Gerard Manley Hopkins: Magician of Words, Sounds, Images, and Insights

Podcast-style audio & video course -
Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
Professor of English, St. Joseph's University
(11 customer reviews)
Audio Download + Subscription
$0.00
Audio Download + Subscription
$0.00
Includes Free Study Guide
Audio Download + Subscription
$0.00

Audio Sample:

Why does the creative vision of Gerard Manley Hopkins continue to mesmerize us?

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89) is a literary lion whose innovations echo through modern poetry. Although under-appreciated during his short life, Hopkins has now gained recognition as one of the English language’s greatest poets.

In this 15-lecture course, you will study his poetic and spiritual genius with the world’s leading expert on Hopkins: Joseph J. Feeney, S.J.

Guided by Cardinal John Henry Newman, Hopkins converted to Catholicism and became a Jesuit priest. Your professor—Fr. Feeney—is a fellow Jesuit who has taught literature for 50 years. A lifelong lover of Hopkins, Fr. Feeney teaches you about his kindred spirit with unparalleled knowledge and zeal.

Fr. Feeney’s lively lectures

Audio Sample:

Why does the creative vision of Gerard Manley Hopkins continue to mesmerize us?

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89) is a literary lion whose innovations echo through modern poetry. Although under-appreciated during his short life, Hopkins has now gained recognition as one of the English language’s greatest poets.

In this 15-lecture course, you will study his poetic and spiritual genius with the world’s leading expert on Hopkins: Joseph J. Feeney, S.J.

Guided by Cardinal John Henry Newman, Hopkins converted to Catholicism and became a Jesuit priest. Your professor—Fr. Feeney—is a fellow Jesuit who has taught literature for 50 years. A lifelong lover of Hopkins, Fr. Feeney teaches you about his kindred spirit with unparalleled knowledge and zeal.

Fr. Feeney’s lively lectures lead you through the wonders of Hopkins’ works and the spiritual legacy of his life. Along the way, you will watch his poetry progress. Starting with the traditional poems of his youth, the course culminates in his crowning achievement: “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” For good reason, scholars regard this epic ode as a masterpiece of English poetry.

After listening to Fr. Feeney’s passionate renditions of Hopkins’ sonnets and lyrics, you will examine the structures, themes, and rhythms of each poem. In doing so, you will discover their original style and influential artistry. In exploring Gerard Manley Hopkins—the person, the priest, and the poet—you will come to see the grandeur of God fully alive.

 Learn about downloadable programs.

Your Free Electronic Study Guide! When you order this course, we will send you a free electronic study guide that you can access in 3 convenient ways:

1) You can check your order confirmation email. It will include a link that enables you to download your guide. 2) The back of your program package also contains a copy of this link. You can access your guide by simply entering this URL into your browser. 3) Your case of CDs or DVDs will contain a copy of your electronic guide on CD. Simply insert this disc into your computer’s CD/DVD drive to access your guide.

$39.99

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Joseph J. Feeney, S.J., Ph.D., is a leading expert on Gerard Manley Hopkins and Professor of English at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where has taught for over 40 years. After receiving an M.A. from Fordham University and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from Woodstock College, he earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania. He has held Chairs at Georgetown University, Santa Clara University, and Seattle University.
Fr. Feeney wrote the book The Playfulness of Gerard Manley Hopkins (Ashgate, 2008), coedited Hopkins Variations: Standing round a Waterfall (Saint Joseph’s and Fordham University Presses, 2002), and has served since 1994 as coeditor of The Hopkins Quarterly. He has published over 100 articles and given over 75 lectures on Hopkins throughout the world. In 1998, he discovered in London an unknown poem by Hopkins, “Consule Jones” (1875). Fr. Feeney has also written articles on literature in such journals as The Times Literary Supplement, The New York Review of Books, American Studies, Thought, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Canada, and many more.
Fr. Feeney has received numerous awards, including two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1983. In 2006 he was named a Fellow of the English Association (FEA) in England, and in 2009 was a Visiting Scholar lecturing at a Hopkins performance of Hopkins’ poetry by Theaterwork, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Ordained a Jesuit priest in 1965, he completed his Jesuit studies at St. Bueno’s College, where Gerard Manley Hopkins studied theology.
Praise for Joseph Feeney
“Fr. Joe Feeney is a pre-eminent scholar of the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins… But perhaps more importantly he’s a vocal interpreter/teacher of Hopkins, someone who feels and then transmits — and thus teaches — the poems: no one does better at making the poems come alive.”– Frank Fennell, Professor of English, Loyola University Chicago
“Father Joseph Feeney combines the skills of Hopkins scholar, literary critic, poetry interpreter and humanist, with those of raconteur, performer, wit, and playful brother Jesuit of Hopkins himself. Both hearty and sensitive, Feeney could make Hopkins laugh at himself at the same time that Gerard could feel fraternal sympathy and understanding.”        – Dr. Joaquin Kuhn, University of Toronto
“As perhaps the leading global scholar of Hopkins, Fr. Feeney takes the complex and knotted works of the Victorian poet and brings them to urgent, electric life. He’s a masterful guide, and never tires of finding new richness in this great body of work.”– Steven Elwell, Saint Joseph’s University, ‘06

  • Who Was, Who Is, Gerard Manley Hopkins?
  • From Schoolboy-Poet to Undergraduate-Poet
  • Moved by a Shipwreck and Finding His Genius
  • Sparks and Stars
  • Birds, Insects, and a Stallion
  • Welsh Falcon and Welsh Dapple
  • Hopkins and Young People
  • Hopkins the Environmentalist
  • Heroines and Heroes
  • Depression and Anguish
  • Depression and Recovery
  • Affirmation: “Immortal Diamond”
  • Last Poems: Longing for Inspiration
  • “The Wreck,” “Part the First”
  • “The Wreck,” “Part the Second”

11 reviews for Gerard Manley Hopkins: Magician of Words, Sounds, Images, and Insights

  1. Fr. William

    GMH’s poetry was so well captured!

    The depth and beauty of GMH’s poetry was so well captured by Fr. Feeney.

  2. Robert

    Best source!

    I could not find another source that would explain his poetry as lucidly and with such easy access.

  3. Steve

    The poetry of Hopkins comes alive.

    The poetry of Hopkins comes alive. Insightful and informative. The presenter is knowledgeable and engaging.

  4. Patrick

    The presenter communicated his passion and love for the poetry of G.M. Hopkins.

    The presenter communicated his passion and love for the poetry of G.M. Hopkins.

  5. Sr. Sue

    the presenter Fr. Feeney, S.J., was very good.

    I love writing poetry and I am studying other poets’ works for suggestions for my poetry’s presentation that make it profound but clear. The DVD (plus the study guide) was very helpful. Also, the presenter Fr. Feeney, S.J., was very good.

  6. Pierre

    His talks were clear and enjoyable to listen to.

    Fr. Feeney is an expert on Hopkins as well as an enthusiastic presenter. His talks were clear and enjoyable to listen to.

  7. Sr. Sue

    Excellent

    The course instructor was excellent. The way he interpreted and read them was truly expressive of the true meaning of the poem.

  8. Marie B. rsj, AUSTRALIA

    Winter Survey: January 2017

    Superb content and delivery testifying to the advertisement claiming the presenter as being a leading expert on GMH ! Marie Biddle rsj.

  9. Thom D., PA

    Spring Survey: April 2017

    Lively presentation and very detailed and complete study guide.

  10. Donal M., Dublin, Ireland

    Summer Survey: July 2017

    As a Jesuit priest Fr. Feeney has a great insight into Ignatian spirituality. This, combined with his wide reading in English literature gives the listener a wonderful experience of the poetry of G.M. Hopkins

  11. Stephen A. S., NE

    2017 Christmas Survey

    interesting subject well presented by a well-informed instructor

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