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영어

This essay aims to examine childhood in the Victorian era as portrayed in the poems of Hopkins. In the era in question, negative conceptions of childhood were common due to Darwinism, the prevalency of juvenile delinquency, and labor-related problems. Hopkins, as a Catholic priest, sought to lead the children into a sacred and innocent mode of life and then usher them, at a very early age compared to modern practice, into the adult world that is the work place. Both “The Child is Father to the Man” and “Spring” illustrate that his concept of youth is closer to the negative Victorian view than to the optimistic Wordsworthian view. “Brothers” and “The Handsome Heart” depict attitudes like submission, self-discipline, and gentleness, which were viewed by the Victorians as appropriate for the young, demonstrating innocence and suggesting a pure future. “The Bugler’s First Communion” features a double challenge; the boy must preserve his own innocent and holy mind while also serving in a dead-end job, laboring like an adult. Hopkins expects good children to effectively integrate themselves into society, which keeps society, including the working class, united and well controlled.