The Habit of Perfection
Elected Silence, sing to me
And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear.Shape nothing, lips; be lovely-dumb:
It is the shut, the curfew sent
From there where all surrenders come
Which only makes you eloquent.Be shellèd, eyes, with double dark
And find the uncreated light:
This ruck and reel which you remark
Coils, keeps, and teases simple sight.Palate, the hutch of tasty lust,
Desire not to be rinsed with wine:
The can must be so sweet, the crust
So fresh that come in fasts divine!Nostrils, your careless breath that spend
Upon the stir and keep of pride,
What relish shall the censers send
Along the sanctuary side?O feel-of-primrose hands, O feet
That want the yield of plushy sward,
But you shall walk the golden street
And you unhouse and house the Lord.And, Poverty, be thou the bride
And now the marriage feast begun,
And lily-coloured clothes provide
Your spouse not laboured-at nor spun.
Summary of The Habit of Perfection
- Popularity of “The Habit of Perfection”: The poem “The Habit of Perfection” by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a promising English poet, and writer, is a symbolic poetic piece. The poem first appeared in 1866 when Hopkin was staying at Oxford regarding his studies. The poem shows the writer’s strong determination as he has decided to turn toward his Lord. It also highlights the things he is going to sacrifice for this purpose. The clever use of various literary elements and their reasonable impact have made this poem win accolades for the writer.
- “The Habit of Perfection” As a Representative of Man’s Desires: This poem is about the change that the speaker hopes to bring into his life. It begins when he wishes to enjoy the melody of silence, implying he will prefer silence over speech. He intentionally rejects the pleasure of speaking to attain true eloquence. Moreover, he determines to deny the joy of seeing; he decides to close his eyes tightly against the external sights of the world. He only wishes to absorb the creative energy of God’s mind while remaining quiet. As the poem continues, he calls upon his remaining senses and tells the readers that he will use all his senses to seek the righteous path. However, to conquer these great desires, he chooses poverty as his bride. With this humble bride, he would adopt simple living standards, denying the ostentatious and showing sincere approach two the world.
- Major Themes in “The Habit of Perfection”: Poverty versus materialism, world versus religion, and man versus desires are the major themes of the poem. This simple poem explains the speaker’s innermost desires. It seems that he is fed up with the artificial approach and feigned customs of the world. Therefore, he has decided to turn toward God. However, to accomplish his mission, he needs to leave everything that takes him away from his master. Thus, he decides to cut himself off from worldly affairs, and decides to turn to his creator, who loves him the way he is.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “The Habit of Perfection”
literary devices create a unique poetic output. The poets make their use to create their styles. The analysis of the devices used in the poem as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ and /o/ in “Desire not to be rinsed with wine” and again the sound of /e/ in “O feel-of-primrose hands, O feet.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /k/ in “coloured clothes” and /w/ in “with wine.”
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. Hopkins has repeated the word “and” in the last stanza of the poem to emphasize the point such as;
“And now the marriage feast begun,
And lily-coloured clothes provide
Your spouse not laboured-at nor spun.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “This ruck and reel which you remark” and the sound of /s/ in “Coils, keeps, and teases simple sight.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example:
“Elected Silence, sing to me
And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Gerard Manley Hopkins has used imagery in this poem such as “That want the yield of plushy sward”, “But you shall walk the golden street,” and “Desire not to be rinsed with wine.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The speaker has used situational irony in the opening line of the poem where he asks the silence to produce a melody such as “Elected Silence, sing to me.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different in nature. The poet has used purification as an extended metaphor just to show the noticeable changes it brings to one’s life.
- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. The poet has personified silence in the opening line of the poem such as “Elected Silence, sing to me.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows symbols like religion, hatred for the world and purification to show how religion purifies our filthy life.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Habit of Perfection”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetoric devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Hopkins has used end rhyme in the poem such as “ear/hear” and “feet/street.”
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABAB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues till the end.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is a quatrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are seven stanzas in this poem with each having same lines.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from the poem are useful to quote in motivational speeches while talking about the level of one’s satisfaction.
“And, Poverty, be thou the bride
And now the marriage feast begun,
And lily-coloured clothes provide
Your spouse not laboured-at nor spun.”
