'Gerard Manley Hopkins' poetry is best at its simplest' - Discuss.

Gerard Manley Hopkins is frequently referred to as one of the three or four ‘best’ Victorian poets. When describing art, the descriptor ‘best’ is subjective, as is ‘simplest’ – making either contention tricky. For any conclusions to be drawn, therefore, it is necessary to establish by what criteria Hopkins’ poetry ought to be regarded as ‘simple’ or at its ‘best’. In both cases, the famous Coleridge quotation of poetry being ‘the best words in the best order’ might be used as a lens to examine each of the terms. To illustrate this point, take the opening two lines of Hopkins’ ‘Spring and Fall’: ‘Márgarét, áre you gríeving Over Goldengrove unleaving?’ Although Hopkins makes use of a highly uncommon verb – ‘unleaving’ – the sense of the verb is immediately obvious. In a relatively simple poem – one addressed ‘to a small child’, Hopkins does not shy away from using such an obscure lexical curiosity and in fact, the highly irregular verb choice is exactly what makes the imagery so immediately resonant.From a literary standpoint, it is possible to break down why the verb is so effective. The ‘un’ prefix of the verb evokes the sense of loss – emphasises what the trees once had - leaves. By making ‘Goldengrove’ the singular subject of the verb it provides a clearer parallel with the singular person of Margaret attempting to comprehend the significance of mortality. The subtlety of the verb choice makes it easy to miss the allusion to death and decay that losing their leaves represents – especially given the pace of these opening two enjambed lines. Unlike the word ‘Fall’ in the title, that could invite the interpretation of it as a season, a verb, or a reference to original sin, ‘unleaving’ does not evoke any of these ambiguities. Even the verb’s sound – the word contains no harsh consonants, producing a euphonic opening. The ‘unleaving’ process seems to be no more strenuous or unnatural than undressing. The apparent ease in rhyming ‘grieving’ with ‘unleaving’ sets the tone for the first four rhyming couplets in Hopkins’ adapted sonnet form, which makes the sudden change of tone in line nine of the poem: ‘And yet you will weep and know why.’ all the more shocking, as the implications of the seemingly unassuming ‘unleaving’ are brought into clearer focus in the sestet.