The title, “The Habit of Perfection,” of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem features a pun on the term habit. As a monk, the poet has accepted the garb of the monastic, sometimes called a “habit.” Of course, the ordinary meaning of common routine also functions fully.
About the importance of silence, Paramahansa Yogananda has averred, “What joy awaits discovery in the silence behind the portals of your mind no human tongue can tell.” Jesuit Priest Gerard Manley Hopkins completely concurs with the great guru’s claim. Father Hopkins’ poem dramatizes the bliss of silence in seven rimed quatrains, each with the rime scheme, ABAB, featuring his famous sprung rhythm and inscape techniques.
The devotee/speaker commands each of his senses to cease their normal functioning, in order that his soul may meditate in holy silence and commune with the Divine.
First Quatrain: “Elected Silence, sing to me” - Silencing the Sense of Sound
The speaker reveals himself to be a devotee on the spiritual path, as he converses with “Elected Silence”; the devotee chooses silence as the place where inner awareness starts, remembering the biblical injunction, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10 King James Version)
The speaker metaphorically likens his “Elected Silence” to music, capable of singing to him and beating upon his eardrum. This silence “pipe[s him] to pastures” in the mind which he wants to “still.” He, therefore, asks silence to be the “music that [he cares] to hear.”
Second Quatrain: “Shape nothing, lips; be lovely-dumb”
As an adjunct to the auditory sense, speaking or moving the lips must cease as well as catching sounds with the ear; thus, the speaker bids his lips to remain “lovely-dumb.” He tells his lips to form no sounds, stressing that the “eloquent” speech of the devotee is in his surrender to the Divine. The devotee must remain silent in order to hear the voice of Divinity.
Third Quatrain: “Be shellèd, eyes, with double dark” – Calming the Sense of Sight
The speaker then bids his eyes remain closed. He commands them to seek “double dark” beyond which they can encounter “the uncreated light.” In their seeking, the eyes may experience flashes of unearthly light that “[c]oils, keeps, and teases simple sight.” But the devotee’s goal is to become so calm that the physical eyes cease to catch mere glimpses, while the spiritual eye becomes operational.
Fourth Quatrain: “Palate, the hutch of tasty lust” – Calming the Sense of Taste
The speaker/devotee orders his sense of taste to cease its intrusion upon the soul. He specifically commands his taste buds not to crave “wine.” The sense of taste must be subdued by fasting, wherein the urge for food and drink become swallowed up in the bliss of Divine communion.
Fifth Quatrain: “Nostrils, your careless breath that spend” – Calming the Sense of Smell
The sense of smell accompanies the act of breathing, and in meditation, breathing slows until it stops in deepest awareness of the Divine. The speaker commands his nose by asserting the premise that it functions through a sense of pride, which is damaging to the humbleness necessary for Divine awareness.
Sixth Quatrain: “O feel-of-primrose hands, O feet” – Calming the Sense of Touch
The speaker then promises his greedy hands and feet, which desire softness and comfort, that they will be rewarded to “walk the golden street,” if they cooperate in sacrificing their worldly comforts for heavenly ones.
Seventh Quatrain: “And, Poverty, be thou the bride”
In the final quatrain, the speaker alludes to Jesus’ command not to become overly conscious about one’s clothes: “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28-29 King James Version)
The speaker avers that taking “Poverty” as his bride, he will enjoy all the comforts of heaven. As a monastic, the speaker has taken a vow of poverty or simplicity, because he is seeking treasures not afforded by the material world. As he silences and calms all the senses, his true “marriage feast” begins, his marriage or union with the Divine, in Whom all worthwhile treasures are acquired and all worthy goals are achieved.
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