No Worst, There Is None

The poem “No worst, there is none” by Gerard Manley Hopkins expresses emotions people experience in life. Hopkins shares his own cry of anguish because without God, human kind has to suffer through life. People can only depend on God, but when God is not around they have to suffer the depressing emotions that come with life. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker pities himself. He wants God’s consoling support but is not receiving it. The speaker feels that there is nothing more superior then God because God can help through hard times. After questioning God, the speaker relates to the rest of human kind; and, at the end he states his solution for the pains that people have to endure.

In the beginning of the poem, the speaker tells about his life. He shows his feelings of inferiority when he states, “No worst, there is none,” because he feels shame. He believes that there is nothing more worse than any of his pain. His new pangs of shame are brought out more outrageously than the forepangs: “Pitched past pitch of grief, / More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.” “Pitched” is the feeling of grief already there and the “pitch of grief” is the present grief. The speaker is emotional because his new pain is being

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These people know that they cannot deal with too little or too much because they cannot endure so much pressure from these depressing emotions. The whirlwind symbolizes the high-stir of emotions. His solution is far-fetched but it does make logical sense that we should have hope that the whirlwind of emotions will not be forever. The “world” must deal with it because it is the emotion of the mind that cannot be helped by God. The quote, “O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall,” conveys the speaker’s feelings that the mind has the power to take man down during unexpected times, referring to depressing times. Death will end life and without life we cannot have emotions. The speaker then tries to relate to the world when he says, “huddle in a main, a chief- Woe, world sorrow. ” They (people) make this loud noise and it starts to lull and disappear gradually because they cannot cry anymore. ” The quote, “My cries heave, herds-long,” signifies that his cries continue for a very long time. He feels very emotional and cries out that his pain is excruciating. piled on top of his old unresolved pain.

The speaker is sobbing and the only way to suppress his grief is to hide away and relate to the “world. This shows that the pain is very intense because he too questions the Virgin Mary: “Mary, mother of us, where is your relief. Sleeping will help pass time because it only brings us closer to death. The speaker, being a Catholic priest, finds hope in death that he will be peaceful in heaven.

Approximate Word count = 1064
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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