When Gerard Manley Hopkins began writing “Epithalamion” in 1888, he intended it to be a ode to his brother on the occasion of his brother’s marriage. It was never completed as such, but it did became a fragment about unrequited homosexual desire.

In the first stanza of the poem fragment, Hopkins describes a secluded river nestled in a “bushybowered wood” (3), in which a group of “boys from the town” (12) bathe and play. In the second stanza, Hopkins introduces a male stranger, who hears and then spies on the boys. Inspired by their spirited play, and presumably, a degree of sexual desire, the stranger goes off on his own to another part of the river where he strips, and “froliclavish” (42), he “looks about him, laughs, swims” (42). In the final two stanzas, Hopkins attempts to tie this narrative to his brother’s marriage by comparing the scene to “Wedlock” (47) and “Spousal love” (47), but the metaphors seem halfhearted and unconvincing, as if Hopkins didn’t fully embrace them, and ultimately, gave them up.

None of Hopkins allusions to homosexual desire are overly obvious. He uses the actions of the stranger, a bevy of lush images, and extravagant portmanteaus to create a sensuous environment that exudes a tone of desire. Hopkins describes the stranger removing his boots as a “finger-teasing task” (33), his “lips crisp” (32). This sexually-charged imagery, alteration, and assonance heightens the erotic tone of the poem and allows the reader to feel the energy of the scene. Likewise, Hopkins describes the flora of the woods in extravagant detail, as if it’s a “Fairyland” (24). The stranger admires the boys’ “downdolphinry” (17) and their “bellbright bodies” (17). Portmanteaus, like these, intensify the fantastical feeling of the poem and help the reader empathize with the stranger’s desire.

Hopkins uses such poetic techniques to heighten the feeling of desire in the poem, but he probably also uses them to avoid dealing directly with the subject of homosexual feelings. By flooding his poem with florid language and sensuous imagery,  he addresses the issue without being too direct or explicit with his words. This seems logical, considering the taboos against homosexuality during the Victorian era. Hopkins was able use the rhetorical tools at his disposal to effectively and indirectly treat a subject that was deemed offensive (and illegal). It’s refreshing to see such an emotionally-charged poem about homosexual desire come out of the Victorian period, and it leads me to the conclusion that such poetry has always had, and will always have, a place in our world, regardless of the social mores of the day.