Hopkins and Heidegger

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Hopkins and Heidegger is a new exploration of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poetics through the work of Martin Heidegger. More radically, Brian Willems argues that the work of Hopkins does no less than propose solutions to a number of hitherto unresolved questions regarding Heidegger's later writings, vitalizing the concepts of both writers beyond their local contexts. Willems examines a number of cross-sections between the poetry and thought of Hopkins and the philosophy of Heidegger. While neither writer ever directly addressed the other's work - Hopkins died the year Heidegger was born, 1899, and Heidegger never turns his thoughts on poetry to the Victorians - a number of similarities between the two have been noted but never fleshed out. Willems' readings of these cross-sections are centred on Hopkins' concepts of 'inscape' and 'instress' and around Heidegger's reading of both appropriation (Ereignis) and the fourfold (das Geviert).
This study will be of interest to scholars and postgraduates in both Victorian literature and Continental philosophy.

Reviews

Reviewed in The Year's Work in English Studies, Volume 90
"Brian Willems' work opens an unexpected dossier that bears on the fate of the poetic word. Placing Hopkins in proximity to Heideggerian pressure points, he delivers a poignant reflection on a crucial encounter among giants of contemporary thought." - Avital Ronell, Professor of German, English, and Comparative Literature, New York University, USA

Author Bio

Brian Willems is Assistant Professor of Literature at the University of Split, Croatia.