. Despair is personified as something that can be “feasted on,” and God is depicted with physical attributes like a “right foot” and “lionlimb,” emphasizing the direct and confrontational nature of the speaker’s experience.
- Apostrophe: The direct address to an absent person or an abstract entity is prominent in the speaker’s cries to “Despair” and “O thou terrible” (God). This rhetorical device intensifies the emotional impact and immediacy of the speaker’s plea and challenge.
“Carrion Comfort” remains a compelling and challenging poem, offering profound insights into the nature of faith, suffering, and the indomitable human spirit. Its innovative language and unflinching exploration of existential questions continue to resonate, making it a vital piece for anyone seeking to understand the depths of spiritual struggle and resilience.